I wanted to share my experience in growing Peruvian lilies as I found the article – Falling For Peruvian Lily blooms amusing.
I have been growing Peruvian lilies for about five years and they have flowered regularly every year. I read that they shouldn’t be chilled in storage so I keep the bulbs in a dark section of the basement where the temperature doesn’t go much below 60 degrees all winter. By planting time in spring they usually show sprouts 2 or 3 inches long.
This March I potted one up to see if I could get it to bloom indoors. Growth was much different from those I had raised outdoors. It shot up over 3 feet before even showing a bud. When it did bloom, the flower stalk was 50 inches above soil level. Outdoors they usually don’t grow any higher than 2 feet.
Can anyone tell me how to prevent the stems from becoming soft in water when Peruvian lilies are used as Cut flowers? W Appleby, Madison, Wisconsin
