Michigan Lily flower buds deformed - Ask Extension
What causes deformed flower buds on michigan lily? I have had these lilies for 10 years and this year a number of them have not elongated to produce...
Knowledgebase
Michigan Lily flower buds deformed #138606
Asked July 05, 2013, 9:35 AM EDT
What causes deformed flower buds on michigan lily? I have had these lilies for 10 years and this year a number of them have not elongated to produce the hanging bud that opens to the turk's cap lily form. They are at the leaf intersection and curled. In addition, some of the lilies came up to about 2 ft and then turned brown and died. It was a wet spring, but this area is well drained and humus rich. I had vole damage on nearby fothergilla.
Midland County Michigan
Expert Response
There is a ton of information on bud blast in lilies from A to Z. Curiously none of them give a complete curative solution.
One of the many problems that beset any of the Lilium family is crowding by neightboring plants. Some plants in our evironment exude a chemical deterant to root competing and space requirements such as th walnut family.... Others just flat give up the ghost. In the case of the Lily family they under perform either through bud blast or not echieving their normal height requirements.
And then there's the critters that we share our environment with, such as slugs and Japanese Beetles that like to burrow into the developing flower buds and thereby impede the development of the flowers. You can find evidence of the critter damage either near the calix or pistole of the flower or at the bud tip.
Root or space interferrance will show up if you lift one of the afftected pants to see if roots from adjoining plants are growing through the lily bulb. Grass roots will do this as well as other plants in the often crowded environment of our modern gardens.
As you will discover heat and eccessive/or/lack of water can also affect the blossoming power of otherwise formerly good bloomers. Try looking at the inseda.org site on google for more information on the lily family. Try pairing that with BudBlast on Lilium Family. (There is a lot of informtion on Bud Blast in other plant families as well. Like I said earlier there is a ton of information out there on lilium bud blast. If you find something questionble please don't hestitate to contact us again.
Thank you for using the Ask an Expert System.
One of the many problems that beset any of the Lilium family is crowding by neightboring plants. Some plants in our evironment exude a chemical deterant to root competing and space requirements such as th walnut family.... Others just flat give up the ghost. In the case of the Lily family they under perform either through bud blast or not echieving their normal height requirements.
And then there's the critters that we share our environment with, such as slugs and Japanese Beetles that like to burrow into the developing flower buds and thereby impede the development of the flowers. You can find evidence of the critter damage either near the calix or pistole of the flower or at the bud tip.
Root or space interferrance will show up if you lift one of the afftected pants to see if roots from adjoining plants are growing through the lily bulb. Grass roots will do this as well as other plants in the often crowded environment of our modern gardens.
As you will discover heat and eccessive/or/lack of water can also affect the blossoming power of otherwise formerly good bloomers. Try looking at the inseda.org site on google for more information on the lily family. Try pairing that with BudBlast on Lilium Family. (There is a lot of informtion on Bud Blast in other plant families as well. Like I said earlier there is a ton of information out there on lilium bud blast. If you find something questionble please don't hestitate to contact us again.
Thank you for using the Ask an Expert System.
