The homeland of most torch lily varieties is southern and southeastern Africa. Very few rocket flowers can therefore tolerate sub-zero temperatures or a lot of moisture. If you want to cultivate torch lilies in the garden, it is best to buy varieties that are designated as hardy.
How do you overwinter hardy torch lilies?
Hardy torch lilies can overwinter outdoors by not trimming the foliage, tying the leaves together, covering the plant, and protecting it from harsh winter sun. Conditionally hardy torch lilies should overwinter in pots in a frost-free and bright place in the house.
Overwinter hardy torch lilies outdoors
Even hardy torch lilies suffer from the cold and even more from the wetness, which causes the roots to rot in winter.
Ensure a good location when planting. It should be sheltered from the wind and have well-drained soil.
To overwinter hardy torch lilies outdoors, you need to protect the plant from too much moisture that comes from snow or a lot of rain.
Precautions for winter storage
- Do not cut leaves
- Tie the leaves together
- Cover plant
- Protect from the blazing winter sun
In order to overwinter torch lilies in the perennial bed, you must not cut the evergreen foliage in autumn. Tie the grass-like leaves together at the top so that they cover the center of the plant. This will prevent the heart of the plant from being covered with snow and becoming too moist.
You should also provide winter protection for hardy varieties. Particularly suitable materials are:
- Dry leaves
- Fir branches
- Straw
Make sure that you only use very dry material as winter protection. This reduces the risk of the soil or winter protection becoming moldy.
Bring torch lilies in the pot over the winter
You should not plant torch lilies that are only partially hardy outdoors. They would not survive low temperatures even with winter protection. This is not only due to the cold, but also to the increased humidity in winter. It is therefore better to plant the ornamental perennials in a pot (€75.00 on Amazon) that you can bring into the house in winter.
Place the torch lily in a frost-free, bright place and only water it when the soil is completely dry.
As soon as it is frost-free outside again, you can take the torch lily out of its winter quarters.
Tips & Tricks
Digging up non-hardy torch lilies in the fall, overwintering them indoors and planting them out again in the spring is not a solution. The perennials rarely produce flowers in the first year after planting.