Asiatic Lilies are one of the most common types of lilies in our gardens, they are relatively easy to grow and with time they will spread naturally. As long as the soil contains enough nutrients and the Asiatic Lilies get plenty of water they will spread naturally. As for how long you have to wait to see a couple of new lilies appearing in your garden depends on several factors but most importantly how large and how old the original lily bulb actually is.
Yes, Asiatic lilies have a tendency to spread and multiply, filling up a garden space in just a few years. When observing your Asiatic lily patch, you might notice both mature lily plants and smaller ones with single buds or tiny single leaves growing nearby.
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With that being said you should keep an eye out on where your Asiatic Lilies spread, especially if you have a lot of them. Asiatic Lilies can be grown both in full sun and in partial shade locations, and seedlings tend to do better in partial shade. If you want to divide the bulbs then make sure you do it in autumn when the plant is in dormancy, or else you could damage the plant. If you want to know what to do after your lilies have flowers then check out my recent article What To Do When Lilies Have Finished Flowering? ( Top 6 Chores ).
Do Asiatic Lilies Spread?
Yes, Asiatic lilies can spread over time, but their method of propagation is primarily through bulb division rather than aggressive spreading. As the lilies grow and mature, they produce offsets or bulblets that develop around the main bulb. These offsets can be separated from the parent bulb and replanted to create new lily plants. This natural division process allows the lilies to gradually increase in number and spread out in the garden. However, compared to some other types of lilies, Asiatic lilies tend to have a more contained growth habit and do not typically spread as vigorously.
By Creating New Bulbs
The best part about Asiatic Lilies is that they will reproduce by creating new bulbs. Just keep in mind that these new bulbs will be extremely small and it will take around 2-3 years until they are large enough that they can actually flower. If you have planted your lilies last year then you should leave them alone for at least 2 more years. Odds are that the ones you have bought are relatively small and they too will need around 2 years to mature and to actually flower.
If you want a more hands-off approach when it comes to spreading Asiatic Lilies, then make sure to get around 9-13 of them, and plant them several feet apart. If you clump all of your Asiatic Lilies in the same place then they will look extremely good the next year when they flower, but having a lot of bulbs near each other will limit them when they are creating new bulbs as all of them are competing for the same limited resources in the soil.
In case you want the plant to focus on creating new bulbs then it is extremely important to remove the seed heads. The process of creating seeds is extremely expensive when it comes to nutrients, and by removing the seed heads even before they fully form you will force the plenty to focus on diving and by creating new bulbs. If you have Easter lilies in your garden then make sure to use companion plants as well, for more information check out my recent article Companion Plants For Easter Lilies ( Top 45 ).
By Seeds
Asiatic Lilies can also spread with seeds, although it will take a lot longer time for them to mature than with newly created bulbs. The good news is that Asiatic Lilies will create both new bulbs and seeds as well, as long as the plant gets enough nutrients and water. The downside is that oftentimes the plant doesn’t have enough resources to focus on both of them and they might end up with extremely small new bulbs and few seeds.
If you want to spread your lilies with seeds then you have to allow the plant to form seed heads and let them dry out. Not a lot of people like how the seed heads of lilies look like and oftentimes they will simply remove them. If you have a couple of Asiatic Lilies that you truly love and want to spread around your garden then my personal recommendation is to collect the seeds and plant them indoors, this way they have a lot higher chance to survive than if you would just let nature take its course. If you want to find out why your lilies are not flowering then check out my recent article Why Are My Lilies Not Flowering? ( Top 14 Reasons ).
By Dividing Bulbs
As Asiatic Lilies tend to create smaller bulbs after the first year in the soil, it will come to a point that there are simply too many bulbs in one area. You will definitely notice when your Asiatic Lilies are overcrowded as they will produce fewer flowers or in some cases, they will simply not flower at all. To divide Asiatic Lily bulbs you have to dig them up in the autumn then take your shovel and simply divide them.
You can be a bit more precise when dividing the bulbs, so you do not actually damage any of the bulbs but if you have a large clump then you can simply use your shovel. Make sure to remove any small or rotting bulbs and then replant them.
Key Takeaways
- Asiatic Lilies do spread, you can leave them in the ground, and in the second year, new lily bulbs will appear. On the other hand, if you want your Asiatic Lilies to spread to other locations in your garden then you can either divide the bulbs in the autumn or collect the seeds. Generally speaking, the bigger the original bulb is the more bulbs it can create in a year or two, just make sure your Asiatic Lilies are not overcrowded.
- If you want your Asiatic Lilies to spread as fast as possible then remove the seed heads which will force it to create new bulbs.
- Ideally, you should place only one lily bulb in an area if you want it to spread, clumped up bulbs have a really hard time creating new bulbs and even flowers.
