when to plant
julia Butler
Posts: 1
in Plants
My son bought me 3 large good MADONNA Bulbs for Christmas because he knew I loved them but I don't have any planting times etc Should I plant in a large pot now or wait for the spring and then plant them ,as it is so wet ourside although my soil is light, and how do I store them ?
I inherited some in my last house and they lasted for years unfortunaly I did not bring any with me to my new house I managed to propagate them easily I have not seen these in any gardens in these last few years
PLEASE HELP With thanks Jules
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Posts
I think I'd get them planted now in a large pot as you suggest. They like their noses just below the soil surface - do not plant them deeply. Then put them in a sheltered spot outside - they usually put up their first leaves in the autumn, so hopefully they'll do that soon after you've planted them - then the flower spike appears in the late spring.
Be prepared to stake them or give them some sort of support.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Lilium Candidum (Madonna Lily) if you want to look it up, we had a long row of them they were never dug up but left to naturalise, they came every year even after the worst winters so are hardy.
Put them into a deep pot now nose just below the soil as mentioned above and then outside against a wall or sheltered, they like a slight lime soil, we would scatter some lime on the ground when we limed the cabbage patch. The Autumn leaves, basal leaves, will die off when it puts up the stem, they grow to three or four feet in height so may need staking though we never did that. They prefer a sunny spot.
I loved them and we had Peony bushes behind them so we got the deep red of the peony and then the white tube of the Madonna, they will have a slight yellow base to the tube.
They seem to be out of fashion now and I admit I have none at the moment, we tend to go for the more flash types, this has set me thinking of putting some in.
Hope this helps.
Frank.
And watch-out for Lily Beetle when they start growing. My Madonna lilies are in the centre of a bed so hard to get to, and the little red devils love them, munching them to death if they get the chance!