These lilies bloomed this year and are so beautiful; I wanted to know how you are supposed to determine when it is time to dig and divide. I would love to spread them out in some of my other beds; plus move them all farther away from the side of the house. Thank you, flowerlady This is thi lily that I wanted some information for. ( photo / image / picture from flower1lady2000's Garden )
In southern gardens Lilies should be divided and/or moved in Sept - October. 4-6 weeks before date of first freeze so they have plenty of time for the roots to settle in before winter. The weather is cooler in Fall giving them a better chance to recuperate from being messed with. Sometimes dividing or moving them in late spring or during summer puts too much stress on them and you may loose them.
I'm sorry; I guess I didn't make my question clear; how do you tell if the clump needs to be divided? I just dug this clump and it had 14 plants in it; is that too many? Did it need to be divided? flowerlady
Ooops, I just mis-read your question. Usually you can wait 3-5 years before they have to be divided to keep them from being overcrowded and stunting the growth of newer ones. I don't think I have ever waited that long, I usually separate them as the clump gets larger than it should be for where it is planted. Or if I find another spot where some would look pretty.
Thanks, that sounds good to me. I have lots of lilies and they are huge clumps now; to the point I don't know if I will be able to dig them up. flowerlady
You might not be able to get the whole clump up but you can start 'nibbling' away at the edges and work your way through it.
