Saving Your Easter lily
The blossoms on your Easter lily are starting to fade, you look at the plant and wonder now what. You don’t need to toss the plant. It can be saved to rebloom again year after year in the garden.
To rebloom your Easter lily
After the last flower has withered, cut it off and allow the plant to continue to grow. It is important to allow the leaves and stems die back so that they can replenish nutrients and energy needed for next year’s growth. When the leaves turn yellow/ brown, cut off the brown stems . You may get new growth starting from the bulb.
When the weather warms up and danger of frost has passed, plant your lily bulb directly into the garden or flower bed. Plant 6-8″ deep, in a well-drained, sunny location and water in. Lilies like their feet in the shade and heads in the sun. Add about 2″ of mulch to conserve moisture and keep the weeds away.
It is unlikely that your lily will re-bloom this year but look for it in subsequent years to bloom in June-July.
Fertilize monthly
In spring, when the new shoots emerge start fertilizing with an 8-8-8 or use a slow release fertilizer until you see flower buds. Apply the fertilizer 3 inches away from the stem and water.
Deer love to munch on new emerging shoots and flower buds, so be sure to protect your plants.
Easter lilies grown in the cooler zones such as Northern Illinois are marginally hardy. It is recommended that they be planted 8 deep and heavily mulched over the winter, in case of a hard freeze. It’s worth the effort.
Just wondering…I have two Easter Lillies from this past Easter. I allowed the plants to “die off” while continuing to lightly water. By what I am now reading, I seem to have incredible luck! I planted them in a northern exposure behind my garage so it is shady all day and soil, mostly clay, stays dampish. The plants began greening up and produced a few new shoots each. They are now blooming! I have just staked them and now look forward to the full bloom. My concern is for over wintering. I expect we’ll have 50-60° over next few weeks. Should I cut them down before frost or leave them to go dormant then mulch?
I bought an Easter Lilly plant as a desk plant at work. I’m from India. It’s been 3days since my plant is at work. Theres a fluctuating temperature at work, due to the air-conditioning. It ranged between 12 to 20 degrees Celsius. I watered the plant(not heavily though) day before yesterday and yesterday. I noticed the mud was wet today so I didn’t water it. The leaves of the plant are yellowing. What’s wrong with my plant 🙁
Please help! My Mom passed away in October and my brother and I went to our childhood home of 56 years ago and there were still lilies blooming in the same place in the front yard. The green leaves were weepy due to a recent cold snap but not a freeze. The home owner allowed us to dig up a bulb. HOW DO I SAVE IT? I live in Ft. Worth and we have not had our first freeze – this is priceless to me!
Hello,
I received an Easter Lily last June from my mother’s funeral. We live in AZ so it is extremely hot. The plant leaves are just turning brown and dying off. Not sure what to do? I’ve read that they like the cooler temperatures, but even the house is warm and very dry. I would love to plant this in the wintertime outdoors but in the summertime it is just too hot. If I went that route, would I just cut the plant down in the summertime? Would the bulbs even survive these extreme temperatures for our summers?
I received an Easter lilly from my grandmother this year. The stem is now a brown color which I have cut down and there are green bulbs growing on the top side of the soil. I live in Nebraska and have been watering it off and on in the pot I transplanted it in. My question is what do I do with the stem and bulbs now? I’ve never had an Easter lilly before so I’m not sure how to care for it. Any help is appreciated. Thank you!
Easter lily is also known as Bermuda Lily that is is made up of white flowers. I have to say that there are many ways for save easter lily such as first of all you should prefer well-drained, organic soil, and you can put them in cooler room at night, You should remove bulbs from the container carefully, etc.
I, too,didn’t research Easter lilies. It was blooming when i put in ground and 2 weeks later temps changed and we got snow. Will probably get more snow_- i am in Colorado at 7500 elevation. Should i just leave it or is it a goner?
