Ok.. positive response..

Let me see...

1. Atleast it was your husband who you can yell at. Look below what happened in the middle of the night to my Darwin Tulips (wanted! wanted! deer !!!).

2. good news.. your husband will NEVER do this again

3. You may be able to enjoy lilies next year. ("maybe" !!)

Unfortunately, the lilies will not grow and bud this year after being cut back. Lilies have one growing point and if cut back, they will stop to grow and not flower.

Normally, you would wait until the lily has flowered and only cut the top of the lily off and then leave the main flower stem (atleast half) with green leaves to conduct photosynthesis (convert sun energy into bulb energy) for next year's bloom. Since that is not possible with 3" of stem, you will next year probably find some very thin flower stems which may or may not flower.

This is because the bulbs have expended significant energy growing the stem and setting buds. Normally, this energy would be recharged after flowering and the bulb enlarged for next year's bloom. Every year, the flower stems would grow a little taller and thicker (until a certain point) as the bulb continued to improve in size. However, if not allowed to grow in size, the stem will be thin and it may take another season (without careless husbands) for the lily to flower again..

Ok, positive response... At least the lawn looks nice, right ?

Dear kdj

Wow - that dang deer really decimated your tulips. Sheez. That is terrible. Your pictures made me sad. You must have been horrified when you found them. I take a walk in the my garden every morning and every evening and I notice every little thing.

What can you do to guard them against the dang deer? Besides get a junk-yard dog or one of those water spouting thing-a-majigs that spray water on anything that moves..

Thanks for the nice stuff you said about hubby, but the reality is he will cut them again next year too unless I booby-trap them with something that will break his lawn mower. He doesn't learn too well...... Sad but true.

Deer rabbit raccoon what have you don't particularly like pepper, so you mix a little tonic with whatever you have on hand hot sauce will work not table pepper, hot pepper spices, or even blended hot peppers just mix with water and spray on plants they eat. The spicy pepper powders you can just sprinkle on plants, but first rain its on the ground, can mix in dish soap for tonic to help it soak to plant longer also maybe ammonia as well, that just adds added bonus nitrogen to leaves and animals don't like the smell. for around the plant can put mothball crystals.

Hi from Ontario Canada!
I am a lily newbie. Last year I planted a few here and there in my garden. About half of them were eaten right down to stubbly knobs by 2 cute rabbits that use my garden for a salad bar. They all came back this year and I promptly collared them with rose collars to keep the rabbits out. Lily beetles are my challenge this year!
Hope this helps.

Mary Anne

So what is my little lilly about three weeks, 2 or 3 inches high gonna do? It got broken in a storm a couple of days ago. So will it grow anymore this year or is it done for the year? Plz help I really want answers thanks abunch

Hey cc:

Well, you probably figured out that your little lily ain't gonna do a thing this year....... Maybe next year. If I were you, I would go out to one of the box stores and buy myself a lily just about in bloom, and plant it right beside the one that is broken. This way the new plant will be a role model to the broken one -- a kind of big brother, as if to say, "Next year, you can be like me if you grow up!!!", "and quit getting broken in storms", "like a big baby". Then next year, you will have two lillies!

Sorry for the bad news but you did highjack my thread!!!! it's ok, its years later!!!!LOL

Wow Debra,
I did not notice that the original post was years ago!
Can you give us an update? Did you DH do this again ;) ?
Did those poor Lilies grow for you after all?

Oh wow I'm really sorry I didnt even see when it was posted & didnt mean to steal your thread but thanks for your help maybe I'll do what you said and get him a role modle thanks again for the help

Can we get an updated picture of the lilies?

Can we get a lily update?