When and how do I transplant Star Gazer lilies?

Oriental and tiger lilies

Probably the most popular oriental lily—at least in Derby town is the ‘Star Gazer’; it is a beautiful flower-- white with pink highlights-- and hugely fragrant. It’s the one that is used to make the garland for the winner of the Kentucky Oaks-“lilies for the Fillies”.

Oriental lilies are readily available for fall planting; they need a well drained organic matter rich soil and full sunlight to perform their best. Of course there are hundreds of different species and cultivars and some can become quite tall with time, so lilies are best planted at the back of the border.

Another strong argument for keeping lilies away from walking paths and sitting areas is that the pollen from the lilies flower will stain clothing. This is why you want to snip off the anthers before bringing lilies in for arrangements.

Plant lilies 4-6 inches deep and mulch well. They can be propagated by lifting the bulbs in the fall and carefully pulling away the scales of larger bulbs. The scales can then be planted, it’s important to keep as much of the feeder roots with the propagated scales and with the parent bulb as possible.

Lilies can be transplanted anytime in fall through spring, leaving as mcuh of the existing foliage as possible. Water well with a waer soluble fertilizer and use a bulb booster fertilizer as well.