Hi,
I had an Easter Lily from last April and was doing to use the soil from the pot, but as I was taking the dead lily stems out I noticed green so I left the soil alone. Next thing I noticed sprouting and now I have it growing out of control. Could I just leave them in the bigger pot I transplanted them in? Or what I’m asking is would they survive in the pot they are in and just have them as indoor plants? Thanks for your time!
Hi there,
I have an Easter lily that has been sitting in it’s original pot since April. The plant has entirely withered though I have been watering it (off and on.)
I assumed I would need to throw it out but then I noticed something forming at the base of the plant. It looks like a little bulb. It is green and above the soil line. It is attached to the stem of the plant. Down a little farther and mostly under the soil, there is another one, a bit bigger. The second one is more of a yellowish green.
What is happening to this plant?
rebloom lilies indoors
Hi there! I bought my lily last thursday the and the blooms are already all open. Haha. Anyway, we live in Apartments and are unable to plant them outside. Are we able to keep them in the planter? There are 4 stems. 🙂 They’re very wonderful and I would love to keep them inside.
Bud drop
Last year our outdoor lilies were beautiful and green, with buds on them, looking like they were ready to open. Instead the buds bent over and died. This year they are doing the same thing. I have carefully examined the bud stem and no bird or other animal has nipped it. What is my problem?
Transplant Easter lily
My father in law died 5 years ago and we were given an Easter Lily which I put in a pot on the patio. (We live in NC) Winters are cold here, but I have left them outside. It has bloomed every summer since. 2 years later my father died and I added another lily we received to the same pot. For 3 years they have bloomed and become larger (from 3 plants to 9 with small plants at the base of the pot). I know I need to repot them but don’t want to lose them. (For sentimental reasons). When and how should I do this. I think I probably need to separate the bulbs and create 2 pots. Please advise. Thank you.
rebloom lilies indoors
Hi there When Can I bring my Easter Lilly Back Out. I have it in the Closet with a Garbage Bag Over it?
Wow. I never new you could save the bulbs, in fact I never even looked for bulbs. Figured that when they withered up that was that. I’d save the seeds and start over. In fact I have about 50 seeds sprouting right now in the seed tray. Gonna go out today and SEE what exactly is going under under the stem. An old dog has learned a new trick!
Transplanting
I’ve had an Easter lilly in a large pot blooming beautifully for several years. Not thinking, I just took the cluster of green plants and planted them in the ground. Since I didn’t wait for them to bloom and die off before replanting them, do you think they’ll survive and continue to bloom?
I live in the high desert of AZ. It gets to 110 degrees during the summer, I have a patio that catches the morning sun. Can I just leave my Easter Lily in the original pot and leave it in the house and take care of it as though I replanted it outside? I think it is too hot in the summer to replant it. Other plants just shrink up in the hot weather.
Hi my father just passed and someone sent Easter Lillies to our home. I live 5 hours from my parents and during transportation the flowers turned brown and looked dead. It had 5 flowers and 3 have died. How can I keep the other two and make sure that more bloom? I really do not want to let this plant die.
i received easter lilies i read all the other infos. my question is i want them to live outside. its it better in the ground or in a pot? I live in bakersfield and it gets very hot in the summer.
i live in a mobile park and get only about 3 to 4 hours of sun in my flower garden. i also have it covered with a sun curtain for my more delicate plants. how much hot sun can they take and how much shade can they get by with. that feet in the shade and head in the sun cannot apply to me. i am north to south and the sun goes east to west. also it gets down to 30ish in the winter and freezes a couple times during the winter.
Grow from seeds
I have a large amount of Easter Lily seeds, the pods they come in were cut from the plant. The seeds are still in the green pods. How do I go about saving them till spring and planting them? How do I store them? Do I wait till they dry out…will they grow if I wait till spring to plant them? I know nothing about them and can’t find a thing on the internet. You are my last hope. Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated.
Storing lily bulbs
I am moving and want to take my easter lillies with and have already dug up the bulbs. what is the best way to transport them? Can i leave them out of the dirt and allow them to dry like my other bulbs?
