Everyone loves lilies. With large, showy blooms, lilies add striking elegance to the yard and garden from early to midsummer. Grown from bulbs, lilies are perennial flowers that will return year after year and require minimal care, provided that you plant them in the right place.
Lilies have six plain or strikingly marked tepals (“petals”) and are often trumpet-shaped, sitting atop a tall, erect stem with narrow, long, lance-shaped leaves. They come in many beautiful colors, including pink, gold, red, orange, and white.
Asiatic and Oriental lilies are the most popular garden lily varieties. Asiatic lilies bloom first in early summer (in June), right after peonies. They are not fussy as long as they are grown in well-draining soil. They are the shortest type of lily (about 2 to 3 feet tall) and come in many colors, from pastel to tropical. They don’t have much of a fragrance, but they do add bright color to the garden. It’s the Oriental lilies that have that famously strong fragrance. They are tall and stately (4 feet), and tend to grow more slowly, often blooming about the time when Asiatic lily flowers are fading (mid- to late-summer).
What are “True Lilies”?
True lilies grow from bulbs and are of the genus Lilium. Daylilies (Hemerocallis), despite having “lilies” in their name, are not true lilies. Daylilies have many leaves that grow from a crown, whereas true lilies generally have only one stem or shoot that grows from the bulb. Similarly, peace lilies, canna lilies, and calla lilies are not true lilies. Learn more about “true” lilies.
When do Lilies Bloom?
Lilies tend to bloom from early summer to fall, depending on the type. By carefully blending early, mid-season, and late varieties into your garden, you will enjoy their magnificent blooms from spring through first frost. At home in both formal and naturalistic settings, most lilies also take readily to containers. Plus, they make great cut flowers!
Asiatic lilies come in a range of bright, beautiful colors.
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Lily bulbs in San Diego Zone 10
Hello (what's your name?)
Your website is my gardening book now, thank you so much.
Since you recommended that the lily bulbs need to be chilled for 2 months of winter, I would like to buy some lily bulbs to store them in refrigerator now and will plant them in Spring next year. Do you think it's right to do or what else, please advise.
some quesion i need help please :(
in lily flower :
- Do the female or male parts of the flower develop first?
- Are all of the flower parts developed before the flower emerges from the bud?
dividing the bulbs
They have grown together in a doughnut shape and are white and wet. They look like an onion. I want to separate and replant them next week. How can I separate them?
separating lily bulbs
Let them dry, then pull apart the bulbs. Do not separate the pieces that look like garlic cloves; leave them attached. See here from the North American Lily Society: https://www.lilies.org/culture/propagation/
Lily bulbs
I was given part of a family plant. It is supposed to be some kind of
ruffled lily. What I received is a tangle of roots with little bulbs in it.
How do I plant these?
Thanks
ruffled lily
Our best guess is that your bulb is a day lily. All lilies are planted about the same. See above for guidance.
why have i got pink and white lillies in the same pot.last year
Can you explain why.
Probably because there’s a
Probably because there’s a pink bulb and a white bulb
oriental/asian lilies/seeds?
i have a half dozen beautiful oriental/asian lilies w/full flowering capabilities; at each node from half way up a 3' stalk, i have a small black (what appears to be a seed) lodged at the beginning of a leaf and stalk...are these seeds? and if so, what do i do to make use of them for next year? i'm a beginner here...thank you...
Lillies
The black little nodes between leaves or to the tips of the lilly plants are seeds and when they produce a short root underneath them I roll them off my finger gently and put them in a brown sack with peat moss to winter over in the potting shed, next year to plant individually.
Can you cut down the height of the stalk in the fall?
I live in an apartment and they are getting to tall for my windows that crank out and I don't have anywhere to move them.
Cutting stalk of lily
If this is a true garden lily (versus daylily), then you can remove the stem itself. But do not remove the foliage which it needs to store energy. Once the foliage dies back, you can cut it off.
deer and rabbits eating leaves of lily plants
How can I protect my lilies from the voracious appetites of the deer and rabbits in the area?
deer and rabbit control
For information on how to control deer and rabbits in your garden, you might be interested in the following pages:
https://www.almanac.com/pest/deer
https://www.almanac.com/pest/rabbits
Daylillied
My daylillies have & are blooming quite a bit. I’m new st this & was wondering if the spent blooms should be removed and if so where is the best place on the stalk to remove them?
Thanks so much!!
