Yes, i've done it, and they did fine. Tulips too. You can plant Asiatics in the fall, though. Orientals do better in the spring.

I haven't tried over wintering them in the fridge....But I did buy some in early Feb at Costco and tried storing them in the fridge till I could plant them in the spring. What happened was when I took them out to plant them.....they had already started to grow in the bag.....they were all growing at funny angles and were very hard to plant. The bulbs did survive however, but didn't put on a very nice show that first year. They were fine the second year and have gone on to multiply like crazy now. These were asiatics.

Sierra

Good to know - there weren't any asiatics that I liked anyway, but there was one oriental I would have bought, American Patriot or something like that. Sierra, did you keep them in a dark bag? Maybe it was the light that made them sprout early.

I haven't bought bareroot bulbs at this time of year(other than asiatics), but last fall, I did dig up two oriental lily bulbs out of the garden and put them into pots, stuck them, pot and all, into plastic bags and then kept them in the fridge for the winter. Brought them out into a sunny window in March and they bloomed quite early this summer.
It was one of the FN gardeners here,(maybe Shauna?) wisdom and experience with orientals that convinced me to plant them out permanently on the south side of the house. I'm hoping this will do the trick, as I've never had much luck over-wintering orientals any other way than keeping them in the fridge.

In my experience for OL to survive outdoors, they need to planted 8" deep in the early spring so that they have the whole season to establish before winter hits...the ones that I have growing in the ground get covered with a thick layer of straw around the 3rd-4th week of this month.

I've never stored them in the fridge, but I'm sure you'd have much better luck storing them in there than to plant them now at this time of year.

Sharon

I have no problem growing any of the lilies that were for sale at the Lily Bulb Sale, they are winter hardy, best time to plant them is now..
I have some OT that will be planted as soon as I have the soil ready,
Yes you can keep them in the fridge over winter in your crisper,and they should do just fine,,But planting them now is really the best time to do so..
Ladybug

Yes, Laurie, it was me that had really good luck with overwintering my orientals on the south side of the house with no special care. Bear in mind, tho, this was a bed that was too hot for peppers and tomatoes. I planted some on the southside of our fence in the spring this year and the new sprouts got nipped by our last frost. So I had nothing this year. I did accidently dig a bulb up through the summer and it was very healthy and firm with a good root system. I've got my fingers crossed for the winter, though, because they are not near the house at all. I'm thinking I should mulch them now, though, just to make sure, until I learn that area's microclimate.

Personally, I would be giving them a pretty good chance about being kept in the fridge. I'm sure many of the bulbs that we buy are not fresh the day they are shipped to us or the retailer. They have been harvested and kept in a temperature controlled setting until they are ready to be shipped.

Shauna

Gillian, Yes they were still in the bag that I bought them in from Costco.....the bags usually have a mesh back to them......but still how much light were they going to get in the crisper. I think it was the fact that Costco had them sitting in the store for a bit before I bought them...or perhaps they were just ready to grow. Keeping things in the fridge won't stop them from growing if they are ready. Its like a cool spring.....my fridge isn't that cold I guess.

The more I think about this....the more I think you had nothing to lose....you could have tried them in the fridge if they started to grow......you could have potted them up and let them go in the winter......then planted out next spring. I personally would have bought them and planted outside right away. Those oriental lilies that I posted in the weekly threads.....are not babied along at all......they are out in the side yard away from the house...and yes I moved a few of them this fall.

The trumpets here seem a little less hardy....the pics I showed of these were from one bulb I planted along the back of the house ......I did cover with straw last year because they are right beside a rose that I covered. This year there were three stems so it seems happy and is multiplying.

The other thing I now do if I buy bulbs from Costco in the spring is pot them up right away and set the plants out when its time....however what I have found with the lilies is that they grow right away and flower before time to set them out.....so basically you lose that first year....but the second year they are fine.

Sierra

One possible concern about storing them in the fridge might be dehydration. I have bought lily bulbs in February and attempted to keep them in the fridge crisper until planting time, and they have looked shrivelled up by the time it came to plant them. Having said that, however, they were in a bag with wood shavings and even then, not really covered up by the shavings.

Last spring this didn't happen, however, so it may have something to do with my new fridge and better humidity control.

In any case, I would think it's not sufficient to just place the bulbs in a bag into the fridge, but place them in a bag, cover with peat moss or something similar and then place in the fridge.

Just my two cents,
Glen

Sierra, you did the grow dance too close to the fridge, didn't you. LOL just kidding. Thank you all for your input.

