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Lilies As Annuals: In the North, you can treat tropical lilies as annuals and replace them every garden season or bring them into a greenhouse pool. In the South where winters are Zone 10, and temperatures rarely fall below 30°F., they can be left out all year.
The hardy lilies are stored over winter in a cool Basement where temperatures hold between 40° to 50°F. In the fall before a hard freeze, lift the lily pots from the pool, drain well, and store them leaves and all by covering with damp peat moss so they will not dry out over the winter. In the spring, empty the rhizome from the pot, clean it off, remove any suckers—small, yellow leaves—and repot as you did the year before. Hardy lilies may only be left outside in a pond deep enough that the ice line is above the tuber and the pot.
Tropical water plants can be held over in the greenhouse or j sunporch.
The lilies are set out only when water temperatures will stay above 70°F. A layer of gravel is spread on top of the soil so the water will not be muddied when the tub is eased carefully into the pool. Unless you have a frost-free place to store the tubers over winter, treat the lilies as annuals. Water depth should be 18 inches. Here are three favorite cultivars:
Nymphaea 'Juno' has large white flowers, needs at least five hours of direct sun daily, and has a spread of 8 to 10 square feet.
N. 'Texas She]] Pink'is a glowing light pink, needs five hours of sun, and has a spread of 10 square feet.
This year in our garden we had a display of spring bulbs began on April 8 and lasted until the second week of June.
Later in the season came the charming English iris, Japanese iris, the many flowering onions (seven different species), a host of lilies and daylilies, gladiolus of all colors, and for one year at least, the charming I hardy cyclamen. And in pots gathered on the terrace and out around! the sundial, the awesome devil's tongue, wand flowers from Africa,] calla lilies, and a magnificent, white lily-of-the-Nile.
Finally there are late-blooming lilies, autumn crocus (see page] 42), and for Christmas, Amaryllis and all the wonderful forced bulbs j of winter. |
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