I was looking at my lilies and was wondering about the hole in the cut stalk. Has anyone had a problem in the past with water going thru the hole in the stalk to the center of the lily bulb and rotting the bulb center? I have had a few bulbs that did not come up after the first year and when I dug ( two years later) the bulb up it was gone.
Thanks

Good question... Some people think this is a problem but I'm really not sure that it is. I cut my stalks off at about six inches and pull them out in the spring when new growth appears. If your soil is poor draining and you think water is being held in the stalk, you might try pinching foil caps over the cut stalks in the fall. That should keep water out.

Personally I think it's a valid concern. That's why I quit cutting my stalks down on my lilies in the fall. I just leave my stalks on over the winter and then gently tug them off in the spring, or cut them if they don't come out easily.

That is ok if you don't have problems with botrytis. It seems prevalent in our maritime climate so I try to get rid of as much stalk as reasonable and still be able to see the stub!

None here, so far, and we don't have the dreaded lily beetle. I have no idea why, because it's to the west of us in Rochester NY, and direct east in Mass. My lilies are in rows between the irises, and the irises get sprayed a lot. Maybe that's why?

Because I must overhead water, I spray the lilies and lilacs with baking soda. Could that be preventing it? I'm really not up on botrytis.

Yes to all... fungicides including baking soda will prevent it or at least keep it to a minimum. Around here it seems to always be raining when I need to spray. Throw in a hail storm to damage the leaves and an infection is a sure thing.

On the other hand some lilies are really resistant to it. For example, Scheherazade.