It's true that I had nothing to lose, except that I know they have the same lily bulbs at the spring version of the same sale. And they are the same price ($7.00 each range). The only difference is that in the spring there are about 9,000,000 more people and you have to line up all day. I was pleasantly surprised at how non-congested it was this fall, being spread over more area and two days. And the $1.00 perennials - WOW. That was awesome!

Now I'm confused. I just got my tulip order from Veseys which contained several Oriental lilies and I thought they only shipped what could be planted. Are you saying I shouldn't plant them now? I don't have any room in my fridge for bulbs (maybe in my my mother-in-law's but then she always plants my stuff in her own garden.)I was going to put them in a bed receiving south sun or a sheltered bed on the east side of the house and mulch both beds with leaves.
Kate

Kate, I know that I have not had any problems with my oriental lilies in this zone, but others claim that they don't grow for them. I don't even winter protect the orientals. Mine are planted away from the house in the perennial beds.....on a hill.

I would plant them out and see if they grow. If they don't Veseys should have a guarantee and should replace them in the spring for you. Oriental lilies are very slow to show in spring though.....so mark the spot and give them plenty of time in the spring. You can cover them with leaves that should be fine as well.

Sierra

wanted to also comment to Gillian.

Yes that must have been it......I did the grow dance to close to the fridge.....It was actually the flower flower flower dance for the african violets.....but as you can tell it works sooooooooo well. :))

Sierra

Hi all
A few years ago I was a member of the Alberta regional Lily society and they send out a quarterly about lilies. In one of these they were talking about the fact that Oriental lilies do not do well in northern climates. They said the reason was that our season is not long enough for oriental lilies to flower and then prepare for winter. The bulbs are fully hardy but require a longer season. What they recommended was to plant the bulb in a pot in the fall. Then to wrap the pot in a plastic bag and bury pot and bag in the garden and mark it. In march when the ground is still frozen the pot will pop out of the ground because the plastic bag will not allow the pot to stick to the frozen soil. The pot is then brought inside, thawed out and the plant will germinate. They then recommended to plant the lily in a large pot so the lily can be dug out in the fall and the process repeated.

I have never tried this but it sound like a good idea.

Cheers Al

I haven't had any trouble with Orientals and Asiacs have been really easy. Orientals seem to be the last to flower and the last to turn yellow. I can't grow trumpets at all. Trumpets are either tasty to some rodent or just don't handle the cold well here. This is the first year I've scaled a significant amount and I have bulblets already starting. Lots of baby clones.

:-)

I scaled whole bulbs three weeks ago and have a few bags of vermiculite and scales. The Asiac bulblets have already started to develop roots and the Orientals are just showing signs of developing bulblets.

Northspruce

If you still haven't planted your bulbs I'd get some vermiculite and just dampen it a tiny bit so its ever so slightly moist in a storage bag. Then put your bulbs in the bag and store it in your fridge. Make sure to fill the bag with air too and check on it every 6-8 weeks to make sure its still slightly moist.

I'd be interested in finding out how you made out... Lilies are slowly taking over my garden here.

- Andrew

Thanks Andrew, but actually I didn't buy any this fall. Lilies are taking over my garden too. My favourite Asiatic, Tinos, had 4 babies this summer, and somehow I seem to keep buying more in the spring... hee hee.

Anyway my question was for future reference, if there's any point buying them in the fall.

Andrew ......if you want to try trumpet lilies again....I have had success with them planted in a foundation planting on the back side of my house. I covered them in straw and got three flowering babies this year plus the original bulb that I planted. I will be planting more in this area next year.

And ya lilies are taking over here too......I had to divide several this fall......I had so many that I had to give some away. :-)

Sierra

Lilies seem to be taking over everywhere! :)

Northspruce,

I've only purchased Asiac in the spring... all my Orientals have been put in during the fall... some almost as late as now. The Asiacs I sometimes buy in the spring and force them really early. This allows me to have some containers of Lily's when my Daffodils are finishing and my Iris are just starting to bloom.

Sierra,

I get the straw but what is a foundation planting? or do you mean they were planted in a bed beside your house's foundation. I've tried Trumpets several times... I've tried a couple different sources and I'm generally not happy with the results.

The next time I try Trumpets will likely be when I have a little more space at the front of my house in a very warm flower bed (perhaps next fall) so any hints would be welcome.

I'm so excited by what I'm seeing with the scales this year. I will likely dig up more of my bulbs next year to try this again.

Yup...a foundation planting means to plant close to the house. I have a strip beside the sidewalk and the back of the house....I planted two roses there and the trumpets......I only covered with straw because I was covering the roses.....but the trumpets did so well there...I plan to cover with straw again this year.

