Simple question here for those experienced, this was my first season with Asiatic Lilies, do I cut off the long
brown dead stalk to the base of the dirt or just leave it be? Linda H.

I leave mine. Later I come along and remove them when they come off easily

I cut them off at ground level. Sometimes, as you touch the stem, they'll fall down so no cutting required.

I do the same as Jennifer, when they come off with just a light tug.

Once the leaves turn yellow I remove the stem since they're in such a prominent area that's always in view.


For Asiatics in other gardens, they remain standing until they fall.

Yes remove the brown stem and all the leaves. Burn, throw in the trash or bury elsewhere covered with soil. The reason that this is important is to eliminate overwintering Botrytis on the dead plant debris that could infect your lilies next spring. This is a very common disease on lilies and Asiatic lilies are particularly sensitive to it, so it's well worth removing the dead stems as a precaution, even if your lilies haven't shown any symptoms yet.

Thank you for the reminder. I just went out with a trash bag and removed all my Asiatic lily plant matter for the winter.

Thanks for all the replies! I appreciate every answer given here.