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Lily Tasman

whyte5014whyte5014 Posts: 2
in Plants
I planted 10 of the above bulbs, they grew great, buds came but none of them opened, does that mean they were attached by the “lily beetle” if so what do I do with them? Do I let the stems die or do I cut them off? Will they grow next year or will they always not open? Can you prevent “lily beetle”? Many thanks, J

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  • Ladybird4Ladybird4 Posts: 35,821
    edited August 2019
    Hello whyte and welcome to the forum. Have you seen any lily beetles around your plants? If the lilies have been attacked by lily beetles you would be able to seen the signs such as these
    Image result for lily leaf beetle damage Lily grubs on flowers
    Image result for lily leaf beetle damage Adult on a leaf
    If you check your plants and see these signs it could be a lily beetle attack. If you don't see these signs then I would be tempted to just leave things as they are for a little bit longer. If the buds still show no signs of opening then remove those but leave the leaves as they feed the bulb for next year.




    Cacoethes: An irresistible urge to do something inadvisable
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 82,776
    Could the plants have been
    affected by the hot weather?  Could they have got too dry?  I’ve found several plants that were in bud during the heatwave have failed to flower ... the buds just drying and withering. 
    “I am not lost, for I know where I am. But however, where I am may be lost.” Winnie the Pooh







  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 50,314
    It might be a combination of all those things. I'd agree -  leave them for now, and keep an eye out regularly for any evidence of lily beetles, but also slugs - they love eating buds and foliage, and plants already weakened are more likely to be targeted.
    Mine were poorer than usual this year, and I'd say it was some unusually hot, dry weather just at the wrong time for the buds, although we now get lily beetles too.

    There isn't really any way of tackling the beetles, other than removing and squishing them. You might not see a lot of activity now until next spring, but just be vigilant once they start into growth. The grubs in @Ladybird's first pic are often hiding under the leaves, so check often and everywhere.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Butterfly66Butterfly66 Posts: 785
    Have the buds rotted off? If not they may just be slow. I have some lilies which have had buds for ages and are only just looking as if they are thinking about opening.

    They had all flowered by now last year so I’m assuming the up and down weather has just slowed them down this year.
     If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”—Marcus Tullius Cicero
    East facing, top of a hill clay-loam, cultivated for centuries (7 years by me). Birmingham
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 82,776
    Unless, for some reason, you didn’t see the flowers and now you are looking at the seed pods ... they can look very like flower buds and you really wouldn’t be the first person to make that mistake 😉 
    “I am not lost, for I know where I am. But however, where I am may be lost.” Winnie the Pooh







  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 50,314
    Yes - it does seem very late to have lilies only just in bud. They're mostly June/July flowering, maybe a little later with some varieties, but generally, they would all be finished by now, or at least, have flowers starting to go over. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Fran IOMFran IOM Posts: 2,310
    @whyte5014 I hope you don't mind me asking but were the 10 Tasman Lilies from the offer of "free only paying postage"? The reason I ask is that I took up the offer and all ten started to come up no trouble but then noticed that the buds looked deformed on some of them but no sign of any lily beetles or any other pest. Out of the ten only two produced buds and are now in flower and well worth waiting for. Just a pity they hadn't all been the same. Maybe in my case they were just wanting to get rid. Hope you have better luck next year.  :)
  • whyte5014whyte5014 Posts: 2
    Yes yes they were and like you now starting to flower, well at least 4 are x
  • Fran IOMFran IOM Posts: 2,310
    Glad you had some flower for you. Would have been nice if all ten had been the same. I am averse to these free offers now. Think they see me coming.  :)
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