Updated at: 28-04-2022 - By: Sienna Lewis

In the Easter season, Easter lilies (Lilium longiflorum) have long been used as a symbol of hope and purity. If you buy them as potted plants, they make great gifts and holiday decorations. A few weeks after the flowers fade, you can still enjoy your Easter lilies by putting them outside after the season is over. Planting and caring for Easter lilies in the garden is an important topic.

How to Plant Easter Lily After Blooming

Taking careful care of Easter lilies while they are kept indoors assures a healthy plant that is easier to transplant into the yard. Make sure the plant is not directly exposed to the sun’s heat by placing it near a window that is well-lit but not in direct sunlight. Cool temperatures between 65 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit (18 and 24 degrees Celsius) are ideal for producing Easter lilies.

How To Care For Your Easter Lily - Farmers' Almanac

Using a liquid houseplant fertilizer every two weeks, water the plant frequently enough to keep the soil moist. Trim the flower stems at the base as they begin to fade. Easter lilies should be transplanted outside once their blooms have faded. Except for hard clay, the plants may grow in any soil. Compost or peat moss can help slow-draining soils improve their drainage. Take advantage of full or early light and afternoon shade in your area of choice.

If you’re planning on growing Easter lilies outside, keep in mind that the plants can grow up to 3 feet (1 m.) tall. Make the planting hole large enough for the roots to spread and deep enough to cover the bulb with 3 inches (8 cm) of dirt after it is in place. Fill in the soil around the roots and bulb of the plant once it has been placed in the hole you dug earlier. Squeeze out any air pockets with your palms before saturating your body in water. If the dirt around the plant begins to settle and forms a depression, you may need to add more soil.

Easter flowers should be spaced 12 to 18 inches (31 to 46 cm) apart. If you’re new to gardening, here are some Easter lily care and planting tips: When the soil around the roots of Easter lilies is shaded, they do best. There are a number of ways to do this, including mulching the lily or planting shallow-rooted annuals and perennials around it.

Remove all foliage from the plant when it begins to die back naturally in the fall. Protect the bulb from freezing temperatures in the winter by covering it tightly with an organic mulch. Use a full fertilizer when new shoots appear in the springtime. Work it into the soil surrounding the plant, keeping it approximately 2 inches (5 cm.) away from the stems..

Choosing an Easter Lily

Bulbs that have been coaxed into blooming in time for Easter are known as “potted Easter lilies” (just like you can force tulips or daffodils to bloom indoors in winter). Consider the pot’s dimensions before purchasing your lily. There should be a lot of rich green foliage on the stalk. Don’t buy that plant if its leaves are wilted, crinkled, or have black stains.

A plant with just one or two open blooms but many growing buds is the best bet for the longest blooming period in your home. Insects, webbing, or holes in the leaves may indicate that a plant is infested. Choosing a new plant if any of these indications are present is a good idea.

Planting an Easter Lily

Easter lilies can be planted in the garden when the risk of frost is over. Choose a location that receives full sunlight and is well-drained (provide afternoon shade in warmest regions). For ages, organic waste has washed down the coast and broken up the clay and gravel in the location where Easter lily bulbs are planted. The resulting soil is both draining and fertile, making it ideal for lily cultivation.

Depending on how deep the bulb was planted in the pot, you may want to increase the depth by a few inches (a good idea in northern regions). With a spacing of 12′′ to 18′′ between each plant, the ideal bulb depth is 3 inches. Before planting, loosen roots if the Easter lily appears to be rootbound. Alternatively, you can let the soil dry out in the lily pot, then plant the bulb in your garden in the fall after it’s gone dormant.

You Can Grow It: How to make your Easter lilies last longer | ktvb.com

Immediately after planting, the plant’s leaves and stem may turn brown, but new growth will soon spring up from the dirt around the plant’s base. Mulching over the soil is a good idea for these bulbs, as they require a cool root zone. Use a live mulch, such as a groundcover or shallow-rooted annuals, or an organic item like shredded bark or pine straw. Catmint (Nepeta), sedum (Isotoma), or sweet alyssum (Portulaca or Petunia) are perennial groundcovers; for an annual, try sweet alyssum, portulaca, or petunia. In the spring, an Easter lily blooms.

Leaves will turn brown and die when the growth season is over. Reduce stem length to 3 inches for the winter. After the soil freezes in colder regions, mulch thoroughly to preserve bulbs. After new growth appears in the spring, apply a slow-release fertilizer or bulb food to plants. When applying the fertilizer, keep it at least two inches away from the plants’ stems and delicately scratch it into the soil. These plants have become connected with various holidays, such as Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and Easter, and it’s interesting to see how this has happened.

