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Daylilies I planted in early March still aren't up...

14 years ago

I bought them from Lowe's, they are Stargazer daylilies, no sign of life and it's the middle of May! What should I do or am I just impatient? Obviously this is my first attempt with daylilies.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Trish ;)

Comments (6)

shive
14 years ago
Hi Trish,
Stargazer Lilies are not daylilies. They are a form of bulb lillium called Oriental Lilies. You should be seeing some green on those by now. They don't bloom until late June or July here. I would give them another week or so. Then if you don't see any green growth coming from them, you might dig to see of you have them planted too deep or if they have rotted. They need to be planted in very well-drained soil.

Debra
Nancy
14 years ago
Stargazers I believe are true lilium, not daylilies. Oriental lilies. You might check at the lily forum. Still, Stargazers should be easy & if they weren't mushy when you bought them should come up. Typically, fall is the best time to plant lilium. Have you had a lot of rain like we have here? It is possible if your soil doesn't drain well that the bulbs have rotted. More than likely they are just being late in coming up though. If they aren't up soon, you might give in to curiosity & try carefully digging one up to see. Won't kill it, & at least your curiosity.
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I've ordered from them twice without any problems (no wrong plants) and have a third order coming this year. Like everyone else says, they are very nice to do business with. My experience has usually been that most sellers are horrified when they make a mistake...but mistakes can happen. Most, will replace the plant, especially if you send them a picture of what you received, without any problem. It can be like a 'Bank Error in Your Favor'...as I like to say! Sometimes, though, they may be sold out or the plant is no longer available...in which case, they would either send your money back, give you a credit or let you choose something else. Far and away, most daylily sellers are wonderful people to deal with. Another good seller that is on another thread is Patron Gardens. Once, one of my plants was forgotten (left out of the box) and I simply called...the plant was sent along with another bonus plant (which was a really cute daylily). When I had one die (an expensive one), they refunded my money promptly. You can't beat that. I have a situation this year that will probably test all this. A seller I bought a plant from...two years ago...I think sent me a mixed up plant. The plant did not bloom the first year and last year, when it bloomed...it was like close, but not the cultivar. I know, because I saw the plant in several gardens and there were distinct differences from mine. Anyway, I'm waiting until this year and hope to get a good picture of it and start a conversation with the seller (off the LA)...we shall see. In some of those cases, it can turn out that the seller thought they had the correct plant...That's why it is a good thing to establish relationships with the people you buy from (not always possible)...There is a degree of trust that builds and they view you as a friend, too. In this case, I think I only bought the one year from this seller, so I'll just see what happens. Oh yeah. Always ask for blooming size fans. That's what the best sellers send, anyway...but not everyone does. That way, you have a pretty good chance of first year blooms. There will still be some that might not (depending where they came from and where they were in their cycle of growth when dug up and sent to you), but most will...if you get blooming size fans. I have learned this the hard way! Do not assume, especially on the LA, that everyone sells blooming size fans. If it doesn't say, ask...unless you have gotten to know the seller well and have that trust I mentioned earlier. Good luck and happy buying!
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Nancy
14 years ago
I'm a slower typist :)
floota
14 years ago
I'd also suggest doing what ngraham stated. Carefully dig around where you planted them - at this point, if you see no signs of life, dig them up, take them back to Lowe's and get your money back! I think that quite frankly they should have come up by now.
blue23rose
14 years ago
That's funny, ngraham.

Trish, I agree with Debra and ngraham. I planted 5 Stargazer lilies two years ago, three in one spot (two came up) and two in a totally different spot (only one came up and it really struggled). I gave my Mom 10 and 9 came up. Mine didn't do too much the first year, but I did get a bloom off two of them. Hers did okay, but had a setback when the bunnies decided they'd make a good mid-morning snack.

My Mom's look great this year and are about 18" high. Two of mine are also 18" high, but the one that struggled last year is only about 4" high. It is planted in a totally different area of the yard, but still gets full sun. I think the soil is just different.

I did purchase some other lilies two weeks ago, planted them, and am already seeing little green tops poking through. I would definitely try what the others are suggesting and dig around to see what's going on.

Vickie
newyorkrita
14 years ago
I don't see how lily bulbs planted in March could possibly not be up and growing by now. They just don't take that long to start growing. They surely rotted or else the growing stem got broken off somehow. Doesn't seem like that would be likely to happen to every one. I have been planting Lily bulbs all spring and even ones I put in only two weeks ago and coming up already.

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