Propagate bulbils from the stem
I have cut Easter Lily flowers from my daughter’s wedding.I planned to dry the flowers(they’re huge flowers). When I looked carefully at the stalk of the bloom I noticed green bulges all along it. I payed no mind to them thinking they were just from leaves that had been removed for a brilliant floral display; however, at closer inspection the leaves that I removed left a different looking bulge totally unlike the others. I surmised after reading your posts and comments that these ‘bulges’ may actually be the ‘bulbette’ its original host Easter Lily. They are small bulges but is it possible that I can nurse these to a full new host parent plant? Or will I most likely be wasting my time? If it is possible should I remove the flower stem from the vase and let it dry out or should I attempt to plant the stalk-flower and all to see if the bulbettes will grow?
I eagerly await your reply as I always look to multiply back life from all plants-even fress herbs from the grocery store(I root them even and plant them).
Thank you,
Katie
Sooty mold
I have a confederate jasmine plant in my patio. It is affected with a black film on the leaves . What it can be?
Thanks
Maria
Easter lily care
Hi there. My wife got an easter lily with two stalks from her grandfather’s funeral. It was in late March, and it was in full bloom. When she brought it home, we planted it in a pot, and left it indoors until early may when all the frosts were over. It has turned brown and yellow down to about an inch or 2 from the soil. Today we decided to plant it beside our house, at about 2 feet from it. There, it will get 2-3 hours of direct sunlight in the morning, and the rest of the day shade from a tree, and the house. We live in Northern Indiana, and have very harsh winters. We planted it about 6 inches deep in the soil. I just wanted to know what we should do now? Do we cut it down to the green, or leave it alone? How do we prepare it for winter? I don’t want it to die, because it is pretty special to my wife. So any information you can give us would be greatly appreciated! It’s no near any down spouts, so it won’t be drowned in a rain storm. Thank you very much in advance! Also, it is on the north side of the house, I don’t know if that makes a difference for winter care or not, as winds make things colder here.
Dividing lilies
I have what I believed to be an easter lily that I received as a gift a few years ago. It was planted in the ground and it is coming up every year. It is very full and puts out a huge amount of flowers. It doesn’t grow tall like what you buy in the stores and it has yellow blossoms. Would like to seperate it and plant some of it in another place in the yard. How can I do this?
Hi,
I have almost a hundred lilies planted in my yard. They are blooming right now. My question is, do i need to trim it level to the ground when the plants turned yellow, dig out the bulb and replant it again next season or simply leave it on the ground as is until it grow again.
I live in Southern California.
Red lily leaf beetle
I planted my lily last year and it is coming up nicely now in southern Vermont with basically no special care. Unfortunately, it is under attack by the red lily-eating bugs. Hopefully, I can keep them under control and we’ll see some blooms late on.
Thanks for the info. I’ll find an appropriate spot and plant when the leaves die back. Usually we have pretty good snow cover (excellent mulch) during the coldest weather but I’ll add extra mulch just in case.
I have a hard time throwing plants away, so, i replanted my Easter lilies in my yard. They come up year, after year, after year.
I didn’t do anything special,…… just had the attitude ” if they come up, they come up”
Plant E. lily
Thanks for the wonderful information.
I live in Ogden, Utah. Our winter temperatures drop down to near or just below zero deg F once or twice a winter. Can I still plant my easter Lilly bulbs outside? What special precautions should I take to protect the?
Hi. I just bought this Easter Lily. It’s beautiful, smells great, has 2 blooms, and 4 more buds left to bloom. Only thing wrong is that it’s whole middle stem is lopsided. The whole plant just bends over completely.
Can I repot it and help it stay up w/some sticks in the soil? And what should I repot it w/? which kind of soil is best to help it flourish?
And any other advice on helping out my lily would be greatly appreciated too.
Thank you for your time.
