How to Grow and Care for Easter Lily Plants

Easter Lily Flower, how to grow Easter Lilies

About Growing Easter Lily Plants

Easter Lilies plants abound just in advance of Easter. They make a great gift for mom or grandma, or simply to decorate your home or office with a bright splash of early spring bloom. Shortly, after the holiday, recipients wonder how to grow and care for Easter Lilies. And, some recipients have never grown a flower before.  Sadly, the blooms don’t last long. You will find caring for Easter lilies both indoors and out is quite easy. While they are in bloom indoors, simply keep the soil in the flowerpot moist.  When the weather warms up in your area, you can plant them in your flowerbed. Then, they will come back up and bloom every year!

These flowers are a symbol of the Christian Easter season. The bright, tubular flowers have a pleasant fragrance. The flower symbolizes purity and rebirth. It represents the resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday morning.

The floral companies and garden stores have worked diligently to force Easter Lilies to bloom for you by Easter morning. As you know, garden nurseries are shooting at a moving target… in any given year, Easter falls anywhere from the last few days of March to mid-April. Fortunately, the floral companies have mastered the knack of forcing these big blooms to open right on time.

When selecting Easter Lilies, buy ones that are just beginning to open. The blooms will only last a few days, so selecting one about to open will allow you the maximum bloom time in your home.

Lilium Longiflorum

Did You Know? There are over 4,000 species of lilies.

Don’t throw me away! After Easter when my blooms begin to fade and die off, plant me in a container or your flower bed. Easter Lilies will grow and bloom in your flower garden for years. How!? Read on……

Easter Lily Plant Specifications

Flower Colors: White is by far the most popular color. However, there is also a pink variety that looks very attractive.

Flowers Bloom: Summer. The ones you get at Eastertime have been forced to bloom.

Plant Height: Two to three feet tall.

Light Requirements: Full sunlight to partial light.

Ideal Soil pH: 6.0 – 7.0.

Hardiness Zone: 4 – 8. 

Toxicity: Toxic to humans and animals.

Native To: Asia.

Plant Type: Perennial bulb.

Botanical Name: Lilium longiflorum.

Are Easter Lilies Edible?

NO!!

All parts of this plant are toxic to humans and animals. Some sources suggest the bulb is edible. We recommend you conduct further research before considering eating them.

Medicinal Applications

Herbalists use the Easter Lily bulb for a variety of medicinal applications. Among them are: 

  • It is used for edemas and burns.
  • Treatment for tumors and ovarian cysts.
  • Some suggest it restores fertility.
  • Chinese herbal medicines use it to ease chronic cough.
Easter Lily Flower Plant

Light Requirements

Grow the plants in full sunlight. Provide it with 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight. 

Also, the plants grow well in partial sunlight. In warmer regions of the country the plant grows best in partial sun where they are shaded from the hot rays of the afternoon sun.

How to Grow Easter Lily Plants

Most people buy potted plants for Easter. So, let’s begin with a blooming plant, and discuss planting Easter lilies outdoors.

After the flower has died off, continue to grow the Lily in its container until the last frost in your area. Then, transplant your Easter Lily in a flower garden. It prefers somewhat rich soil, fairly well-drained, and full sun. It should be allowed to continue to grow. Like other spring bulbs, the plant will naturally die off as summer arrives.

In the fall, apply bulb fertilizer or blood meal on top of the soil where your Easter Lily bulb is resting. Carefully, work the fertilizer in without disturbing the bulbs. In colder climates, add a layer of mulch on top of the soil to protect the bulb from freezing.

Your transplanted Easter Lily should awaken the following spring. They will bloom in late spring in warmer areas of the country. However, it may not bloom until the second year after it is transplanted. Many bulbs that have been forced to bloom need a year to recover and return to a normal cycle. Then again, perhaps you’ll be one of the lucky ones to see a transplanted Easter Lily bloom the following spring.

Important Note: If you live in colder, more northern parts of the country. Your outdoor planted Easter Lily may not bloom until late spring or early summer.

Easter Lily Flowers

Easter Lily Plant Propagation

Easter Lilies are grown from Bulbs. After the plant has died back for the season, you can dig up the bulbs and separate the baby bulbs. Re-plant the bulbs in the fall. Plant bulbs 10-12″ apart. or together in small groups. To achieve maximum growth, avoid overcrowding.

Also, you can pot up the bulbs to force them to grow indoors. They will need a “chilling period” before bringing them indoors. This is a lot of fun. And, you can give them to family and friends as a gift.  More on Forcing Bulbs.

Note: Easter Lily plants from smaller new bulbs may require a few years of growth before blooming for the first time.

Easter Lily Flower Plant 2023

Pruning Easter Lily Plants

Little to no pruning is necessary for these plants. For a neat and tidy appearance, remove the flowers as soon as they begin to die. Also, on occasion there may be a dead of sickly leaf. Remove it as soon as you see it. Use pruning shears to cut the leaf off where it reaches the main trunk of the plant.

Insect and Plant Disease Problems

Easter Lily plants have few insect and disease problems. 

Aphids can be an occasional problem. Treat the plant with neem oil or an insecticidal soap.

Bulb rot can occur in prolonged periods of wet soil. 

Also see: Plant Problems – Identify the causes and find the cures.

Overwintering Easter Lily Plants

As mentioned earlier, caring for Easter Lily plants is easy. And, overwintering them is a cinch.

Here’s how:

In warmer regions of the country, cut the plant back to the ground after it has died off for the season. That’s all there is to it.

In cold areas, add a layer of mulch to protect the bulbs from freezing. Or, you can dig up the bulbs and store them in your basement for the winter.  

 

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