This question was asked by
– Noel W – 

Hi all, hope everyone is well there, for many years i have always left my potted lilies, the ones I use for cutting, to just die down naturally in the pots under cover in the barn having fed them virtually up to the leaves browning, i lost a lot of bulbs to the wet winters we get here in Ireland a few years back hence the barn storage, the question, is there a better way to overwinter them to get better bulbs in spring, for example remove from pots and dry store them, or would that affect the bulblets and when should the mother bulb be discarded or does it not matter, regards Noel.

Hi Noel

We advise leaving the bulbs in soil over winter. They like a cold dormant phase, so your barn sounds perfect. Give them a fresh top layer of compost each year. After 3 years you will need to divide your bulbs and break off the bulblets and replant them all.

You will notice the mother bulb will get weaker over time, you will then need to replace them.

The Hart Family