Hi Laurette,
Calla lilies are not true lilies, but are arum (jack-in-the-pulpit) family members, genus Zantedeschia. They are stemless plants whose flowers and leaves rise directly from rhizomes, not bulbs. While our focus is on the genus lilium, there is often confusion when the name of 'Lily' is given to plants that are not lilium. I contacted an experienced gardener in the Atlanta, Georgia area, not as far from you as we are here in Minnesota. She responded with a great resource for you to check out. If you were to 'Google' Zantedeschia you may find even more information online.
Thank you for your questions and good luck with your Calla Lilies.
-Lil

Thank you for your question about Tiger Lilies. I know more folks will be interested to learn the answer. For the best response, I contacted award-winning lily grower and hybridizer Warren Summers, who was happy to share his thoughts with us. Warren has also agreed to be our NSLS 2006 Autumn Educational Speaker on September 30th. Join us for a wonderful guided tour of "The Lilies of Japan." But now, here is Warren's response.
Lil E. Um

Sonya, Tiger lilies carry virus as do most lilies which have been in the garden for a year or two. When lilies which are not virus tolerant catch multiple viruses, they loose vigor, don't grow as well nor produce as many flowers. Some lilies may even show signs of virus with ugly streaking in their foliage. I usually discard those. Virus is spread by garden pests, typically aphids, which suck on the lilies and move from plant to plant. I would plant the tiger lilies 15 to 20 feet away from my virus free lilies and not be overly concerned that they might be virus-ed. Any lily worth its salt, will still perform reasonably well when it catches a virus. In my garden, if a lily doesn't perform well, it's usually replaced with a variety that will do better. Try growing a few of the time tested virus tolerant varieties such as "Red Velvet", "Lime Ice", "Iowa Rose", "Northern Carillon", "Scheherazade", "Leslie Woodriff", etc. .

Warren Summers

Dear Lil,
I presently have some asiatic and some oriental lilies.  From what I understand, the asiatics like full sun but the orientals like it a little more shady.  At Easter time I purchased an LA lily and would like to attempt to plant it in my garden.  Which location would better suit the LA lily?  What do you think are my chances that it will survive? 
Eileen

Hi Eileen,
I contacted Pete and Francine Nelson, well known lily growers in the Mora, Minnesota area, and have received more information concerning your questions.  I hope you will find it useful. Thank you very much for contacting our website.  Please let us know if you have any other lily growing questions.
Best regards,
Lil E. Um

Eileen,
You are correct that asiatic lilies perform the best in a full sun location. They will tend to lean toward the sun if they are planted where it is partly shaded. Oriental's will also grow and bloom beautifully in full sun, but some late afternoon shade will help them hold their color a little better. Oriental lilies have such a lovely fragrance that even though they don't survive our zone 3 climate long-term I would not want to have a summer without at least a few in our garden.

The LA Hybrid you purchased at Easter will grow very well in zone 3 or higher (you didn't state your growing zone) when you plant it in the ground. LA's tend to be a little shorter in height than their parents the Longiflorum Lily (Easter Lily) and the Asiatic Lily. They are very prolific growers with quite often a wider flower form giving lots of color and bloom on many stems. They bloom close to the same time as the asiatics. We grow many LA's and they have performed very well and have shown good increase over the years.

I hope the LA Hybrid you purchased and the other lilies you plant give you lots of enjoyment. To us lilies are the "best of the best" in the summer garden.
Pete & Francine Nelson

Message:
This is my first visit to the web site as I have a new martagon & wanted to identify it. I might have a picture(s) to submit to the martagon CD & was wondering if it was finished or are you still developing it? Sounded like it might be put together after the 2004 growing season. I have a lovely picture of L. tsingtauense nestled between some hostas & with my gnome garden in front complete with cabin, pond, ducks, turtles, bear & bald eagle landing on a birch branch. My neighbors passing by love it so I'd be willing to submit that picture if you still need any. Keep up the good work. Thanks, Nancy

Dear Nancy,
Thank you for your interest in our Martagons! CD project. We are indeed in the process of acquiring even more great culture information from the US, Canada and Europe. There will also be more photos included in the next edition. We expect that our CD will be the best educational tool for information and photographs of martagons ever created. I am going to forward this email to our Martagons! CD editor. I believe that he may be interested in seeing your photo. We are very interested in documenting with close-up photos, the inflorescence and also wider shots of the lily from head to toe - showing its stem and whorled leaves. We anticipate more photos will be taken this bloom season and will be shared with us. We plan to publish the new Martagons! CD next winter.
Since martagon lilies are still unusual to find growing in home gardens, they are real showstoppers once they are established. It sounds like your neighbors have a real appreciation for your martagons!
We appreciate your inquiry,
Denese Erickson
NSLS President

Message:
Would like to purchase Martagon bulbs. How do I go about it...thank you Irene

Good Morning Irene,
Thank you for your question. Our next bulb sale will be October 8, 2005 at Bachman's on Lyndale in Minneapolis in their Heritage Room. Our bulb chair does a great job of acquiring martagon bulbs. In September we will add our bulb list to our web page. Be sure to check then for our list of available bulbs.
There is growing interest by many gardeners to add this beautiful lily to their gardens. Along with growing in the sun, martagons will accept an open shade environment and many hosta growers add them for spring color. Here in Minnesota, martagon season begins around Father's Day. Today is June 10th and I have martagon buds that are beginning to "color-up." It won't be long until they burst into bloom.
During the growing season, you may occasionally find potted martagons at specialty nurseries. They are difficult to find because a martagon may take 7 years from seed to bloom. The best time to dig, divide and plant martagon bulbs is in the fall. We look forward to seeing you at our sale in October!
Best regards from Lil E. Um

Message: I was wondering if you need any volunteers for your A Lily Comocopia show July 9 - 10. I would really like to help if you need it.

