A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2004 Mona Lisa Lily

Hi Everyone!

I bought a Mona Lisa lily on a whim this summer because it was so pretty and it smelled so good!

I am in the Bay area of California: temps have been 40-70 degrees this fall.

The lily did really well this summer, but my leaves are turning yellow and sad, now. It has brown spots underneath the leaves- almost like a spider mite, but not quite.

I figure it's not the water, since it's the same watering schedule and water as the summer.

Any thoughts? I am desperate to salvage my baby!

Thanks to a newbie "porch" gardener!

Hi Jen T.,

Welcome to the forum! Thery are a FRIENDLY and WELL-INFORMED bunch of people!!! Someone is sure to be able to answer your questions.

Lilies die down naturally after blooming (but I don't know if they do in California). Although you can cut off the bloom when it finishes, leave the stem and leaves - the bulb uses their energy for food to produce next years blooms. Only after they turn yellow/brown, do you want to cut them.

I'm sure someone who is moe familiar with your area will drop by with more information for you.

Keep us posted!

Hello JenT,
Welcome to The Garden Helper's Forum!!
We are very glad you found us!!!

Okay, just an observation from my point with out a picture of your plant...
Cricket is right on her diagnosis...

It is the time of year when the plant would normally go to sleep, that I know of..
You are a different growing zone than I am too,
but mine go to sleep around August and go to sleep for the winter, although you don't have a "winter" than I do, but I believe it's in the nature of the "bulb" to go dormant, and then re~bloom in the spring time..

Do you actually see a spider on the plant??
My guess is the yellowing is, what the bulb does naturally to survive...

Once the flower has flowered, the bulb then takes the "energy" from the stem of what it was, as the plant/stem turns brown the bulb is storing that food for it's growth in the bulb, and will stay dormant in the ground until spring..

Weezie

Wow! You guys are just lovely. I am going to run out and buy a bunch of flowers so I can ask for your help.

Right- just to be clear- the flowers are , of course ,gone and it's normal for the leaves to drop too.

I don't see any spider, although I have had a problem with them in the past, I don't have any reason to suspect this right now.

I will keep an eyeball on my little baby! And, thanks again.

Jen,
Yep!!!
The flowers will fall off... and as a rule of thumb for me, not saying everygardener has to do it, but when the flowers/petals fall off, I clip just where the flower was, and leave everything else...
Then you'll notice as time goes by the top browing, and then the leaves from the top down yellowing too... leave all that just the way it is... that's the bulb storing food inside of it,
then come the very end of the season, the stem should be a dried out piece of stem (should come out very easily once it's completely dried, or just cut it off at the bottom)... throw that in the compost or where ever.
Then next year, watch the same spot and it should come up in the very same vacinity to the original stem...each year it should come back equal if not better each year...
Add lot's of compost on top of the soil in the spring and it'll feed the new young roots....and it'll poke it's point right out thru the top of the newly added soil...

Weezie

Thanks, Weezie! I feel sort of foolish- I didn't even think about the stem dying, yet I've seen how bulbs propagate. I bought this on the spur of the moment- buy now, read up on it later!

Thanks again. I am so pleased to meet such nice people.

Not a problem Jen, we love to help fellow gardener's out!! We all we beginner's at some point, and all wished we would have had someone to help us a wee~bit too!!

Hope you come back often, with lot's of questions, and stick around with us, there's lot's to do here, even during our winter months, the Game Room and Recipe's and Crafts and Hobbies, and don't forget about Banter Hall...
Where we do allloooooooooot of chatting in there..

And hopefully, you'll be truely bitten by the garden bug
*Like the rest of us* and come back and be able to help future gardeners too!!!

Every little bit helps, and glad I could be
of some assistance!!!

Weezie

P/S. We have alot of Calif.'s here too, Catlover, Gardengal, Papito, Geegeeburr, Allthumbs, Michelle, Gardengal, Sachis, Arctostaphylos,Daisey, Rellie, Jillie, ..lot's of them, and I have a friend that way too that moved from N.Y.
So, join the fun!!