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 recommendations
I tried following your recommendations for Lily varieties. But one variety that no longer seems available commercially is the Enchantment. What can I replace it with? Thank you.
Red beetles
My lilies were so big and beautiful this year but I noticed the leaves had holes. I look closer and see red beetles all over them now they are dead (the flowers) and the leaves are gone. Beetles are still there. I read you are not supposed to cut the stems till winter (WI) how do I get rid of the bugs so my lilies return next year and are beautiful again?
Daily lilies
How can I kill daily lilies if I can’t cover them and dig them up and also can’t buy classic herbicide like round-up. I’m looking for a way to silently kill this stupid plant because it’s toxic to cats and there’s some in my community house garden. They are growing in a pot
day lilies
Since they are growing in a pot, you can give them to someone who will appreciate them. Salt, if you must, but you simply cannot go around and kill toxic plants. There are too many for you and a plant has a right to defend itself.
What is or where are "Hardiness zones"?
Does the hardiness zone refer to where I live or where the plant is placed in the garden?
Hardiness Zone
Hardiness zones or “planting zones” are determined by the USDA and refer to the area in which you live and garden. Read more about them and find your zone here: https://www.almanac.com/content/planting-zones-us-and-canada
5 Blue Rare Lily Bulbs
I got these blue flowering lilies from Amazon after seeing them advertised on various online locations. I live in Central Florida - zone 9 - and each question I see here is not answered regarding how to provide these the "cold" period they will need. I see someone said 2 months in the fridge.....which months? Does the plant die back to tell me when it's time to dig them up and refrigerate them? Can you tell me when is the best time? We get a few cold nights in January and February, but I'm not sure that would be enough. I have a cucumin plant that I got through the last winter, but I'm sure it was by luck and by chance!
5 BLUE RARE LILY BULBS
Dear EDITORS
Why no answers? You have answered others....
Hi, zone 9b gardener here.
Hi, zone 9b gardener here. When they say a bulb needs a chilling or cold period, they mean during the winter months, the temperature of the soil the bulbs are planted in has to drop to at least 40 degrees for a week or so in order for the bulb to produce flowers. I've put both lilies and tulips in the refrigerator, wrapped in paper towels or a paper bag, for about a month to six weeks after buying them, and have gotten great results---flowers just as pretty as if I grew them in the northern Midwest where they get frozen for a lot longer.
Another method I haven't tried yet but am thinking of doing this winter is planting the bulbs in the ground as usual, then laying a couple of bags of party ice on top of them. You can't store apples and pears in the fridge while you have bulbs in there, as the gases emitted by the fruit will kill the bulb; since I enjoy apples in the fall and early winter months, this got really inconvenient for me, to the point where I almost bought a dorm fridge to put my bulbs in. But the party ice acts like an artificial blanket of snow on top of the bulbs. Hope this helps! A lot of the advice here is great but mostly applies to gardens in the East and Midwest.
Easter Lily
I let my Easter lily die off and just repotted the bulbs. How do I get the Easter lilies to grow straight rather than have these super long arms of leaves/stem that hangover the pot. Last round, the arms were about 4 ft long. I tried to add steaks in the pots .... grew straight then the rest dropped like it had a mind of its own. I grow mine indoors.
Lily
I was given a plant and told it was a lily. It died and I repotted and now a yr later I have beautiful leaves. Still have no idea what type of lily and based on the leaves in the pot, I can’t find a lily with this type of leaves. I repotted 8 bulbs and 4 grew leaves. Small bulbs produced smaller or thinner leaves than the large bulb. Each bulb produced 3 long leaves with parallel veins. Since it is not quite at the point of flowering, I’m stumped. Before adding bone meal, I wanted to ensure it is a lily. Any ideas?
lilium/lilies
good day! can we order bulbs all colors oF LILIUM? CAN YOU SEND US HERE IN PHILIPPINES?
THANK YOU...!
Re-doing Flower Bed
I'm going to be redoing my flower bed this spring. Currently the bed HAD several Tube plants and I won't be replanting them - I'd like to make the bed all Lilies.
My question is we have white rocks covering the bed (much like Mulch would) - can the Lilies be planted in this bed, or do I need to remove the rocks? (we are in Zone 5a to 6a area my location is in the middle of the 3)
lilies and stone
The lilies can be planted there. The question is how deep is the stone/rock? It would seem to be easier for you if you remove the stone before planting; if you don’t, some of it will tumble into the hole in which you plant each lily and you would soon have rocky soil. If you’re asking will the lilies be able to push through it, maybe; it will depend on how deep it is, therefore the weight and volume of stone. Thinking this through, to be safe, you might do better to remove it.
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.
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