How to Plant and Grow Asiatic and Oriental Lilies

With their large prominent flowers, Asiatic and Oriental lilies certainly deserve a place in your landscape. Both are strikingly beautiful and will do well in our local gardens. The question we get asked most often is what's the difference between the two lily varieties. Let's start with the similarities. Asiatic and Oriental lilies are some of the easiest and most reliable plants you can have in your garden. They are perennials in our area, meaning they come back every year. To do their best, both varieties need to be planted in a location where they will receive between 6 and 8 hours of direct sun a day.  Both varieties like well amended soils that drain well. Once you’ve selected the site, amend your existing soil by adding 2" to 3" of Earth Essentials Sheep, Peat and Compost, worked in to about 8". This locally-produced organic amendment will enrich your existing soil and improve drainage. 

Now to the differences. Asiatic lilies tend to bloom earlier than Oriental lilies. Asiatic lilies are shorter, don't need staking and the flowers, while beautiful are not fragrant.  Once established, Asiatic lilies will multiply rapidly in your garden. Oriental lilies tend to be taller than Asiatic lilies. In full bloom, Oriental lilies may need to be staked in order to support their tall, top heavy stalks. Oriental lily blooms are fragrant and they typically don't multiply as rapidly as Asiatic lilies do. You can plant these lilies from bulbs or from 1-gallon containers. 

There are several advantages to planting container grown lilies instead of bulbs. First, you can see the plant is healthy and thriving, which means the root system is established. Second, in many cases the plant has started to bloom, so you can see what the flower actually looks like If you’re planting bulbs, place each bulb about 4" deep and about 6" apart, in well-amended soil, with bone meal mixed into the planting site. If you’re planting established lilies, dig a hole as twice as deep as the container and twice as wide. Add some bone meal, remove the plant from the container and set it in the ground at the same height it was in the container. Fill in around the plant and water thoroughly. Asiatic lilies will provide color to your garden just as the spring blooming plants like iris and peonies are beginning to fade. Oriental lilies will begin to bloom about the time the Asiatic lilies start to slow down.  Asiatic and Oriental lilies are popular with gardeners everywhere because of their low maintenance and spectacular, long-lasting flowers 

It's Bearded Iris Season

With their showy spring flowers, perennial Bearded Iris are a mainstay in many gardens and public landscapes. Known for their distinctive furry "beards", Bearded Iris or Iris germanica are one of the most reliable and dramatic of the spring flowers. 

Available in a variety of colors, easy to grow Bearded Irises will do best planted in full sun and well-draining soil. Fertilize your Bearded Irises in early spring with Bone Meal or Dutch Bulb Food. Bearded Iris are generally low maintenance plants season after season, but over time they can become crowded. When this happens, they produce fewer, smaller blooms or won't flower at all. When you notice your Bearded Iris aren't blooming, it's an indication the plant needs to be divided. Iris grow in clumps and the root of an iris is called a rhizome. The best tool to use to dig iris roots is a spading fork. Spading forks make it easy to get under and lift the rhizome without causing damage to the roots. 

Once you’ve got the clump of iris out of the ground, you’ll be able to see the rhizomes clearly. You’ll want to remove any old or diseased rhizomes and treat the remaining, healthy rhizomes with dusting Sulfur. You can divide the clump with a knife or by simply breaking off each root with your hand. Trim the leaves in a fan shape down to between 4" and 6". Mark the leaves with the name of the iris, so you’ll remember which one it is. When you’re planting your iris in their new location, remember that iris grow in the direction of the heel so place your rhizomes with the leaves planted in the direction you want the plant to grow. Iris thrive in soils that have been amended, so add a couple of inches of Sheep, Peat and Compost and dig it in 4-5 inches. Add some Bone Meal and place the rhizome so that the roots are fanned out to the side, then add enough soil to cover the roots, while leaving the very top of the rhizome exposed. Next, you'll want to water each rhizome thoroughly. Your iris will establish through the fall and be ready to bloom next spring. 

