Easter Lilies, and the Number One Gardening Question Right Now

Home
>
Landscaping & Gardening
>
Easter Lilies, and the Number One Gardening Question Right Now

Easter Lilies, and the Number One Gardening Question Right Now

Everybody asks about Easter lilies! Can they go outside; can I plant them in my garden? And to this I reply, "Why not?" Like other bulbs, there are two options if you plant your leftover Easter lily bulbs - either they will live and flower for many years (it is perfectly hardy into zone 4) or they will immediately die. If you don't plant the bulb, it will definitely die. So you have nothing to lose by planting.

Once the Easter lily bloom has faded in the house, cut the stem back as far as you can. Grow the plant in a sunny windowsill, keeping it moist (not sopping) and feed weekly with houseplant food. After all danger of frost has passed wherever you live, you can plant it outdoors. Planting outdoors is as easy as digging a hole and planting so that the top of the bulb will be three inches below the surface.

Add a shovel of compost and a shovel of peat moss to the planting hole and ensure the soil is well loosened. Remember it is necessary to dig a large enough hole to spread the lily roots out and to ensure it is at least eighteen inches from another plant. Place the bulb in the bottom of the planting hole and backfill the soil up to the neck of the bulb ? do not cover the green leaves. Covering the green leaves at this time could rot them.

Wait until the leaves have turned yellow and faded before totally filling in the hole. After you've planted the bulb, water it thoroughly. Carefully water and turn the area into a mudhole so no air spaces are left around the bulb. The original foliage may die back immediately after planting. If this happens, cut the foliage right back to the bulb and then backfill the hole. Do not be surprised to see a new set of leaves emerge from the hole. Water thoroughly after backfilling.

The key to success with growing Easter lilies is to give the tops full sun but to shade the roots. Hot tops and cold feet would describe this growing condition. Also, excellent drainage is essential for bulb success. Poor drainage or clay soils will rot the bulb over winter because of excessive moisture.

Remember the normal time for the lily to bloom is mid-summer. The first planting year you may see a bloom in mid-summer but the likelihood is that the bulb will wait for next year to bloom again. Your job is to grow the bulb. Do not cut off leaves until they are well faded and quite yellow. Do not pin them up so other plants can grow next to the lily. You want those leaves to stretch out and absorb as much sunlight as possible because they are feeding the bulb and making next year's flower bud.

And next year's Easter lily bulb is what you're looking for, and the one after that, and the one after that too. If you're looking for other bulb information, check out this website. To contact the author, use the email form at http://www.flower-garden-bulbs.com/gardeningtips.html

copright Doug Green 2005

Doug Green Award winning garden author
http://www.flower-garden-bulbs.com
Blog:http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/gar dens-gardening-news.html

* * * * * * Permission is given to use or distribute the above article in accordance with ezinearticles.com terms of service

In The News:

Green thumbs up: Savor the scents and flavors of herbs
Wicked Local
When we purchased our current home more than 35 years ago, our very first landscaping project was the excavation of a vegetable garden even before we officially passed papers. Vegetable plots were common in many backyards at that time but as the years ...

Garden Calendar: May 25, 2012
Memphis Commercial Appeal
Speakers' topics include native plants, wildlife management, hydrangeas, landscaping, organic gardening, more. $10. Call (901) 752-1207. memphisareamastergardeners.org June 2: Potager Dish Garden Workshop: 10:30 am-12:30 pm at the Dixon Gallery and ...

Majestic Farms Greenhouse & Landscaping in Hatley practices sustainable living
Wausau Daily Herald
At Majestic Farms Greenhouse & Landscaping, 6301 Townline Road, Hatley, the focus isn't just on green plants -- it's on green practices, too. Brenda and Jack Koshollek own the business, which seeks to educate the public about gardening and being ...

Garden Project swaps English tea for garden fair
Record-Searchlight
By Laura Christman Below: The Garden Project did the landscaping for The Shasta Lake entry sign near Interstate 5. photos by Laura Christman / Record Searchlight Gennie Seely (right), and Georgia Haddon of the Shasta Lake Garden Project go after weeds ...

Boynton woman's garden wins national landscaping award
Sun-Sentinel
A Boynton Beach woman recently was honored with a national landscaping award, and she's not even a member of the garden club. Sophie Janssen, a resident of Boynton Hills, was honored in April after catching the eye of new Boynton Garden Club president ...

European garden odyssey
Vancouver Sun
Here are the highlights of my European garden odyssey, starting with my time at Floriade: This amazing horticultural extravaganza turned out to be a glorious gardening exposition, full of sensational displays, creative landscaping ideas and all sorts ...

Terraced gardens bring color to Berlin hillside
Worcester Telegram
Gardens like these take a lot of upkeep and love to keep them going. Realizing they were now the caretakers, Hoffman and Leary got moving. But they were novices, gardeners who poked around in the dirt, but never tackled a major landscape installation ...

Pull Weeds, Not Muscles, When Gardening This Summer
Sacramento Bee
Planting cascades of flowers and adding other landscaping features to your yard involves tools and equipment that, if used without precaution, could result in serious injuries. "Whether you're an expert gardener or first-timer, carefully planning your ...

and more »

Gardening: The return of the royal palm bug
Naples Daily News
The climate there is similar to Vermont where I was born and the landscape plants made me feel as if I was there. They have rhododendrons, lilac and other flowering plants in full bloom. The crops included apples, pears and of course the grape vines of ...

Our Garden: Gardening in containers
San Jose Mercury News
By Joan Morris If your yard is full of rocks or your backyard is nothing more than a concrete patio, you may think gardening is out of the question. It's not. Many vegetables and most other plants can be grown successfully in containers.

and more »

Google News