Tiger lily (Lilium lancifolium or L. tigrinum), an old-fashioned favorite, attracts lily fanciers for its orange speckled flowers. Their extreme resistance to disease and pests makes them excellent choices for novice lily growers, although their disease resistance allows them to vector some viruses to other lilies in mixed plantings. When tiger lilies wilt, it is because they are not able to take up enough moisture from their environment. Whether the cause of this is lack of irrigation, root knot nematodes or root rot, you can take steps to save a wilting tiger lily.
Water a wilting tiger lily until the soil around the plant is moist but not wet. Check the moisture level of the plant by sticking your finger into the soil up to the first knuckle. Water when the soil at this level is dry until the foliage begins to die back in the fall. Provide a single dose of a 5-10-10 fertilizer to give the tiger lily a boost while it recovers.
Dig up the tiger lily when adequate watering and a dose of extra fertilizer is not enough to curb the wilt. Carefully brush the dirt from the bulb and check it for signs of rot, such as dark or soft spots or brown, corky growths produced by nematodes. Separate any fully formed secondary bulbs that may be competing with the main bulb for precious resources and replant the tiger lily in an area with good drainage.
Move a damaged bulb to a 6- to 8-inch pot filled with potting soil. Spray the foliage of these plants with a foliar fungicide containing fosetyl-Al. Provide enough water to keep the soil moist but not wet and feed the plant twice a month with liquid fertilizer mixed to half strength while it is actively growing. Expect a bulb with rot symptoms caused by poor drainage to recover, but bulbs with fungal or bacterial root rot may eventually die despite your best efforts.
Things You Will Need
- 5-10-10 fertilizer
- Hand trowel
- Pot, 6 to 8 inches wide
- Potting soil
- Fosetyl-Al fungicide
- Remove the flowers from a wilting tiger lily to encourage it to spend more energy recovering.
- Despite your best efforts, a severely diseased tiger lily may not be able to recover.
- Stephen F. Austin State University Gardens: Lilium Lancifolium
- University of Minnesota Extension: Selecting Lilies for Your Garden
- University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program: Lily
- University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program: Nematodes
- University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program: Phytophthora Root and Crown Rot in the Garden
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