  

Time to Plant Summer Blooming Bulbs

  

When we talk about bulbs for the garden, we often think about spring-blooming standards such as crocus, tulips and daffodils. These are hardy bulbs. We plant them in the fall and with just a little maintenance, enjoy their colorful displays spring after spring. There is another group of bulbs which planted now, will add dramatic color to your summer and early fall garden. This includes Canna Lilies, Asiatic Lilies, Oriental Lilies, Gladiolus, Dahlias and Tuberous Begonias. With the exception of Asiatic and Oriental lilies, these are non-hardy bulbs, meaning they require special attention at the end of the blooming season. That said, the extra work is worth the effort, giving the long-blooming habits of these bulbs. Going forward, what we're generically calling "bulbs", also includes tubers, corms and rhizomes, as noted. Before planting, amend your soil with compost and peat moss, then dig in some Bone Meal or Dutch Bulb Food, to feed your bulbs as they grow. 

Grown from bulbs, Asiatic and Oriental lilies are the hardiest of all the lily hybrids. If you planted some last year you may see them poking through the ground already. Once they are established in your garden, they'll produce showy blooms for many years. Asiatic lilies multiply and spread through the garden very quickly. Oriental lilies won't spread out as rapidly as Asiatic lilies, but they tend to be more fragrant. Plant Asiatic and Oriental Lilies three times as deep as the height of the bulb, with the flat side down. 

Canna lilies feature attractive green, bronze or variegated foliage, in addition to their flowers.  Cannas do well in garden beds and containers. The canna “bulb” is actually a rhizome. Plant cannas about 6" deep and about 18" apart. 

Dahlias are grown from tubers and come in a wide variety of colors. Plant dahlias only as deep as the crown and include a strong stake to tie your dahlia stalks to. Dahlias will bring color to your garden from late summer to first frost. For more late summer and fall color, plant gladiolus. Gladiolus “bulbs” are called corms. Plant your corms about 3" deep and 4" to 5" apart. Tuberous begonias make incredible displays of color in a shady spot on your patio. They can be planted in containers, hanging baskets or directly in the garden. Cannas, dahlias, glads and begonias will not survive our winters. If you want to keep them year to year, they have to be dug up and stored. Your other option is to treat them as annuals and replace them every year.   

How to Choose Tomato Plant Varieties

   

The best tasting tomatoes are the ones you grow in your own garden. Whether you start your own or buy tomato starts from us, there's nothing like growing and picking your own tomatoes. It doesn't matter if you have a large garden bed or grow your tomatoes in a container on your patio, there's a tomato variety for you. A good place to start is to understand the difference between determinate and indeterminate tomatoes.  Determinate variety tomatoes grow to a certain height and set fruit all at once. Determinate tomatoes include Bush Early Girl, Celebrity and Patio, among others. If you're limited on space, determinate tomatoes are great for container gardening. Indeterminate varieties of tomatoes continue to grow and produce fruit all season long. Mortgage Lifter, Sun Gold and Fourth of July are just a few of the indeterminate varieties available. Another distinction to consider is whether to grow heirloom or modern tomatoes. As a rule, heirloom tomatoes come in a variety of shapes and colors and are grown for their outstanding flavor. Modern tomatoes are grown for their yield, uniformity and resistance to diseases.  

Grafted tomatoes offer the best of both worlds; heirloom tomato taste grafted onto a modern rootstock. The key to growing grafted tomatoes is to keep the graft line above the soil level when you plant them.  Don't have a lot of space for growing tomatoes?  Select varieties such as Bush Early Girl, Tumbling Tom Red or Patio. These tomatoes can be grown on your patio or deck.  

Start by choosing a three to five-gallon size container, then fill it with a premium potting soil such as Happy Frog. 

Tomatoes need full sun to do their best, so pick the sunniest spot on the patio. Same is true if you're planting in a garden bed or raised bed.  Speaking of which, make time to amend your garden beds with organic material such as Earth Essentials® Sheep, Peat and Compost. Doing so will improve your yields significantly.

Tomatoes are heavy feeders. Choose an organic fertilizer such as ferti•lome Tomato and Vegetable or Happy Frog Tomato and Vegetable to keep your tomato plants producing fruit all season long. Don’t let a lack of space keep you from growing your own tomatoes. There’s a variety of tomato that will work in your garden or on the patio.