Sheila
deadheading daylilies
Daylilies (Hemerocallis) are not true lilies, but they can benefit from deadheading spent flowers so that the plant doesn’t spend energy on forming seeds, and also it’s helpful for a cleaner look. In some of the newer varieties, this can also encourage further blooms. The flowers form on a long stalk, called a scape, that ends in several flower buds. The flowers on each scape may open at different times. You can use your fingers, or pruning shears, to pinch or cut off a spent blossom just below the base of the flower. Once all flowers on the scape have gone by, you can use pruning shears to remove the scape, cutting at the base of the stalk.
Potted lillies
For mother's day I bought my mom a pot of four lillies. My mom loves having flowers in the house so she has no intention of planting them outside. But, she still has no idea what the right amount of water and sunlight lillies actually need is. Would putting them in a room that gets partial sunlight be enough? As for water, I read that a little bit of water, enough to keep the soil moist not soaked, is enough. Is that true? How would we be sure the soil towards the bottom of the pot is moist as well? Is there any other things we should do to keep the lillies alive for as long as possible? Thanks in advance.
My Asian lilies are blooming again
I bought 3 Asian lilies in mid April. They already had buds and fully bloomed within 10 days. The same seems to be happening again. The 3 indiv plants are full of what looks like buds. They are in a long container and I was going to plant them in organic soil. After reading your info and advice I’m asking what you think I should do. I live in Sarasota, in SW Florida which is zone 9.
Thanks.
forcing lillies
i live in CA after lilies have flowered how long before i can cut them back and put in the fridge in order to force a fall foliage may i should ask can I?
Lillies
Recently bought Lillie's in a container. 3 per container.Do I need to space out the 3 stalks for better results?
spacing for lilies
If you’re planting lilies in a group of three, we would plant them 8 inches apart, depending on the size of the lilies.
I was recently given cut
I was recently given cut lilies in a floral arrangement from work. Is there a way I can get seeds from them so I can plant my own lilies? Thank you for the guidance.
Seeds from Cut Lilies
The flowers will likely not have enough strength to produce seeds, unfortunately. Once they’re cut, they really only have enough energy to finish blooming before dying.
Rest period
I recieved potted oriental Lillys for Valentine's day. I want to save the bulbs for my garden. When will they re-bloom? What steps should I take as they have already bloomed?
Lily Trees
I have Lily Trees & lily bulbs how deep should I plant Lily Trees 5’-8’ tall?
The lifting & storage of lilies bulbs for approx 6-8 weeks
As we are moving home & we wish to lift & store for approx 8 weeks what is the preferred method of doing this please — I’m talking about 40 bulbs.Thank you
How to Store Bulbs for Travel
Hi Les,
To store for travel, dig up your bulbs and gently wash them, removing all dirt. Discard any rotten or disease-ridden bulbs. Fill a cardboard box (or several if you have a lot of bulbs) with alternating layers of dry peat moss and bulbs. Top the last layer of bulbs with a final layer of peat moss. When possible, store in a cool and dry place to insure that no moisture gets into the box. We hope this helps!
Lilies
I received three pots of lilies, as gifts last spring. My question is what does the bulbs look like? I have taken these , what I think are bulbs, from the dirt and there is one big glob of things that I think are bulbs, but they are all attached. Several little things attached to the stems. Do I break the large glob from the stem? Another question these things have roots do I need to plant now it's October or do I wait for early spring?
Lily Bulbs
Lily bulbs should look similar in shape to a large bulb of garlic, except lilies do not have the papery covering or “skin” that garlic and onions do. Typically, you want to leave lily bulbs in the ground until the foliage (stem and leaves) dies back naturally. If you have already pulled them up, then you can just cut off the stem and foliage, leaving about an inch on the bulb. Little bulbs growing at the base of the stem are called bulblets; if they are growing farther up the stem, they are bulbils. Both eventually grow into new bulbs, but take a long time to do so.
If you’re located in a climate where a true winter freeze doesn’t occur, then you can plant the bulbs in the fall. However, if you typically see freezing winter temperatures, then you’ll want to store the bulbs until spring. The easiest option would be to replant them in the pots they came in and store the entire pots in a cool, dark place for the winter. The key to storing lilies is to keep them cool and to not let them dry out, which is why storing them in soil is a good idea. Just make sure they do not get too moist, as they could rot.
lilies and cats
Readers should know that ALL parts of ALL lilies are toxic to cats. Lily ingestion causes kidney damage which can be severe and sometimes fatal. So use care when deciding where to put that vase full of lilies.
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