I’m trying to plant some Asiatic Lily bulbs in a small patch of soil at the front of my house, but I’ve run into a few snags. 1. The soil is very hard and dry from drought, and I’m currently trying to pour a ton of water on it to loosen it and remove all of it. The soil is very poor quality that I didn’t put in, so I’ve bought top soil and amendments to replace it. I expect it to take a while to replace the soil, but I’m willing to do it. 2. The bulbs are mature and have bloomed before. They’re currently in pots 7 inches tall and they’ve got roots poking out of the drainage holes. There is cement about 8 inches under the soil I’m changing out, so I’m worried I’m not gonna have much room for these roots to grow This brings me to my question: should I opt out of trying to fight the cement and horrible soil my HOA had landscapers put in so we couldn’t plant anything, and try for an above ground planter box to plant these bulbs? Or should I try to spread the roots out more width wise and remove all the old soil, planting them with new soil and hoping for the best?
