Question

easter lily  

easter lily   Hello Tom, it's about my easter lily, I had asked you about it earlier this year concerning the buds that were growing on the stalk & you said that they were new plants that would eventually drop off & grow - my question for you today is - should I trim the top of the plant back to encourage the growth on the bottom? would it make the buds grow faster? I also have a question about my begonia which I brought in over the winter, it has been blooming non-stop since last summer, the flowers are gorgeous but the stalks are yellow, is there anything special I should be doing for it? I have another outdoor begonia that I would like to bring indoors & have bloom over the winter, is that possible & is there anything special I should be doing for that one? I realize that I've asked numerous questions this time but I thought it would be easier this way - thank you so much for your help, you've always given excellent, easy-to-understand instructions, I really appreciate your input, thanks again & I look forward to hearing from you, Jutta

Answer
Hi Jutta,
Thanx for your questions.  The Easter Lily-don't cut anything back until it starts to wilt.  The leaves and stems are gathering energy for next years growth.  This energy is stored in the bulb in the form of sugars and starches.  The bulbils along the sides of the stem will eventually mature and fall off of the stem and take root in the soil or you can plant them yourself in separate pots but wait until they start dropping.  Trimming the tops of lilies does not increas the growth at the lower end of the plant.  Usually, from one bulb, one stalk emerges.  If you see multiple stalks, that means there is more than one bulb or bulblet.  As far as the begonia goes, it's hard to say if it will bloom for you or not.  In Canada , the sun is going to be even lower in the sky than it is here in the USA.  This will probably inhibit blooming and cause the plant to go semi-dormant, which means it will probably not bloom at all.  The tuber needs time to rest anyway and winter is a good time for that.  I hope this helps and feel free to ask as many questions as you like!