We have a late frost predicted. A couple nights are suppose to get down to as low as 30 degrees for a few hours. Most of my lilies, with the exception of my trumpets are up and growing. Some are quite tall. We are getting rain off and on through the night, so if I cover the lilies with sheets there's a good chance they'll be wet by the time the tempts drop. Will wet sheets still protect my plants? I do have some plastic that I could put over some of the sheets but sense I grow nearly 300 lilies, I don't think I have enough plastic to cover them all.

Joy I am down the I-5 corridor from you and I see we are expecting 32F. I consider 30F more of a light frost but keep your eye on the hourly forecast (I use weatherundergound). Depending on the cultivar it might mar some of the leaves but not likely the upcoming blooms as they are still deep in the growing stems.

I'm not sure a sheet is a good idea because it could possibly freeze to the plants. As an experiment you might cover some of them and see if it makes a difference. Maybe some members from the Upper Midwest can weigh in...

Thanks Connie. I was concerned wet sheets might do that. Maybe make things worse? Just really wanting to prevent the damage I got last year. Vowed never to let that happen again.

My lilies are all potted because I have a big vole problem here. So I'm going to move as many as I can to my covered porch, under evergreen trees and the eaves of my house, hoping that some shelter alone will protect them. But I have too many to shelter them all.

Lorn used sheets also, for actual frost protection. He suspended the sheets over posts above the lilies, because he thought it was important NOT to have the sheets touching the lilies. Placing under evergreens or roof will accomplish the same thing. Lorn died a few years ago , and was respected by all of us lily growers. He lived in an area that was prone to late frosts, near Lake Michigan in Wisconsin.

I think a wet sheet on your lilies would be worse, even than no sheet at all. As you probably know, susceptibility will also depend on stage of growth and type of lily, too. I don't know what "quite tall" means, but I think you will be fine. A little experimenting is always good and useful for the future. You could just put a box or bucket over some of them, weighted down with a rock or brick as a test, too.

The tallest ones are probably about a foot and a half tall.

What I can't move to the eaves and under trees I'll put buckets over. Thank you.

Joy if I lived closer I would come help you move your pots but at 4.5 bucks a gallon and an old pickup that gets a whopping 14mpg on the freeway I'll stay put.

About an hour ago we got a huge downpour of snowy sleet even though my outdoor thermometer read 37F. That's how I discovered one of my downspouts is plugged, right in front of the patio door .

I miss Lorn, he was a real scientist when it came to growing lilies successfully.

You might want to take a few of your tallest ones and bring them inside the garage at night, just in case. At this time of year, especially, they grow quite quickly, and even in the cold, if you leave them inside and dark for a few days, you will notice some unwanted elongation of stems. So you will need to bring them out during the day.

Thanks. I'll do that.

pardalinum said: Joy if I lived closer I would come help you move your pots but at 4.5 bucks a gallon and an old pickup that gets a whopping 14mpg on the freeway I'll stay put.

About an hour ago we got a huge downpour of snowy sleet even though my outdoor thermometer read 37F. That's how I discovered one of my downspouts is plugged, right in front of the patio door .

I miss Lorn, he was a real scientist when it came to growing lilies successfully.

So nice of you Connie. It's the thought that counts. Thank you.

We got lucky and it only reached 34° last night. Tonight's forecast has been changed too, they're only expecting it to get down to 33°. One More night of these cold temperatures but only expected to get down to 33° and then we're going to start warming up. Thank you so much for all the help and sharing your experiences.

I use a combination of pots, sheets and movement.

Empty pots and buckets that can go over, old bed sheets laid on top and supported by empty pots, when they get big enough I used rods to keep the sheets up. Movement, I move them up on the porch (the background siding is a dark color so I get some radiant heat from that) or in the garage.
I have had good luck with this scheme every year when necessary.

Joy, putting the pots close to the house is the best bet. All of ours are in the ground
and they did fine with the snow, but the hail isn't so nice to them. I'm just shocked to see the iris bloom early.

karmahappytoes said: Joy, putting the pots close to the house is the best bet. All of ours are in the ground
and they did fine with the snow, but the hail isn't so nice to them. I'm just shocked to see the iris bloom early.

Thanks. Yes! I managed to get most of them moved under the eaves or covered up with pots or buckets. Weird spring. Looks like it will warm up a bit by Friday. Hope that's the last of it.

Joy, thought you would enjoy this......buds aready!

Wow! You got me wanting to check mine. 🙂