Vikki
Thanks. I will plant the bulbils in my sister’s yard in spring. But till then, what do I do with them?
So I took the pot out of the fridge after 5weeks to repot- there’s no bulb at all, just a bunch of 1/2inch roots that were dried out and flat! I’ve no idea what happened to my poor lily, but I do see that the stalk with a few green bulbils (which I cut off but left it on the soil line)seems to look the same as before. The bulbils are still very tiny, barely 1/2cm across and green- is there anything I should do with them? Or just toss them out with the poor plant?
lily bulbs not blooming
I just bought my parents property, and there are some easter lilly’s growing in part shade. My mom said they have been planted for atleast 5 or 6 years with no blooms. I cut them all back a year ago. The stalks look great and healthy. Will they ever bloom or should i move them to a different area with better soil and a little more sun?
Nothing further has happened with the bulbils- they are still a little green and barely 1/2 a cm in width. The entire stalk is brown and shriveled, and I’ve watered the pot once every 2-3wks. Would it be ok if I place the pot, stem & bulbils et al, in the fridge for 4-6wks right now? I would rather the original plant re-bloom, so would appreciate your urgent response. I am away for about a month and would like to place the pot in the fridge before I leave on Monday.
Thanks!
We have an Easter Lily from this spring and it seems to be fading we live in a cold climate so it is to late to plant it in the ground. It is beginning to turn yellowish, do we need to cut it back and put it in a cool dry place? The people who aren’t really crazy on lots of indoor plants wants this one saved. Thanks for your help.
Thanks for your reply. I live in Seattle (zone 8b). I also don’t have access to ground planting, only containers. Does any of that make a difference?
Thank you! I saw all of the responses saying to let them turn brown, but these suckers aren’t just like.. little bulbs anymore. They’re little bulbs (maybe an inch across) with about 8 inches of leaves coming out of them and tiny little root balls. So.. I’m supposed to let these ‘die’ (turn brown) before I repot them or should I do it now? They’re really lose. They look like little plants but if you say to wait til they turn brown I will.. sorry, I’m SUPER NEW to gardening. I just feel grateful that a plant in my care actually LIVED let alone reproduced. I want to take good care of its babies!
Planting bublets
I’m so glad I found this site. I too have noticed a ton of these little “bulblet” thingies growing on my potted easter lily and had no idea what they are. They are bright green and have a little tiny bulb and 5 inch leaves coming off of them. Some even have little roots under the bulb. None of them have turned brown, but several are falling off into the pot. What should I do with these? Just refrigerate them? Or should I plant them in a shallow soil?
Cutting back lilies
We moved into a house with lilies in the front garden. My husband recently cut back the stalks (they were dead or dying), but he cut them off nearly to the ground. Will this destroy the bulb or will it still return next summer?
Is there a garden bug/spider that might attack easter lilies? We have several old 4-5 foot lilies in the garden that bloomed perfectly last year with full green foliage, but this year the green foliage quickly turned brown on the bottom half of most of the stalks, and some of the buds also turned to dead brown before blossoming. We are in Zone 5 in Northern Michigan.
Is there any chance of an Easter lily surviving the winter planted in a southern Vermont garden? Probably zone 4 although we do mulch the garden pretty well. I’ve planted two and they’re really a target for the red bug and its larvae that eat lilies. I’m wondering if this will even be worth the effort.
Thanks for your comments; I guess I will have to try it again! However, today I noticed some growth at the base of a few leaves halfway up the plant. What exactly are these? Considering the plant hasn’t bloomed, I am a little bemused by this new growth! Thanks!
Thanks for letting me know what to do. I will give it a try.
I got a Lilly 6 years ago. Put it in a lg pot it has gone wild have about 12 plants. They all have flowers . Some are lg in size, some are tall and thin . What can i do with them? would like to keep all in same pot. How do i make them all thicker.