How exactly do the scales grow? I lifted some of my other lilies this fall and some of them were the scale type....some scales fell off and got burried.....will they grow?

Sierra

They do grow. I had that happen a few years ago with some Snowbrook lilies a friend had sent me one fall. The scales fell off and i just left them, and the next summer tiny little lilies were growing. They've matured over the years, and i've transplanted some of them. Freebie lilies!

When they fall off they will sometimes grow some leaves that fall or the following summer. The leaves look kind of like thick grass blades so be careful when weeding. I lifted a few bulbs and removed all the scales down to the core this year. The real trick is to get a piece of the basal plate with the scale, but most lily scales break off this way any how.

I'm keeping mine in the fridge the first year after the bulbs get peanut sized. I'm going to try and get an additional years growth during winter under lights and using my fridge (if I can).

The first year they are very small (can look like grass). 2nd or third year they flower.

- Andrew

A caution about storing bulbs in the fridge...ethylene gas release from ripening fruit such as apples can damage the flower bud in a bulb. Bulbs like tulips & daffodils can be stored in the fridge to delay fall planting but fruit should not be in the refrigerator with them.

I don't have any experience wintering lilies in the fridge.

I have mail ordered lilies from B&D Lilies (US) for years, and their instructions are very informative about how late you can plant, how deep etc. They claim that fall planting of most lilies is safe in cold climates, although I prefer spring planting if I have a choice. The goal is to get the bulb to root in the fall so the basal plate doesn't rot during winter/spring. Sometimes when lilies fail to come up in the spring you can dig down and find the bulb intact, but the basal plate is mushy and there are no roots. The only way to save the bulb if this happens is to propagate from bulb scales.

Now you have me worried about those orienpets I have coming (1st try)!

Cathy

Here is a link that might be useful: B&D lily planting instructions

Apples are apparently a big problem, I read this warning lots of places. I haven't had much of a problem when I've put them in a bag in a the crisper and my scales and bulbs are in separate bags somewere else in the fridge... Kids go in there a lot to sneak food too.

Maybe I don't get the build up of gas because of the crisper or perhaps the amount of times the door gets opened has prevented it from building up. I've always bagged my corms and bulbs so perhaps this has helped too. One of these days I'm going to get a separate bar fridge for my stuff. My wife keeps giving me funny looks when she see's all the seeds and what not I've got taking up space in the fridge.

I get stranger looks when I bake soil but I'm now totally convinced this is one of the most important things to do with new bagged soil.

Hi Northspruce.

I bought tons of lilies at the sale and planted them all in the next couple of days. Many people here treat orientals as annuals here. I've only had orientals in the garden here for 3 years . I cover them with a bag of leaves after ground is frozen. Has worked so far. People here feel that orientals get smaller and smaller year by year so I'll wait and see.

Lilies I bring in, pot up and have in fridge potted up are pardelinum, formosa and any that I buy during the winter/spring.

A word. If you have lilies bagged in woodshavings, dump them out and replace with peat moss. They keep better that way.

Inanda

I have many many types of lilies. You might call it my experimental farm. I think orientals are the least dependable with some varieties handling the weather better than others. They bloom so late and often a frost gets them before they can die back properly and nourish themselves. South side of the house with WELL DRAINED loamy soil and planted under the eaves works best in the north. Secondly mulching the less hardy lilies with leaves or straw to prevent the freeze thaw cycle that kills them is a must. The reason I say under the eaves is because if it starts raining when they are budding out you get deformed flowers or none at all and also it extends their growing season. You can grow almost any lily in the north but if you write to Valley K greenhouses or the Lily Garden they will give you recommendations. Purchasing large, non dehydrated bulbs in the spring certainly aids in survival. I pot spring bulbs up and when they start budding. I don't miss a season but rather have some early bloomers. Triumphator (orientpet) had four stalks the second year and some blooming size bulbs. It is on the south side of the yard, not by the house but with the roses so it is fed well and in a raised bed. Silk Road is doing well as are species lilies and three or four types of trumpets that are wintering over on the south side of the house and blooming well. Good soil first and foremost and I repeat mulching and spring planting helps as well as healthy bulbs like B & B sells. Asiatics for the most part are much easier but there are some such as the doubles, Italia and others that are not so hardy. I hope this helps and I will answer any questions I can about any of the varieties I am growing. I do a lot of experimenting so next year will bring more knowledge. Many times your oriental will be alive but will not bloom if it is nipped in the spring and this can go on for two or three years and then it blooms. I forgot to mention bulb food helps when used at planting time. Your bulbs will be much larger.