Transplanting Competing Lily Plants

I have a bed of tiger lilies and lemon daylilies. The tiger lilies have taken over. Can I dig them now before they really get growing?

Yes. First determine if the tiger lilies are hardy lilies (Lilium lancifolium) or an orange flowered daylily. Daylilies have grass like leaves while the true tiger lily has leaves like an Easter lily. Both are sturdy plants but multiply differently. Dig and divide tiger lilies in the fall. Check the soil for bulbs and bulbils (small pea like structures that start new lilies) as you dig and divide. Make sure you get the small lilies as well as the larger bulbs out of the way of the daylilies. Early spring is the next best time to dig and divide these plants. If the orange flowering plant is truly a daylily, you can dig and divide these plants in spring or late summer for best results or as time allows during the growing season. Dig the plant, divide into smaller pieces and place the divisions throughout the landscape in properly prepared soil. If these are what many gardeners call “ditch lilies” you may want to compost the divisions instead of spreading this aggressive plant throughout the landscape.

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