Hi. Not sure if this is normal. A while back I bought Oriental Lily from my local supermarket because they were beautiful. MY First Lily. They started to bloom 2 days ago but I noticed that my bottom leave are turning yellow is this normal? the pot itself is about 10 inch wide and they planted 3 bulbs. My plan was to separate them after they bloomed but I do not want to loose them before that. They are outside its under neath a small patio roof due to our high temperature in SA at the moment, i am afraid the extreme heat and direct sunlight will damage it

to ATP!

I'm not an expert on Lilium but in general when the oldest (bottom in this case) leaves on a plant turn yellow the first possibilities that come to mind are nitrogen deficiency or normal ageing. In case you'd like to post your question there, All Things Plants also has a forum specifically just for lilies:

http://garden.org/forums/view/...

(I rotated your photo.)

Your plant may be getting too much water and/or it could be stressed by having to move from the nice comfortable grocery store environment to the heat outside.

I looked on the Lilies Forum and will use the @ to call a few people to view your question; maybe they can give more information:
@valleylynn
@Catmint20906
@piksihk
@pirl
@robertduval14

@pardalinum also may be able to help. She grows lots of lilies.

Thank you for the call out greene, and the nice photo rotation.

Hi Andries, and a big to All Things Plants.
I think it is a good idea that you gave it some protection from the scorching heat/sun. Going from a pampered environment to the big harsh outside world might be to much for it.
Great photo of a beautiful plant. I see why you wanted it. And just look at all those buds still to open.

Lilium leaves age naturally from the bottom up. You can usually expect some lower leaf loss during the growing season.

Greene is correct in that overwatering will hasten this loss. You want to keep the leaves as long as possible so as to bolster the bulbs for the next season. Also keep in mind that too much water plus high heat can result in bulb rot and loss of bulbs.

Lilies need some water up till bloom time then cut back as the plant rests for the remainder of the season. The growing mix must be free draining so that when you water it runs right through the mix and out the bottom, leaving the mix just damp. Oriental lilies are the latest lilies to bloom, I'm guessing around February in the southern hemisphere once established in the ground. So they will need water up until then, then infrequently afterward.

Lynn is correct about scorching heat/sun. Oriental lilies in particular dislike high heat. If your summer is very hot (90F, 30-35C) you will want to plant these lilies out where they get just morning sun or dappled shade. They like at least one half a day of sun to do well.

They do not need any fertilizer now. These florist lilies have already been prepped with all the plant food they need for now. Also too much nitrogen will cause bulb rot. I fertilize my lilies when they emerge from the soil in the spring and again just before the blooms start to open. Using a low nitrogen fertilizer is best. I use a granular vegetable fertilizer (5-10-10) when the stems are just a few inches out of the ground. About a tablespoon sprinkled on the soil over the bulb is enough, then water in. It is slow release so it won't dissolve all at once.

Thank you Connie. Now I know what to do for my lilies next year when they start appearing.

Likely combination of environment change and natural leaf loss hastened on by the environmental change.

@pottie86 - I assume this was indoors in air conditioning? Or were they outside?
Certainly shield from the blasting all day sunlight. But Orientals do like sun, so don't protect it too much.

Frankly - that plant looks pretty good to me.

Being a "supermarket" plant who knows also how hard it was pushed to bloom. Often that stresses a plant and that may be a minor factor. Given where you are, I agree with Connie that this is blooming several months earlier than normal.

Can someone help me figure out what these are on my lilies? They all have these little buds with sprouts coming out of them. Should I harvest them and plant them?

@pardalinum I do not have much knowledge when it comes to lilies, but Connie sure knows lilies. Maybe she can answer your question.

They are aerial bulbils, basically little bulbs that emerge from the leaf axils of some types of lilies. Since they are putting out green leaves go ahead and remove and plant them if they easily disconnect.

Do you know the name of the lily?

Hi there I have the same problem with my Lily and am wondering what I can do to save it

Hi pcnewman63
I have the same black "bulbils" on my tiger lilies in late summer. I gather a quart bucket full and walk my country lane. i toss the bulbils amoung the field weeds at the lane edge. The following august, lo and behold, beautiful orange tiger lilies EVERYWHERE.

Great idea Kathy. I will give that a try here.

If you would like to spread the bulbils all over on your own property, more power to ya! But please be cognizant of what you do on other people's land. In most states, adjacent landowners own the land to the center of a country road. The public right-of-way is for travel, not other land uses. Any landowner would be impressed by your sense of respect and responsibility if you were to ask first. They would likely say yes, and it would be win win all around!

I agree Rick. I want to scatter them along our fence line that separates our back yard and a field.

Lynn, I need to come over when they bloom!!

I'll try to remember to let you know when they are blooming Connie.

Thanks Lynn!

It will be probably June or July before I start to have blooms. I can't remember for sure. And the Casa Blanca doesn't bloom until September. The amaryllis is a late bloomer also.
Oh boy, I get to have you over at least twice.

Lynn, you're coming to my place in April, right? You will also have to visit June-August to see my hundreds of lily cultivars that I grow and breed!