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Lily is a perennial bulbous plant that can be found everywhere: summer cottages, front gardens and window sills of houses adorn the flower. Such popularity is due to the relative unpretentiousness of culture. However, there are aspects that are fundamental for this garden beauty. One of them is insulation. From the article you will learn how to cover lilies for the winter.
Autumn pruning
Pruning is a key moment in preparing a lily for winter. However, the recommendations that the procedure should be carried out immediately after flowering are incorrect. Pruning and preparing lilies for winter must be done in a certain period, so the plant must be given time. After the petals fall off on their own, seed boxes will appear in their place, which should be removed. But only them – a cardinal “cleansing” is carried out later.
Until about mid-September, the lily stores the necessary amount of nutrients to safely winter. Therefore, the deprivation of its stems and shoots during this period greatly complicates the preparation. The end of the month is great for the “rejuvenation” of the garden beauty. As a rule, all shoots are removed, leaving only a stem up to 10 cm long.
Video “How to cover lilies for the winter”
From this video you will learn how to properly prepare lilies for the winter period.
Feeding
After the procedure, the root system must be fertilized. This will allow the plant to be more resistant to cold, moisture, lack of sunlight. Top dressing containing potassium salt and superphosphate is applied under the stem, and the flower itself is sprayed with a solution of copper sulphate. The latter prevents fungal diseases, the risk of which increases during the rainy season.
It is important to remember that fertilizers containing nitrogen are unacceptable. This is due to the fact that nitrogen activates the vegetative processes in the plant, which slow down at the time of cold weather. Thus, the lily “wakes up” at the wrong time, and this can lead to her death.
Hide Tips
To answer the question of how to cover a lily for the winter, you need to know the characteristics of the plant. Frost-resistant crops thrive under a layer of snow without the need for significant shelter.
These include:
- Daurian;
- Asian;
- martagon;
- royal.
For a warm wintering of these species, spruce branches, peat, sawdust or dry foliage will be enough. The material is distributed around the stem, protecting the root zone from freezing. Shelter time is important. There is no specific period, you need to be guided by the weather: when low temperatures are finally established, you can prepare a shelter.
Digging and subsequent storage
Delicate lilies are unstable before frost even in the middle lane and the Moscow region, where winters are relatively mild. Therefore, their bulbs are advised to dig.
Such plants include:
- eastern hybrids;
- American;
- tubular.
The bulb removed from the ground must be carefully examined for the presence of rotten areas. If there are any, they are removed. The root is washed with water, soaked in a solution of manganese for 30 minutes and dried well. The bulbs are then sorted. Large ones will be used for forcing, while small ones have yet to be grown. The bulbs are placed in any resealable container, covered with wet moss on top.
There are several storage options:
- Cellar. This method is appropriate only if the room temperature does not fall below zero. The bottom of the container is filled with a thick layer of wet sand. They also cover the bulbs.
- Balcony. For convenience, a thermometer is installed in the box where the bulbs are stored, which allows you to monitor the temperature. The method is suitable for those situations when the frost outside the window is not too severe. Otherwise, the root system of the lily may freeze and die.
- Cooling chamber. Alternative wintering place for a garden plant. A container with tubers is placed in a separate compartment of the refrigerator. Parallel storage in the fruit chamber is unacceptable for lilies. Ethylene released in this case is harmful to the plant.
Newbie gardener mistakes
The most common mistakes novice gardeners make in caring for a lily in the fall are:
- ignoring fertilizers and dressings;
- early pruning of the plant or its complete absence;
- not digging up bulbs of tender varieties of lilies;
- incorrect or untimely insulation;
- untimely removal of the heater.
Buying bulbs in winter
If lily bulbs fell into your hands in the winter, you should not bring them into the house. The best places for storage would be a cellar, garage or barn. The main thing is that the air temperature in the room does not fall below zero. Frost-resistant crops are best planted immediately in the ground. They can be insulated with peat, sawdust or dry cardboard.
It is important to take care of the protection against rodents, which, with the onset of spring, can attack the tubers.
Lily is considered to be one of the most beautiful plants. During flowering, it is unpretentious and is able to decorate even the most abandoned corner of the garden. But after the growing season, the garden beauty needs special care. Its main aspect is the adaptation of the plant to the cold season. Subject to all the rules, the lily will delight the eye with its charming appearance and fragrant aroma for several years.