After the blooms have died on my Easter lily and I have planted it outdoors, do I continue to water the plant once the stock has turned brown and cut off? We have drip lines that run year-around as we live in Arizona. We can plug the drip line to the plant if necessary.
after the lillie blooms there is a big green bulb on the end of the stalk today i opened it up and found black soft seeds can these be planted and would they need to be dryed out?
Do I let them dry out on the stalk or pull them off to dry out? How long/where to dry? When can I plant them? Will this cause the main plant to not reproduce next year? What kind of lily is this, it blooms in february. I’ve had this plant for 12 years and have completely neglected it, apparently it is happy where it is planted. Since I have found something I/soil conditions haven’t managed to kill, I would like to grow more.
Hi,
My easter lily seems to have stopped growing taller & the leaves at the bottom of the stems have dried & fallen off. I have kept the soil moist & watering once evry 5-7days only, with fertiliser every 2nd watering. What is the general timeline for the plant to bloom? Does it bloom from the top of the plant as I’m not seeing anything there?? Is there any additional care / light / warmth I should be providing to ensure blooms around Easter? Both plants are staked as they were flopping over & I was wondering what else I should be doing. Patience is not my strongest virtue, so do excuse me for the barrage of quesns I send your way – with an apartment full of over 15 varieties of different plants, you are the one common source for all my quereies!
Thank you for always providing me answers:)
What a wonderful new design! Not that the earlier one was not attractive, but this looks quite savvy!
Just wanted to let you know that my Lillies are growing furiously, almost at 2ft now. Which means I have to constantly turn the pot so that they don’t completely keel over. I continue to water once a week & fertilise monthly – have yet to see any blooms, but from what I’ve read this may not occur till Summer. Is that right? How tall are these going to get? Should I be staking the plants at some point? As always, I appreciate your advice, which is very helpful.
Thanks!
I live in Michigan (zone 5). I have some lillies planted that are of sentimental value. They are in memory of my late 11 year old daughter.
I am moving (same area). Is there any way to dig up the bulbs and take them with me? If so, should I keep in refrigerator till spring, or put in ground?
Thank you very much.
.
I’ve faithfully followed all yr advice on re-blooming Easter Lillies & am quite pleased with their growth so far! The plants are now a foot tall, green & healthy from the looks of it. I’ve noticed 4 shoots/single leaves sprouting around the 2 main plants- should I just leave them alone? Or do I separate them? Also, I was wondering when I should hope to see the blooms on the 2 main plants? I’ve used Miracle Gro plant feed just once a week ago – was that too soon?? Thanks again for your helpful hints with all my plants!
Once again, thank you for your timely advice! I took the pot out of the crisper today & from the looks of it, the plants seem to be doing ok. There are 2 in the same pot- one is about an inch tall, light green, while the other is white. I have placed the pot near a bright window & hoping for the plants to keep growing! Is there anything else to do for healthy plants & subsequent blooms?
Thanks for your advice. But I need more help, b’cos I noticed the bulb has started reblooming! It’s barely 1/2cm above the soil & green- I have not chilled it at all, & was planning to place the pot in the crisper today! What do I do next??
Thanks!
I’ve kept my Easter Lily moist thru’ it’s dormant stage. Since the bulbs need to be pre-cooled, preferably in the frig, my quesn is if I keep the orig pot in a plastic bag in the crisper in the frig, would the fruit (apples, grapes, pears) I always have in another compartment, still harm the bulbs?? Alternately, with the temperatures here in Toronto at 18Cmax/9Cmin, would it be ok to leave the pot outside on the balcony?
Also, should I repot the bulbs in fresh soil BEFORE pre-cooling?
Thanks!
My Easter Lily died back and I neglected to throw it away. This spring, it was still in its pot in the window and began to grow, quite tall and bloom. Now it is dying back, but it appears to have a number of bulblets up the stem of the lily. One at the base of each leave that has died back. Are these bulblets and what should I do with them to get them to become big lilies?
