Planting Easter Lilies In The Garden
The easter lily, Lilium longiflorum or scented lily, is native to the Ryukyu Islands of southern Japan, these days, thankfully, it is readily available in most places around the world. In western countries, not surprisingly, it is most prominently seen on show for sale, to coincide with Easter, and is most popular as an indoor plant, whilst the blooms last.
The best selection would be a plant with just one or two open or partly open blooms, and three or more puffy, unopened buds of different sizes. The ripe flower-buds will open up within a few days, while the tighter, younger ones will bloom over the next several days.
As the flowers mature, remove the yellow anthers before the pollen starts to shed. This gives longer flower life and prevents the pollen from staining the white flowers. When a mature flower starts to wither after its prime, cut it off to make the plant more attractive while you still enjoy the fresher, newly-opened blooms.
Be mindful, this is not your normal indoor or house plant. Should you be fortunate enough to be presented with one of these specimens, although they do fair well indoors, this is really only for show. Once the plant has finished flowering, it really needs to be planted out, either in your garden, depending on your climate, or, in harsher climates, in the green house.
Once the blooms have faded in the house, cut the stems back to about half their length. Put the plant in a sunny window, keeping it moist and feed weekly with seaweed solution. When the leaves and stem start to brown, cut the plant right down to a healthy, green leaf, after any frost danger has passed, plant it outdoors.
When removing the plant from the pot, most likely all the soil will stay intact around the roots, as lilies have a robust root system. Dig a hole in your garden, a place in full sun, twice the size of the pot the plant has just been removed from. Add some decent soil, either store bought or from your own garden, compost can be used but make sure the compost is mature, else it will rot the bulb. Mix some of this new soil in with that which came from the hole and make a small mound in the base of the hole. Check the depth of the hole against the bulb, as the bulb needs to be at least 3 inches below ground level.
If the area you live in experiences strong winds, NOW is the time to bang in a support stake. Do not wait until the plant has been blown over, to do this. Not only could the plant actually snap off at the base, but banging in a stake at that point in time, may very well damage the existing roots, adding to the plant's woes.
If the bulb and the soil all came out of the pot intact, just plant the whole thing to the same depth as it originally was in the pot. Back-fill with the mix of new and existing soil, firming as you proceed. When the hole is two thirds full, fill it with water, this will greatly assist in removing any trapped air pockets.
Most important, after you have finished planting, mound up an additional 3 inches of topsoil over the whole thing, this is for extra stability, as the plant grows. Make a shallow depression, or moat, around the perimeter of the planting, so as to retain water, rather than having it run straight from the mound. When you have finished planting, water the whole thing again, this time with a weak seaweed solution. Should you be lucky enough to have a number of bulbs, plant them at least 12 to 18 inches apart, as a group. This will make a magnificent show.
If you have purchased bulbs, you will see that they came with roots attached. Unlike most other bulbs, like daffodils and similar, lilies are never completely dormant, this means they should be planted as soon as you bring them home. when you go to plant them, make sure the hole is a decent size, like as big as your head, again, mix existing soil with compost, or bought stuff. Bang in the support stake now, if you feel it may be necessary later on. Plant the bulbs at least 3 inches below ground level, spreading the roots over the mound in the hole, in a fan like arrangement, as it would ordinarily grow, then back-fill, firm, then add the additional mound of soil on top. Don't forget the moat, then water with seaweed solution.
Easter lilies love, rather, need full sun, but cool roots. This is achieved by the utilisation of a good three inches of mulch, on top of the planting. Most important - do this immediately after planting, so that the mulch is stable by the time the lily is established. If you wait to do this until the weather heats up, you may very well damage the plants whilst applying it.
New growth should soon emerge, this then being the first year's growth and no real blooms are to be expected, until the following season. If blooms do appear, remove them. Yes, remove them. An enormous amount of energy is necessary to produce blooms and what is needed here, is a build up of the plant's reserves, for the subsequent years of flowering. Do not cut off leaves until they are well faded and quite yellow - for that matter just don't bother.
At the end of the growing season, leave the plant to die right back, no mucking around here, leave the bloody thing alone. Lilies need every last minute of sunlight for building their reserves for the coming season's flowering. With lilies, best results are achieved - by doing the least amount possible. After the last frost each season, tidy the whole area, give a liberal dressing of fertiliser, AND compost. Replace the mulch layer - regardless of whether you think it needs it, or not, just make it so.
Following these few, simple guidelines, for planting easter lilies in your garden, should see you enjoying wonderful displays of easter lily blooms, for years to come.
Written by chris meagher
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