Started Asiatic Lily at the wrong time — lessons learned

I planted Asiatic Lily at entirely the wrong point in the growing calendar and spent the first few months wondering what I'd done wrong. narcissus fly larvae tunnelling into the base of the bulb didn't help matters. Once I understood lifting and drying tender bulbs before autumn frosts things improved substantially.

increasing clump size year on year when well established is what makes this plant worth persisting with. In a naturalised lawn planting for a wild spring effect it finally looks as good as I'd imagined. planting new bulbs in autumn for next year's display redeemed the whole effort. If you're starting out: do your timing research before you plant.