Although my poinsettias and other holiday blooms typically accompany my Christmas decorations, I make an exception for my Easter lilies, which I plant in a separate spot in my yard. It would be a shame to toss them. Easter lilies are botanically known as Lilium longiforum, however they don’t bloom at Easter time. To get the bulbs ready for the holiday season, greenhouse growers pot them up in fall. They bloom in the summertime in the garden. After Easter, you can bring your Easter lilies outside and put them in the ground.

Remove the faded blooms, but don’t remove the leaves from the plant.. For as long as possible, you want to maintain it green and healthy. Next year’s blossom will thrive thanks to this leaves. Plant the lily in the ground when the risk of frost has past. Make sure the soil is extremely well drained in a location with full to half-day sun. The bulbs should be planted at a depth of 3 inches and a spacing of 12 inches.

I usually add sand to my thick clay soil to improve drainage. Before I tuck them in, I’m going to turn some compost. There is plenty of water. The initial foliage can be trimmed back after it becomes yellow. You’ll see new growth, and you may even receive a bloom. White lilies will be in bloom next year, and they’ll be lovely in the garden and as cut flowers for your home.

Caring for an Easter Lily

Keep it near a window when you bring your Easter lily home. Do not put it near a fireplace or a heating vent, since these places can cause it to become too hot or too cold. Flowers last longer when the temperature is between 60 and 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Temperatures between 55 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit are ideal for a good night’s sleep.

Avoid over-watering your plants by ensuring that the soil is constantly moist. Too-wet soil can lead to bulb rot, so don’t let the lily linger in water. You should always check to see if a lily plant’s plastic wrapper is full of water before placing it in the vase.

Remove the golden anthers from each flower by carefully snipping or pinching them. The pollen from vivid yellow lilies doesn’t stain the petals of the flowers or the surfaces in your home when you use this method. If pollen lands on a piece of clothing, use a brush or the adhesive side of duct tape to remove it. It is possible to erase pollen stains from fabric by exposing it to direct sunlight.

To remove an old blossom, just clip it off the plant at its stem attachment point. Continue to water when the soil is dry to keep the plant alive after flowering.

Garden Design Ideas for Easter Lilies

Perennial garden borders adorned with fragrant Easter lilies are a sight to behold. A mature bulb can generate up to 15 stalks with 12 to 15 flowers on each one. ‘ Easter lilies are perennials that grow in clusters in the yard.

Adding these lilies to cutting gardens is a great idea. Plant a sufficient number of flowers so that you can bring the fragrant stems inside to enjoy. Easter flowers look stunning in a moonlight or white-themed garden.

Easter lilies can be paired with shrub roses or hydrangeas to create a lovely image. In addition to looking great in a cottage garden, these lilies do nicely in containers as well. Indoor Easter lilies can withstand the cold weather of USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 7 and up. Move containers indoors for the winter if you live in a colder climate. So that bulbs can remain dormant, let the soil to dry out. To kick-start growth in the spring, re-start watering.

Easter lilies! | Easter lily, Beautiful flowers, Spring plants

Varieties of Easter Lilies

Lilium longiflorum is the botanical name for an Easter lily. Because of its tubular, 3- to 7-inch-long blooms, it’s also known as a trumpet lily or a bugle lily. White lilies are the most common, but you may also discover colorful variations that reveal their blossoms in the spring. These bulbs may have to be ordered from a specialized bulb supplier in your area. Lilium longiflorum cultivars that are more widely accessible include the following:

  • Rose-pink throats and white blooms distinguish ‘Triumphator,’ a variety of this cultivar.
  • Fragrant, blush-pink blooms (also referred to as ‘Pink Easter Lilies) known as ‘Elegant Lady’
  • ‘Deliana,’ with its creamy yellow flowers, is an excellent choice.
  • The snow-white blooms of the ‘Snow Queen’ variety
  • There are just white flowers in “White Heaven.”

Can You Plant Easter Lilies Outside in Containers?

This makes it easy to protect Easter lilies during the winter if you live in a USDA plant hardiness zone lower than 7. Gardeners with heavy clay or poorly drained soil can also benefit from container gardening. When the foliage turns yellow at the end of the season, bring the plant indoors. Keep it in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight. Wood lily plants thrive in grasslands and mountainous places throughout the northern half of the country, bringing cheer to the fields and slopes.

Wood lily bulbs were formerly so plentiful among the Native Americans that they were used as a food source. Because so many people have gathered the blossoms, this plant is now considered uncommon and on the verge of being extinct in the wild. After blooming, the bulbs don’t have a chance to recuperate, and they often don’t grow the next year. It is feasible to cultivate wood lilies, but only if you buy your bulbs from an established supplier with expertise in unusual species.