The first method is the simplest. Take a large flower-pot. No lily should be grown in a pot less than six inches in diameter. Of course the pot must vary in size with the size of the plant it has to contain. Lilium Concolor and Elegans grow well in six-inch pots; L. Auratum or Speciosum should have an eight or ten-inch pot, while L. Giganteum will require the largest sized pot procurable or a small tub.
One bulb only should be placed in each pot if absolutely perfect plants are desired; but very pretty effects can be obtained by growing two or three bulbs in a large pot or tub.
See that the pot is perfectly clean. Place about an inch depth of crocks, stones, etc., at the bottom, then put three inches of the prepared soil in the pot, and over this place a thin layer of peat, mixed with sharp sand and pieces of charcoal. Take the bulb, examine it, remove diseased scales and wash it in lime water, as you did in the case of the lilies you planted out last month. Dust it over with powdered charcoal and place it in the pot surrounded with sharp sand and peat. Then fill up the pot with the prepared soil.[1]
In potting lilies, deep potting is to be aimed at. No bulb should be placed at a less depth than four inches below the surface. Large bulbs require to be six, eight, or even twelve inches below the surface of the soil. The reason for this deep potting is that the flower stems send out roots above the bulb, and it is essential that these roots should be below the surface of the soil.
The second method of potting bulbs is similar in all respects to the above, except that the pots are not filled up at once. When you have placed the bulb in the pot you add a little soil, but leave the top of the bulb exposed. When growth commences, which will be shown by the appearance of roots and flower stems, you fill up the pots with the prepared soil.
Established bulbs and bulbs of the hardier lilies are best potted by the former method, but for bulbs received from abroad, especially those of the more tender species, the second method of potting is to be preferred.
Now that you have potted your lilies the question arises, Where shall you keep the pots? For the majority of lilies the best place is either a garden or a balcony. Lilies are too tall growing for window plants and it is totally unnecessary to coddle them up in rooms.
There are some lilies which will not come to perfection out of doors in our uncertain climate, except in very favourable seasons. These kinds, many of them among the finest of the tribe, will, however, grow admirably in a conservatory or room.
If lilies are grown in rooms, they should be put out of doors every fine day, as they require sun to mature their flowers.
The lilies which are not sufficiently hardy for the open air are, Wallichianum, Harrisii, Philippinense, Neilgherrense, Formosanum, Nepaulense, and Catesbaei. (With the exception of Neilgherrense, all these lilies will grow well out of doors in our southern counties in exceptionally fine seasons.)