Thanks Brooke

Message: Can I transplant Asiatic white lilies now (May 28) in NY. They are very tall but no blooms yet till June. They are in the way and fighting with other plants/ or should I wait it out till fall. Thanks - Lythia

Message:  "My daughter lives in southern CA and would love to be able to grow Asiatic and Oriental lilies. The area where she lives is zone 10, so short of digging them each year, I don’t think it’s possible for her to have them in her garden. She’s has asked if anyone would be able to give her an explanation and should she give it a try and see what happens to the bulbs if she would put them in the ground. There are many other beautiful flowers she CAN grow in zone 10 but she really loves lilies. Any suggestions for her?"

Lil E. Um says: Here in Minnesota with our winter dormancy, we are fortunate to easily grow many varieties of lilies. It is surprising to learn that many warmer zones have difficulty growing the beautiful lilies that we take for granted. Your question gives us the opportunity to ask our next educational speaker for the best answer. 
On March 13, 2005, Dr. Art Evans will join us to share his experiences growing and hybridizing his award winning lilies in Arkansas. His topic will be "Hybridizing Lilies for the South, East, and West." Check out our calendar of events for more information and join us. Our educational meetings are open to the public.

Here is Art's response:
" Yes, you can grow lilies in California, but if you do not want to deal with the hassle of digging in the fall and keeping the bulbs in the refrigerator all winter, you might want to consider growing tropical-adapted species, such as L. longiflorum, L. formosanum, and L. philippinense. These species are all white trumpets which don't need much, if any, winter chill. Unfortunately, all are prone to viruses, so it is best to grow them from seed, which is quick and easy, flowering in one year from seed. When I was in college, I worked for the Univ. of Arkansas as a cotton insect scout in SE Arkansas, Zone 7. One of my farmers had a zillion L. formosanum naturalized in his yard, which were quite magnificent in August. He quit mowing because he couldn't bear to cut any of them down. Another possibility is to try an assortment of LA hybrids. Some of them require very little winter chill to perform well the next year. Growers don't tell you this, so you will have to sort them out yourself. My own specialty, the OTs (also called Orienpets), are performing better in the South than even I thought they might, so give them a try as well, especially the ones which look more like trumpets. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, and there are bound to be some nice surprises out there."

Best wishes,
Art Evans

"Bone meal is fraught with a ton of problems. It does attract animals and rodents who dig up the bulbs in a quest for the bone meal even if it is put in the hole. Sometimes insects that are harmful to the bulbs take up residence because of the food value in the bone meal. It also may initiate bulb rot if in contact with the bulb. Since bone meal is in short supply due to bans for health reasons, the companies have been stringing it out (extending it) as "Bone Meal Plus" which is a smidgeon of bone meal and ordinary chemical fertilizer. Unlike bone meal, this mix can burn plants or bulbs or at best induce fast growth and hence open the door to botrytis in the too lush green tissue.

Besides attracting animals, bone meal, after it is watered in by rains or such, attracts tree roots aplenty if any are nearby. Tree roots rob all the soil nutrients and the lily bulbs whither. Also, bone meal is not balanced. It contains really only one (P) of the magic three ingredients of say 7-7-7 or 10-10-10 or NPK. Bone meal, because it is not balanced, causes lilies to increase by division into multiple smaller bulbs so small they will not be big enough to bloom. Taking the clump up that has been so fertilized and spreading the little bulbs out in non-fertilized soil still takes a few years to get them back to bloom size and settled down from the division madness.

Finally, I would not touch it, because its contents are ground up bones and general stuff like skulls and spinal bones that may include brain cells and spinal cord cells on them and in them. These materials are the center in beasts that may be infected with Mad Cow Disease or BSE or as it is called in humans, Jacob-Kreutzfeld disease. The bacteria can live for decades in the soil and cause potential infection a decade or so down the road.

Garden supply centers push bone meal as they can triple or quadruple their sales return by selling it with tulip bulbs etc. There was a time, early last century when other fertilizers were not available and bone meal was in general use. A lot of the old garden writers recommended it and people in the field tend to recycle old methods without holding them up to the light of modern knowledge. Almost every garden columnist writes and perpetuates nonsense like, "always use a "little bone meal," because they write and do not get their hands dirty in the garden or read widely and get their eyes opened.

I would use no fertilizer year one, except good compost or good soil not used to grow lilies before. The next year when the lily is in full bud and every second year thereafter, unless inordinately wet, I would use a tablespoon of 7-7-7 or 10-10-10. Thereafter, I would use it every second year at bud time, unless the lilies got too lush, in which case I would miss a year or three. I would spread it on top of the soil near the bulb clump."
Dr. Gene Fox
President, North American Lily Society