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Plant Easter lilies for years of enjoyment

By MARY COLLISTER
Published April 21, 2006

Those of you who played host during the Easter season may have received an Easter lily as a gift. If so, you should still be enjoying its blooms. With a little care you can enjoy the blooms for years to come.

The Easter lily, Lilium longiflorum, has white trumpet-shaped flowers and has become the traditional time-honored symbol of beauty, hope and life during the Easter season. Potted, flowering Easter lilies can be enjoyed indoors until the flowers fade and then planted in the garden.

Place your Easter lily near a window that receives bright, indirect natural daylight, avoiding direct sunlight. Easter lilies prefer somewhat cooler temperatures than our typical Florida house.

Ideally, the daytime temperature should be 60 to 65 degrees with slightly cooler night temperatures. Avoid placing plants near drafts and avoid exposure to excess heat or dry air.

Keep the potting medium moist. Water the plant thoroughly when the soil surface feels dry, but avoid overwatering. If the pot is wrapped in decorative foil, be careful not to let the plant sit in standing water.

Remove the plant from decorative pots or covers and hydrate it until water seeps out of the pot's drain holes. Repeat this several times. This is best done in the sink or outside.

Allow the plant to drain for a few minutes before putting it back into its decorative cover.

The flowers have a lot of pollen and can make a mess if allowed to drop on your furniture. As the flowers open and mature, remove the yellow anthers before the pollen starts to shed. This lengthens the flower life and prevents the pollen from staining the white flowers.

When a mature flower starts to fade and wither, cut it off to keep the plant looking attractive. After the last flower has withered and been cut away, the plant is ready for the garden.

Prepare a well-drained garden bed in a sunny location using organic matter such as compost. Good drainage is the key to success with lilies and most other bulbs.

Plant the bulbs 6 inches deep from the base of the bulb to soil level. Plant the bulbs 4 to 6 inches apart. The hole should be wide enough so the roots can be easily spread out. Work the soil in around the roots, and water them immediately after planting.

To keep the bulb cool, mulch with a 2-inch layer of compost, shredded leaves or purchased mulch. This helps conserve moisture in between waterings, suppresses weed growth, keeps the soil cool and provides nutrients as it decays.

As the leaves and stems of the original plants begin to turn brown and die back, cut them back just above a healthy leaf on the stem.

Wait until the leaves and stems have turned brown before removing them. New growth will soon emerge. It is unlikely that a second flowering will occur later in the summer.

Easter lilies, which were forced to flower under controlled greenhouse conditions in March, will flower naturally in June or July the following and subsequent years and will grow to 3 feet or taller.

Mine are now about a foot high and have returned for about six or seven years. They are planted in an area with fertile soil, but other than that receive little extra care. They receive the same care as the perennials and annuals planted around them.

In fact, this year I have a huge "crop'' of Johnny Jump Ups, all self-seeded, and the Easter lily has poked its way through the masses of these little violets.

In the fall, when the lily stalks have matured and turned yellow, you can cut them back to soil level. When they are completely dry, the stalks can be pulled out easily.

The bulbs require no special treatment here during the winter.

If you want to fertilize, do so in the early spring when you see the first signs of growth using a time-release or water-soluble fertilizer. With minimal care the Easter lily will provide blooms year after year.

I hope you have many projects and many successes in your garden. I'd love to hear about them. Please drop me a line at the St. Petersburg Times.

Mary Collister can be reached via North of Tampa, 14358-B N Dale Mabry Highway, Tampa, FL 33618.

[Last modified April 20, 2006, 08:33:45]