Lilies bring dazzling blooms with little effort – get tips on growing and care
The lily is among the most striking flowers in the garden. Many people hesitate to grow lilies, but in reality, they are easier than their reputation suggests. Read these tips, and you’ll have a stunning eye-catcher in your garden.
Growing lilies
Ideal growing location
Lilies will grow and flourish year after year when you plant them in deep, fertile soil. They prefer lime-rich, well-drained garden soil where water doesn’t stagnate around their roots. Choose a sunny or partially shaded spot for your lilies, and give them air and room to grow so their beautiful flowers and leaves can be on full display.
Planting lilies
Loosen the soil deeply. Improve it if necessary with good garden soil and coarse sand to enhance water permeability, so the lily gets a good start from the very beginning. Plant the bulbs 10–20 centimeters deep sufficiently far apart. Especially larger bulbs, like tree lilies, should be planted about 30 centimeters between them so the growth doesn’t become too dense. Finally, water the lily bed thoroughly so the soil settles and the lilies’ roots can establish.
Planting potted lilies into the garden
If you have grown lilies in pots, you can enjoy them for years when you plant them in the garden after flowering. Plant the lily bulbs at the same depth or slightly deeper than they were growing in the pot. Lilies can also be pre-cultivated in pots. Lilies planted in pots in early spring will get a good start to their growth before the ground thaws and they can be planted into the ground. You can find instructions for pre-growing lilies here!
Caring for lilies
Watering, fertilizing, and protecting lilies
If you have carefully established a growing spot for lilies, their growth can get off to a good start immediately. In the future, fertilize the lily bed in spring with regular garden fertilizer according to the package instructions. In late summer, you can give the lily autumn fertilizer so that the bulb gathers strength for next year’s flowering.
During long dry spells, you can water your lilies just like the other plants in the flower bed. Otherwise, lilies don’t require any special care. In autumn, protect the lily bed with conifer branches if there is no snow on the ground. Snow is the best way to protect lilies from the cold.
Dividing lilies
If the growth becomes too dense, you can carefully dig up the bulbs and divide them by separating the side bulbs that have developed next to the parent bulbs. Do this early in spring or in autumn.
Lily pests and mold
If holes start to appear in the leaves of lilies or it’s clear someone has been nibbling on them, you can be sure that scarlet lily beetles are hiding among the plants. Adult lily beetles are bright orange-red, while their larvae hide on the undersides of leaves in black fecal matter. Immediately remove the larvae from the undersides of leaves and try to catch and squash the adult lily beetles. The beetles are clever and will drop to the ground if you try to chase them, so be quick when catching them. Birds leave lily beetles alone, as their vivid warning coloration indicates they taste bad.
If aphids attack your lilies, combat them with pesticides designed for aphid control.
Gray mold can start to bother lilies especially during rainy summers and in overly dense lily beds. A sufficiently sparse and airy planting site reduces the risk of gray mold. However, if brown spots still appear on the lily leaves, pick them off immediately.