I have an Easter lilly that was in a pot when I purchased it. I planted it in the garden – I live in Illinois. The original stalk has turned brown, but it made several new plants, one of which is large and has 3 blooms now. I would like to cut off the flowers to put in a vase for a friend. Is this OK? Will it hurt the plant to cut off the flowers?
Ok I checked out the site and not quite getting the answer I’m looking for. I recently moved into my northwestern home in Washington state and still learning how to garden out here. I have an Easter lily that is in the ground and looks as if it’s been there for a while. It looks heathly but what about when the winter comes? Do I prune it when it dies or do I wait until early spring to do anything to it?
I’ve been trying to find some info on Tiger Lillies. I bought a pot same time as my easter lillies. The pot has 3plants, which have now dried down to brown stalks. I s there any way of re-blooming a Tiger Lily? Or should I just throw out the pot & get a new plant next year??
My mother passed away 2 weeks ago before her beautiful white lily bloomed (14 in all). I want to dig it up and plant it on her grave this fall. Can I dig it up now and transplant it in my garden until I visit her grave in October to plant it there? What steps should I take? Thank you for your help.
Can I prune my Easter lilies that have gotten 5 feet tall? If so, how short and if I plant the pruned stalk, will it root? I am in Louisiana and have very tall Easter & Asiatic lilies that I would like to prune. They are way too tall for my flower bed. Also, can I plan the seed pods that have developed after the flowers died? THANKS!
IN STORING AMARYILLIS BULBS IN THE LATE FALL, CAN THEY BE PUT IN THE REFRIGERATOR TO SLOW THEM DOWN FROM STARTING TO BUD IN THE SPRING,?
Thank you.
How to store lily bulbs
The comment made often is… you now have a replenished bulb, so now store in a cool dry place… can we dig up the bulb and store it by itself in a brown paper bag like we do gladiola bulbs, or do we need to let it in the soil??
we built a four season room onto our house. our easter lily did wonderful there. we would like to keep it a house plant. should i repot it into a bigger pot now and continue to water until leaves turn brown, then cut it back to soil level. i am hoping it will continue to grow in this room without having to take the bulbs out, please advise. thanks
I would like to heard your comments and advice about growing Easter Lily from seeds.
Actually, need all your knowledge and experiences on this procedure for pot flowers and for cutting flower.
Thank you……..
I live in Arizona where the summers are scortching, I was just given two easter lily plants. Is it safe to plant them outside, or do I need to do something different.
It’s November and my easter lily is starting to grow, is this good or bad? Should I try and chill it and plant it later?
I kept the easter lily I bought this year in the balcony in an 8 inch pot. Now the leaves are finally turning yellow in August. I also noticed there are 4 to 5 green bulblets along the soil line. I am wondering if I can leave the pot as it is after the stem died back and wait for next year’s bloom or do I need to dig it up and remove the bulblets and plant them in separate pots? Thank you for your advice!
I live in NYC and placed my Easter lily outside on my terrace in the original pot in May after the flowers had faded. It is in the morning sun and has been watered regularly. The stalk is now brown; however, there are two plants coming up on each side of the stalk. What I should do next. I am new at gardening and unfortunately need step by step instructions. I thank you in advance for your help.
Reblooming Easter lily
I received an Easter Lily for a gift and i do not have a yard to plant it in. I live in Arizona and it is hot here in the summer and the coldest it gets in the winter is 45-50 degrees at night day 85-90/ summer 95-100 degrees night and daytime it gets 110-120 degrees. Please help i really would like to know step by step how to keep it and store it until next year after it dies completely out. Right now i have 3 flowers left and it is beautiful and healthy. after they die what do i do? As i said i have no yard or basement i live in an apartment. Please help if you can i really love this plant. Thanks much Missy!
How much sun/water does my lilly require? Not all buds have blossomed. Other info. very helpful.
I purchased an easter lilly last year. After it had bloomed I put it outside still in the pot. We live in Hawaii but I have it in a shady spot and it has sprouted many new shoots. Can I separate them without killing them?