Can I plant lilies in autumn?
Q
When and how should I plant lilies, and will they grow happily in pots as well as the ground?
Sallyanne Bennett, Gloucester
ALilies are best planted in autumn, with bulbs placed at a depth of twothree times their height. Ideal conditions are a south-facing, slightly sloping site in sun or partial shade.
Any ordinary garden soil should be fine, but some lilies prefer alkaline soil and others struggle where there is lime in the soil. Lilies will benefit if their soil is enriched with leafmould or well-rotted compost, and heavy clay soils should have coarse grit worked into them.
Overwintering shouldn’t be a problem. However, they are quite loosely structured bulbs and if water sits in between the scales this can be where problems set in. If the soil is particularly wet or prone to sitting wet then it might be worth mixing grit into the soil for back-filling as well as the base of the hole to aid drainage. Alternatively, backfill the hole with a lighter mix of multi-purpose compost and soil to improve the conditions around the bulb.
LIlies grow well in pots. Large bulbs should be planted one per 8-9in (2023cm) pot while you can fit three or four smaller ones into a 9-10in (23-25cm) pot.
Use multipurpose or John Innes
No3 compost with some added grit of leafmould if it looks a bit heavy.
Repot in autumn when the top growth dies back. If you want to keep them in the same pot for another summer, replace the top few inches of compost with fresh in spring.