This bulbous industrial plant will produce arresting bloom in a variety of colors , and sometimes they are even sweet scented .
feature some of the brightest and large petals in the flora kingdom , not to refer potent perfumes , liliesunfold their gorgeous blossom from early summer to early autumn . There are several types to take from , including Asiatic , the enticingly fragrant Oriental , and longiflora hybrid . Each offers an regalia of colors and mannikin .
Lilies are toxic to cats .

Credit: Peter Krumhardt
Where to Plant Lily
Choose a pip for lily thatreceives full sunor part shade and haswell - drained filth . Lilies look at home in all areas of the landscape . found them near an entrance or patio to relish their smasher and fragrance . Add a group of eight to 10 medulla to a borderline for a dramatic midsummer presentation . To present a lily show all summertime , grow some of each type , admit Asiatic , which starts blooming in June ; the late - blooming , extremely fragrant Oriental ; and longiflorum hybrids that put up color in between the other flower sentence .
When planting lily alongside familiar , plant the bulb in drifts of five or more bulbs of a single variety . ward off mixing too many lily cultivars or the view will take on a disorderly , meddlesome appearance .
How and When to Plant Lily
Plant lily bulb in fountain or descend when the soil is coolheaded . Most variety will be available from retail issue and growers in the fall . Unlike tulip bulbs , lily bulbs do n’t have a protective covering so they should be planted right away to debar dry them out . Place each incandescent lamp in a fix about 6 inches abstruse with its pointed peak look up and its roots in tangency with the stain at the bottom of the planting hole . For warm and gentle planting , fag a large trench and plant several bulbs together , space the bulb 6 inch apart . Cover the trench with soil and urine well .
Some lily become top - large when in bloom . bet tall lily varieties early in the season to prevent detrimental plants as you work in the garden . employ garden string to tie the radical to a bamboo bet in the dirt near the bulb .
Lily Care Tips
Light
turn lilies indirect sunto part shade for best salad days and garden performance . Lilies are felicitous when their head are in the sunlight and their roots are in the shade , so a thick layer of mulch is helpful .
Soil and Water
lily prefer a well - enfeeble grime high-pitched in organic thing with an acidic pH. admixture in some shredded leaves or other organic amendment at planting time .
Provide supplemental watering if raw rain is less than an inch per hebdomad , but do n’t overwater as they will rot if standing in sluggish soil . The plant may endure offer juiceless periods once established .
Temperature and Humidity
broadly , lily can bear temperatures into the 90s F without problems . Bulbs will winter in the ground in most regions but they do need a insensate season for several weeks so wo n’t thrive in regions above zone 8.In Zones 5 and below , report fall - planted bulbs with a 2 - inch - boneheaded bed of mulch to protect them from temperature extremes .
Fertilizer
lily benefit from a irksome - release fertilizer applied in the spring at the rootage of participating growth . If you opt a water - soluble fertiliser , apply it every few week during the originate time of year . For the amount and app procedure , pursue mathematical product label direction .
Pruning
Deadhead spent blooms to prevent energy going to ready ejaculate . Cut the stem back to the ground when leafage yellow after blooming .
Potting and Repotting Lily
Lily make believe a good container plant but it will grow shorter than when grown in the ground . Select a hatful with large drainage holes and practice well - draining potting soil . Keep in mind that potted plant , unlike plants in the landscape , require more frequent lachrymation and fertilization .
Despite their hardiness inareas with moth-eaten winter , when farm in pots , lily bulbs are exposed to the cold . As a protective amount , winterize the bay window by sinking the container into the ground . you could also place the container in a 2nd , larger pot to create a planting silo that will insulate the roots from the common cold .
Pests and Problems
Pests occasionally bother lily . cervid will rust immature foliage and blossoms . Rabbits will corrode youthful plant life . On the East Coast , bright crimson lily beetle are becoming a trouble . Treat the soil around the plant to control larvae , or pick the grownup beetles off blooms to prevent damaged flower petal . Nipponese beetleswill disfigure lily peak shortly after they open .
disease may include bulb rot ( especially if produce in poorly - drained dirt ) , botrytis , and lily mosaic virus , for which there is no cure .
How to Propagate Lily
Lilies can be grown from ejaculate but the process is long and will not result in a flowering plant for two to six geezerhood . partition is the easy method of propagation . Dig up an established plant in the spill and separate the younger plant or bulblets from the parent plant . Replant the original plant and put the fresh electric-light bulb or plants in the garden at the same depth as the parent .
Types of Lily
‘Catherine Laburi’ Asiatic Lily
Lilium’Catherine Laburi ' is an Asiatic case with balmy peach cornet flower that flaunt deep salmon - coloring material throat . It grow 2 ft tall . Zones 3–8
‘Enchantment’ Asiatic Lily
Lilium’Enchantment ' bears magnificent orange trumpets speckled in bolshy . It grows 3 invertebrate foot grandiloquent . Zones 3–8
‘Connecticut King’ Asiatic Lily
Lilium’Connecticut King ' features orange - yellow flowers that open in bunches in midsummer above luxuriant foliation . It grows 3 feet high . Zones 3–8
‘Centerfold’ Asiatic Lily
This lily variety sports unparalleled maroon crosshatching in its ashen flower inwardness . It grows 3 foot tall . Zones 3–8
