Planting, Growing, and Caring for Lilies
With stunning star-shaped flowers, lilies add elegance and fragrance to any garden. Enjoy their colorful blooms from spring through the first frost by blending early-blooming, mid-season, and late-blooming lilies into your garden. Learn more about choosing, planting, and growing lilies.
About Lilies
Everyone loves lilies! Grown from bulbs, lilies are perennials that require minimal care if planted correctly. Most lilies do well in containers and look spectacular in a vase.
True lilies belong to the genus Lilium and grow from plump, scaly bulbs. Several popular lily species exist, including Orientals, Asiatics, Orienpets, and Species types.
We say “true” lilies because there are also plants, such as daylilies, peace lilies, and canna lilies, which have the term “lily” in their common name, but they’re not actually lilies at all. They do not grow from bulbs but are in a different plant genus. Water lilies aren’t lilies at all, and neither are lily-of-the-valley.
With 8,000 or so varieties, lilies parade an endless range of colors, shapes, heights, and bewitching scents. Lilies have six plain or strikingly marked tepals (“petals”) and are often trumpet-shaped, sitting atop a tall, erect stem with narrow, long, lance-shaped leaves. They come in many beautiful colors, including pink, gold, red, orange, and white.
Most lilies also take readily to containers at home in formal and naturalistic settings. Plus, they make excellent cut flowers!
To create a sequence of Lily blooms in your garden, remember that Asiatics generally flower first, followed by Orienpets and then Oriental varieties.
- Asiatic lilies (Lilium sp. - “Asiatic hybrids”) are the earliest to bloom (usually in May or June), right after peonies. They are also the easiest to grow, as long as they are planted in well-draining soil, not waterlogged. They are the shortest type of lily (about 2 to 3 feet tall) and come in many colors, from pastel to tropical. Hybrids come in pure white, pinks, vivid yellows, oranges, and reds; heights are from one to six feet. Intense breeding has erased much of the Asiatics’ fragrance, but despite their lack of perfume, they are a favorite with floral arrangers.
- Oriental lilies (Lilium sp. - “Oriental hybrids”) have that famously intoxicating fragrance. They are tall and stately (4 feet), and tend to grow more slowly. Oriental hybrids bloom in mid- to late summer, just when Asiatic lilies are beginning to fade. Orientals are always a striking choice, producing masses of huge white, pink, red, or bi-color blooms. They make wonderful cut flowers that fill even the largest rooms with spicy scents.
- Easter lilies (Lilium longifolium) are most commonly grown indoors as a holiday plant. As their name suggests, they are typically forced into bloom around Easter, in March or April. Outdoors, they are better suited for warmer regions of North America, where they can be planted in the garden after blooming has finished. These are generally hardy to Zone 5 (and to Zone 4 if given 1 to 2 feet of mulch in autumn for winter protection). Learn more about Easter Lilies.
- Trumpet lilies (Lilium sp. - “Trumpet hybrids”) are similar to oriental lilies, producing many blooms with a nice scent. Their flowers tend to be smaller and more closed (like a trumpet) than those of the other lilies.
There are other lilies out there, of course, such as tiger lilies (Lilium henryi) and Turk’s cap lilies (Lilium superbum), as well as hybrids like “Orienpet” (Oriental + Trumpet) and “LA” lilies (Easter + Asiatic). Browse through your favorite online gardening retailer’s catalog to find what you like best!
Planting
Lilies need lots of sun. For dependable blooms, lilies should get 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight daily (aka “full sun”). If it’s too shady, the stems will attempt to lean toward the sun or get spindly and fall over.
Also, a well-drained site is critical. Water trapped beneath the scales may rot the bulb. How can you tell if your site drains well? After a good rain, find a spot that is the first to dry out. Enrich the soil with leaf mold, compost, or well-rotted manure to encourage good drainage. Learn more about soil amendments and preparing soil for planting.
Most popular varieties prefer acidic to neutral soil, but some are lime-tolerant or prefer alkaline soils (e.g., Madonna lilies).
When to Plant Lilies
Lilies are commonly planted in the fall but can be planted in the spring in areas with harsh winters.
- In the fall, plant at least four weeks before your first fall frost date. Bulbs planted in the autumn will have well-established roots in the spring. The bulbs benefit from a winter chill to produce big blooms.
- In the spring, plant them as soon as the threat of frost has passed.
- Container-grown lily plants can be planted anytime during the early summer.
- Buy the bulbs close to planting time. Because lily bulbs don’t go dormant, they will deteriorate over time, so don’t plan to buy bulbs in the fall and wait until spring to plant them.
How to Plant Lilies
- Loosen the soil to a depth of 12 to 15 inches.
- Plant lilies three times as deep as the bulbs are high. The deep planting encourages the developing stem to send out roots to help stabilize the plant and perhaps eliminate the need for staking. Also, deep planting keeps lily bulbs cool when temperatures soar.
- Set the bulb in the hole pointy side up.
- Fill the hole with soil and tamp gently (Got critters? Bury the bulbs in wire cages to protect them from getting eaten).
