This question was asked by
– Fiona G

Hi, I bought some lilies from you at Hampton Court last year 2021. When they flowered the size of flower was amazing. I left them in the pot over winter and this year they flowered again.
Only thing is the flowers were really small in comparison to last year. what do I need to do to get large flowers again. Also I bought more bulbs from you this year and they were really large so I don’t want to repeat any mistake on my part.

Thanks
Fiona Gray

Once your lilies have finished flowering, you can stop watering them and then cut just the flower heads off leaving plenty of stem on. Allow the stem and foliage to die back naturally until it has turned yellow and hollow. (This is usually towards the Autumn time.) You can then remove the stem and foliage at this point. Leaving it all to die back naturally will then feed the bulbs, allowing them to flower again the following year.

Leave the bulbs where they are over winter as they like a cold dormant phase, they just don’t like to get waterlogged as they will rot.

You can then give them a fresh layer of compost in the Spring and feed them with a diluted tomato feed during active growth periods.

Hope this helps.

The Hart Family