‘King Pete’ Asiatic Lily
This cultivar blooms in midsummer with emollient - colouring flower that are speckled in Orange River . It grows 3 invertebrate foot tall . zone 3–8
Lilium speciosum
This character of lily has pink to cherry flowers that dangle from the stems . It grows 66 in tall . Zones 4–8
‘Dani Arifin’ Lily
This variety is a striking hybrid between an easy - growing Asiatic lily and anEaster lily . It offers heavy oldtimer - rose wine flowers in early summertime and grows 32 inch tall . zone 4–8
Lilium pumilum
genus Lilium pumilumis a gaga lily that bears clusters of cardinal - carmine capped flowers splotch with yellow that dangle from tall stems in late spring . It grows 22 inches marvellous . Zones 3–8
Lilium speciosum var. album
genus Lilium speciosumvar.albumshows off double-dyed - snowy flowers with strongly reflexed petals . It grows 66 inch tall . zone 4–8
‘Muscadet’ Oriental Lily
This variety has strongly fragrant livid blossom speckled and blushed with pinkish . It blooms in August and grow 5 invertebrate foot magniloquent . zone 5–8
Martagon Lily
This cultivar is a wild - type lily that bears clustering of pinkish or carmine - purple flowers with strongly reflexed petal . It does best in moist , well - drain soil and appreciates part shade in hot - summertime climates . It grows 6 ft tall . zona 3–7
‘Montreaux’ Asiatic Lily
Lilium’Montreaux ' mutation coral - pink blooms that open in midsummer on plants that uprise 4 feet marvellous . Zones 3–8
‘Nove Cento’ Asiatic Lily
Lilium’Nove Cento ' bear bright yellow flowers gently spotted in brown . It acquire 32 inches marvellous . Zones 3–9
‘Purple Rain’ Asiatic Lily
This cultivar read off white bloom that have a racy burgundy - purple brush mark at the stem of each petal . It grow 32 inches tall . zone 3–9
‘Satin Slippers’ Asiatic Lily
Lilium’Satin Slippers ' rewards gardeners in early summer with a show of subdued - pink blooms with recurved petals . It grows 32 inches tall . Zones 3–9
‘Vivaldi’ Asiatic Lily
This variety present howling balmy - rose blooms that blend well with a wide range of color . It grows 3 foot magniloquent . Zones 3–8
‘Star Gazer’ Oriental Lily
This cultivar is one of the world ’s most democratic lily varieties . It bedazzles nurseryman with bunches of perfumed , speckled magenta trumpets edged in lily-white . This Hellenic intercrossed lily bloom in former summer . It grows to 3 foot tall . Zones 4–8
Companion Plants for Lily
Peony
Perhaps thebest - loved perennials , herbaceous peonies belong in almost every garden . Their sumptuous bloom — exclusive , semidouble , anemone centered or Japanese , and full double — in glorious dark glasses of pinks and reds as well as white and scandalmongering announce that spring has really arrived . The handsome feel leaf is usually dark green and remains good - seem all time of year long . Provide deep rich stain with plenty of hommos to avoid xerotes , and do n’t found the cap more than 2 inch beneath the surface . But these are scarce fussy flora . Where well suit to the mood , they can thrive for ten on zero concern . Zones 3 - 8
Catmint
Catmint ( Nepetaspp.)is one of the toughest perennials you could grow . It ’s a proved performer during red-hot , dry weather condition , and the argent foliage and aristocratic flower reckon fresh , even through droughts . Deadhead or cut back heavily after first flush of rosiness to encourage more flowers , which are attraction for all sorts of pollinators . geographical zone 3 - 9
Siberian Iris
Siberian iris are less showy than their bearded cousin but offer a few more benefit : their strappy leaf continue to attend well throughout the growing time of year and they are more inhuman hardy . The refined species flower come in in vapors and purples but more cultivar are useable with pink , lily-white , jaundiced , and red flowers . These long - hold out plants need partitioning every three or four years to flourish . zone 3 - 8
Garden Plans for Lily
Along a Path Garden Plan
Add interest and texture to any winding walk with this garden plan .
Long-Blooming Rock Garden Plan
This colorful rock garden is designed around a couple of very large Boulder , but could well be adapted to any rock garden stage setting .
Summer-Blooming Front-Yard Cottage Garden Plan
Create magic spell and curb solicitation in your front yard with this lush , beautiful bungalow garden program .
Drought-Tolerant Garden Plan
This informal motley garden seam feature drouth - resistant trees , evergreen plant bush , perennials , and annual .
Foolproof Foundation Garden Plan
groom up the front of your home with this interesting compounding of works .
Bold Woodland Garden Plan
Add a bright dose of colour to a pip under a canopy of tree leaves .
English-Style Front-Yard Garden Plan
Give your nursing home a welcome feel with an exuberant cottage garden in the front yard .
Heat-Loving Garden Plan
Create a stylish garden that take care good all summer with this A-one - bare garden design .
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes . Keep them in a paper bag in a coloured position , such as a cellar or refrigerator , that remain below 45 degrees F but above freeze . They are unlikely to keep if stored for more than one wintertime .
ignore lily flowers will last 10 to 14 days in a vase if body of water is freshen regularly . Generally , lilies plant in the primer coat have a lifespan of about 3 to 5 years .
White lilies symbolize purity , which is why they have always been a favorite marriage ceremony flower . Red lilies intend love life or warmheartedness , while pinkish conveys joy or abundance .

Credit: Peter Krumhardt
Which lily Are Toxic to Pets?ASPCA.org .

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Credit: Illustration by Mavis Augustine Torke

Credit: Illustration by Mavis Augustine Torke