I'm pretty sure you can. Don't see why it would be too late, especially in Zone 6. You want to wait until the plant has died down as mine have. If you dig it up, you'll find a yellow rhizomatous bulb at the root, with yellow bulblets, sort of scales like kernels of corn. You can take off some of the scales and plant them and each may eventually become a new plant. May take a couple of years or more for the single scales. As I recollect, there is a newer, stronger bulb a little away from this year's bulb at the base of the stalk that you might leave whole as the replacement for the plant; it will come up vigorously next year. Doing this, I turned a single plant into a dozen or more, although at first I had just one or two, then many.

I was following along fine until you said ...

'there is a newer, stronger bulb a little away from this year's bulb at the base of the stalk that you might leave whole as the replacement for the plant.'

I understand the bulb with the bulbets..do you mean there is a second larger bulb attached to the first bulb? I only have the one plant and it has only been in that location 2 yrs. So I am not expecting much increase. I would just like to understand if I am supposed to only take off the bulbets if there are any...but not a larger bulb if I see one. Is that right?

Oh, and what did you mean by the plant dying back...turning brown?

pm2

OK, Google may help, although this is technical sounding: "Bulbs usually yellowish, rhizomatous, unbranched, 1.8-4.5 à4.2-11.7 cm, 0.3-0.8 times taller than long, 2(-3) yearsâ growth evident as annual bulbs, scaleless sections between these 0.7-5.3 cm; scales 1-2-segmented, longest 0.9-2.8 cm; stem roots present, often very many." (Bill Cullina, as usual, describes the bulb best: "a loose cluster of scales vaguely resembling a small artichoke that is packed with stored sugars and nutrients"). That part about "2-3 years's growth evident as annual bulbs" with scaleless sections between (sort of connecting tubes) means that you'll find a string of 2-3 connected bulbs. As I remember, the one with this year's stalk coming out of it seems kind of ratty, but there's another in line all ready to go for next year. ("The daughter bulb forms at the end of a horizontal, scaleless branch, which pushes out from the mother bulb. This daughter bulb flowers the following year and in turn produces its daughter bulb.") Separate and plant. Also peel off a few scales and plant, if you want.

My plants have now turned brown and dry, and I understand that it's at that point that you can move the bulb. I also believe you shouldn't leave the bulb or scales out, they'll dry out.

Just dig it up and you'll see. Good luck.

I have moevd lilium superbum several times, always in the late summer as the tops are dying or in the fall. i plant them at the same depth they were growing before I moved them, and they seem to do fine. The biggest damger is slicing the bulbs with the shovel as I dig them up.

Thank you both for your help. :-) I haven't tried to move it yet, but I will let you know how it works out once I do.

pm2

move it now while its dormant, so when you dig it up and plant it, it wont have a chance of going into shock.

sorry about the mistake, wrong thought, move it in the spring, when it blooms then move it,sorry again.

Hi,

I live in USDA zone 6b/7a NJ.

In mid-July, I dug-up daughter bulbs from a few of my stands of turks-cap lilly (Lilium superbum) and then planted them in a friends garden (they were not damaged). Will the bulbs that I planted sport new growth this season?

I read a few places on line that they WILL NOT survive; that they will exhaust their energy reserves. Yet I'm finding a few examples of people saying they divide the bulbs of native lilies in the summer, as I've done.

Any ideas?

Thanks!