want lilium cut flowers ready for the marriage season, confused about bulb planting timing
3 Answers
Lilium is a bulb crop and you time it backward from your target sale date, because from planting to cut flower is roughly 60 to 100 days depending on the type and temperature, with Asiatic types faster and Oriental types slower. So to hit a wedding or festival window, plant your bulbs that many days ahead and stagger plantings so flowers come in a steady stream rather than all at once. Lilium needs cool conditions and is grown under polyhouse in the plains and does well in hill climates. Bulbs are usually imported and cold stored, and the variety and bulb size affect flowering time. Confirm the exact days to flower for your chosen variety and your temperature with the bulb supplier and your KVK, since timing is the whole game in cut flower.
Stagger the plantings, that is the trick. I plant batches a couple of weeks apart so I have flowers across the wedding dates, not a flood in one week and nothing after.
Oriental types took noticeably longer for me than Asiatic. Know your type before you count back the days, or you will miss the date.