Plant Care and Gardening Tips

Gardening advice and plant care notes

March 13, 2016 · Bulbs / Easter lily / SEASONAL GARDENING / Stargazer lilies

Easter lily care

How to pick an Easter lily

Originating from the mountains of  Taiwan, the potted Easter lily (Lilium longiflorum) is the popular traditional plant of the Easter season.  The white trumpet shaped flowers are a symbol of hope and renewed life.

Selecting an Easter lily

Look for a plant with dense, dark, shiny, green leaves along the entire stem of the plant. Choose buds that are just starting to open, as well as a few unopened ones. The staggered blooming times will add to your continued enjoyment.  Some people count the number of buds on the plant and of course, choose the one with the highest bud count.

Be wary of plants that look wilted, this may indicate root rot from too much water.

Plants with yellowing lower leaves can also indicate a problem.  Easter lily

CARE

When you bring your lily home, place it in bright, indirect light at temperatures of 60-65F degrees during the day and even cooler at night. Keep away from cold drafts or heating vents.

Water

Lilies do not like their feet wet. Keep the soil moist and avoid over watering which can encourage root rot. When watering, remove the decorative cover (if necessary) to allow any excess water to drain from the bottom of the pot.

Remove pollen

As the flower buds open, carefully remove the anthers that contain yellow pollen.  This will help prolong the lifespan of the flowers and keep the pollen from “staining” the white flowers as well as your linens.  To maintain a fresh appearance, remove any withered flowers.

Enjoy your Easter lily for its beauty and fragrance.

When your lily is finished blooming, with a little know-how you can get it to bloom year after year.. see Saving your Easter Lily

You may like  http://hortchat.com/info/coloring-easter-eggs-the-natural-way     

27 of the Best Lily Varieties with a Guide to Divisions

 

From the reader archive

Useful reader questions

Are there two different kinds of Easter lilies? I have received two different plants this Easter. One is a single stalk with multiple blooms/buds. This has a dark green stalk and leaves. The other has 4 stalks in the one pot, the…

Read Virginia discussion

I have a lilie, don’t know what type it is. It was a very beautiful orange. All the leaves now have browned. I did cut the heads off. My question is this: I notice at the bottom of the soil line that…

Read Janie Malas discussion

I have an easter lily I just got and it is tilting to one side. How can I fix this or is this going to always be the fate of the plant? Possibly re-pot it? One of the reasons Lilies will tilt…

Read Asha discussion

Hi there, planted my lily after it turned brown and i now have 4 cute little plants growing. Yea, but winter is approaching quite quickly here in SW Colorado. The temperatures dip into the low 30’s. Do I leave them outside and…

Read andrea discussion

9 Comments

  2. Janie Malas - July 31, 2005 at 7:23 am

    I have a lilie, don’t know what type it is.
    It was a very beautiful orange.
    All the leaves now have browned. I did cut the heads off.
    My question is this: I notice at the bottom of the soil line that there are green bulbs all around the main stem of the plant. What do I do and when do I do it. Do I divide and seperate them and store them till a particular time or what?
    Need your help..Don’t want to loose my lilie.
    Thanks, Janie

    The little bulbs are bulblets that develop after blooming. They develop roots and eventually clumps of lilies which you can leave in the soil and eventually divide . You can also harvest the bulblets and replant them in other parts of the garden. They should bloom when they get to be about walnut size, which may take a 1 to 3 yr depending on the variety.

    Reply
  3. Virginia - April 19, 2006 at 7:39 am

    Are there two different kinds of Easter lilies? I have received two different plants this Easter. One is a single stalk with multiple blooms/buds. This has a dark green stalk and leaves. The other has 4 stalks in the one pot, the stalks are thinner and a lighter green. Each stalk has multiple blooms but the plants are very tall compared to the single. Can they both be planted outside (Northern NJ)?

    There are different cultivars of Easter lilies (L. longiflorum). Growers are constantly trying to develop “better” plants for size, longer-lasting flowers, improved leaf growth and disease resistance. The newer cultivars are “White Nelly” and a more compact variety “Eden”. Your 4 stalk pot could just be 4 lily bulbs planted in a larger pot which are competing for food and light making them taller and paler or a different cultivar. Height of lilies can also be controlled with growth retardants and temperature. Both pots can be planted outdoors. See Saving your Easter lily.

    Reply
  4. Morris E. Brovold - May 2, 2006 at 7:37 am

    We live in Colorado Springs… COLD winters… My Easter Lily is all done blooming… What do I do to preserve it so that we might also enjoy it next year ???

    See the article on “Saving your Easter lily” Easter lilies grown in cooler zones such as are marginally hardy. It is recommended that they be planted 8” deep and heavily mulched over the winter, in case of a hard freeze or store the bulb indoors in a cool, dark place and repot in the spring.

    Reply
  5. Asha - April 7, 2007 at 8:44 am

    I have an easter lily I just got and it is tilting to one side. How can I fix this or is this going to always be the fate of the plant? Possibly re-pot it?

    One of the reasons Lilies will tilt is that they get too tall for the container and the weight of the open flowers causes them to tilt in one direction. You can try to adjust the base of the plant by pushing in the soil on the opposite side of the tilt, you may have to add more soil to stabilize it, or add a stick into the pot (careful not to pierce the bulb) for support and gently ease the stem toward the support, tying it to keep it in place. Rotate the lily to expose the back of the tilted side to more light and it should gradually bend toward the light. I really wouldn’t repot at this time, it will do more harm than good.

    Reply
  6. Lori - June 1, 2008 at 8:53 am

    When is the best time to transplant an easter lilly I need to take some out and replant them. I have to many in one spot.

    Hi Lori
    You can transplant them in early spring when they are just coming up or in the fall after they are done blooming and leaves have died back. Give them some bulb food when transplanting. If you are desperate to move them, you can try now before they get too tall and the weather too hot. The results may not be as favorable as in the e.spring or fall.

    Reply
  7. Margaret Champion - June 12, 2008 at 5:06 pm

    We recently moved into a new house, and we have Spring and Summer flowers coming up that are unknown to us! We have a plant coming up that someone told us is how an Easter lily looks when it comes up. 3 “shoots” are coming up, and each of them looks like the top of a pineapple! Could this be an Easter lily? Thank you!

    Hi Margaret
    Yes, its possible that it could be an Easter lily or possibly a Stargazer lily, they usually bloom in July. Either way, you should find out in the next month.

    Reply
  8. andrea - September 30, 2009 at 5:08 pm

    Hi there, planted my lily after it turned brown and i now have 4 cute little plants growing. Yea, but winter is approaching quite quickly here in SW Colorado. The temperatures dip into the low 30’s. Do I leave them outside and cover them, or do i dig them up and bring indoors?

    Hi Andrea
    It sounds like they have had enough time to develop a root system so leave the lily start ups in the ground for the winter. After the ground freezes add 2-3″ of mulch on top to protect them this winter. You could also dig them up and store them, but I think the first suggestion is easier.

    Reply

Leave a Comment

Comments are moderated before publication. Keep questions specific and avoid promotional links.