Like Poinsettias at Christmas, many people purchase Easter lilies during the Easter season. While there are several plants that some people refer to as Easter lilies, the most common plant cultivated to be sold as Easter lily is Lilium longiflorum. True lilies are from the genus Lilium and should not be confused with the daylily (Hemerocallis spp.) although both are in the Family Liliaceae.
These plants are native to Japan which used to provide most of the bulbs to the U.S. The production of bulbs on a large scale in the U.S. occurred after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and the Japanese supply was cut off. Most bulbs are now grown in a small area of northern California and southern Oregon. After the bulbs reach maturity in about three years, they are sent to growers who force them into bloom for Easter.
Care for the lilies includes cool temperatures with 60 to 65 degrees in the daytime and somewhat cooler at night being ideal. They like bright, indirect light — not direct sunlight. As with most plants in the house, avoid hot or cold drafts from doors, windows, and furnaces. Water when the soil is dry, but do not overwater or let the plant stand in water.
Once your lily has finished blooming, if you wish to keep the plant, place it in a sunny location and give it some fertilizer. After any danger of frost is gone, it can be moved outdoors and/or planted in the garden. Plant it about the same depth as it is planted in its pot, or at least 3” deep. A microclimate protecting it from the prevailing winds and giving some shade, particularly in the afternoon, will give it the best chance of thriving.
It will likely lose its leaves in a few weeks, but they will grow back later. Mulch it well in the winter, as they are only marginally cold hardy here. It can also be planted outside in a container, but the container must be protected from freezing in winter. It also needs cool temperatures in winter — about six weeks at around 42 degrees.
Easter lilies tolerate mildly alkaline soil but need very good drainage and moist soil. A garden bed with lots of organic material would work in our area. Those that I have planted in the past were not in a good location and did not bloom again, primarily because they did not get much water. I need a more friendly location for them if I am to ever have a chance of seeing more blooms.
A year or two ago, I was watching the weather on TV and they were talking about the Easter lilies that were blooming. Pictured were yellow daffodils. Even if the plants in question had been white, they would not have been Easter lilies. Easter lilies are forced into bloom for Easter. They normally bloom in June or July, so do not expect plants that you moved into your garden to bloom again at Easter.
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: How to take care of your Easter lily | Garden Guy column
Reporting by By Bob Hatton, Special to the Amarillo Globe-News / Amarillo Globe-News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
