By Fdecruz
Oman
what type of soil is suitable for growing lillies
- 23 Oct, 2011
Answers
From my experience growing Lilies in the desert, Asiatic Lilies can tolerate some variation on that, as long as the drainage is good, but most other hybrid groups are fairly fussy about their soil. Also, unless you are gardening directly on the coast, they will probably also appreciate more shade than that--dappled shade under open trees, 50% shade screen, or shade from a building, starting at noon, or a little earlier. I could only recommend misting if the water is very pure--salty or alkaline water will do more damage than good. A polytunnel, unfortunately, is likely to get too hot, too early in the spring (Sorry, Bulba). In that vein, the varieties that are likely to do best are the ones that bloom earliest--Asiatics, LA hybrids, or Madonna Lily (Lilium candidum). L. longiflorum, L. formosum, L. phillipinensis, and their hybrids may also do well because they are adapted to hotter climates than most other true Lilies.
23 Oct, 2011
My idea for a polytunnel is that you could keep some humidity in it by spraying. I suppose that it could get quite hot though.
24 Oct, 2011
Around here, if plants need extra humidity--in my experience, most Lilies don't--we build a framework, and cover it with shade screen. A tray of water, reflecting pool, fountain, or waterfall (depending on scale) adds extra moisture to the air. The next step up is a greenhouse with an evaporative cooling system--often needed just to keep things the same temperature as it is outside the greenhouse!
31 Oct, 2011
Previous question
Assuming that you have the facilities create whatever conditions you require in Oman, lilies like a humus rich soil, neutral pH, with the bulbs planted beneath shadey shrubs, to keep the soil cool. The plants then growing up into sunshine. I doubt that they would like the hot, dry air of Oman so you would have to find some way of misting them. A polytunnel with overhead watering and misting would probably be good.
23 Oct, 2011