- Space bulbs at a distance equal to three times the bulb’s diameter (usually about 8 to 18 inches apart, depending on the variety).
- If space allows, plant lilies in groups of three to five for visual appeal; crowding leads to poor circulation and gray molding.
- Water thoroughly at the time of planting.
Growing
How to Care for Lilies
- During active growth, water the flowers freely, especially if rainfall is less than 1 inch per week.
- Keep lilies mulched so that their roots are cool. The mulch should feel moist but not wet. Read more about mulching.
- Apply a high-potassium liquid fertilizer every 2 weeks from planting until 6 weeks after flowering.
- Apply a thin layer of compost each spring, followed by a 2-inch layer of mulch.
- Stake tall lilies.
- Lilies do not bloom more than once per season, but you can remove the faded flowers so that the plants don’t waste energy making seeds.
- After the lily blooms, you can also remove just the stem itself. However, do NOT remove leaves until they have died down and turned brown in the fall. It’s very important not to cut back the leaves until the end of their season because they help provide nourishment to the bulb for next season’s blooms.
- Cut down the dead stalks in the late fall or early spring.
- Before winter, add 4 to 6 inches of mulch, simply to delay the ground freeze and allow the roots to keep growing. Leave the mulch until spring, once the last hard frost has passed. See your local frost dates. See your local frost dates.
- If your region doesn’t have snow cover, keep the soil moist in winter.
- When lily shoots grow through the mulch in the spring, start to remove it gradually.
- Divide plants every 3 to 4 years as new growth begins in the spring. Just lift the plants and divide the clumps. Replant the new bulbs, adding some compost.
Types
There are many types of lilies that bloom at different times. With careful planning, you can enjoy lilies all summer long by planting bulbs from different varieties.
Asiatic lilies are the earliest to bloom and the easiest to grow. With their upward-facing flowers, they bloom early to midsummer. Hardy in Zones 4 to 9, Asiatic lilies come in pure white, pink, vivid yellow, orange, and red. Intense breeding has erased much of the Asiatics’ fragrance, but despite their lack of perfume, they are a favorite with floral arrangers.
- ‘Patricia’s Pride’: white flowers brushed with deep purple; about 32 inches tall; blooms in early to midsummer
- ‘Gran Paradiso’: large (4- to 5-inch) red flowers; 3 to 4 feet tall; hardy in Zones 3 to 8; blooms in early to midsummer
Trumpet lilies bloom mid-summer. Tall with trumpet-shaped flowers, they are hardy in Zones 5 to 9. Trumpet lilies grow many blooms (12 to 15 per stalk!) and have a wonderfully heady, sweet fragrance.
- ‘Album’, aka regal lily: white flowers; up to 6 feet tall; blooms in midsummer
- ‘Yellow Planet’: extra-large, buttery yellow flowers; 4 feet tall; blooms in mid- to late summer
Oriental hybrids end the season, blooming in mid- to late summer, just when Asiatic lilies are beginning to fade. From tiny 2-footers to towering 8-foot-tall giants, Orientals are always a striking choice (the shorter ones are great for patio beds or container gardens). Adored for their intoxicating fragrance that intensifies after dark, Oriental lilies produce masses of huge white, pink, red, or bi-color blooms. They make wonderful cut flowers that will fill even the largest of rooms with their spicy scents.
- ‘Black Beauty’: dark red, 5-inch, funnel-shape flowers; 5 to 6 feet tall; blooms in mid- to late summer
- ‘Casa Blanca’: white flowers; 3 to 4 feet tall; blooms in mid- to late summer
- ‘Stargazer’: large, deep pink, white-edge flowers; 2 to 3 feet tall; blooms in mid- to late summer
Native lilies provide a range of options; here are a few:
- Turk’s cap lily: densely spotted orange flowers; 4 to 7 feet tall; blooms in midsummer
- Canada lily: yellow to orange-red flowers; 3 to 8 feet tall; blooms in late spring to midsummer
- Wood lily: North America’s most wide-ranging lily; orange, pink-to-red flowers; 1 to 3 feet tall; blooms in July and August
Catherine Boeckmann
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I planted some oriental lilies in pots this spring. After they bloom, I plan on leaving them in their containers after removing their stalks. My zone is 10b (Northern California - Bay Area). My question is whether I need to water my lilies (and how often) during "overwintering" of my oriental lilies if I plan to leave them in their pot/container outside all winter. Thanks!
As far as possible you want to replicate the conditions the lilies would experience in the ground. As noted above, Before winter, add 4 to 6 inches of mulch, simply to delay the ground freeze and allow the roots to keep growing. Leave the mulch until spring once the last hard frost has passed. See your local frost dates. If your ot is not deep enough to allow that much mulch, you could put the pot into something else that would facilitate that (from a box to the ground). Also above it says Keep moist in winter. How much depends on local conditions. Adequate mulch should keep the “moisture” from freezing. Speaking of freezing, a too shallow container (or bulb depth in ground) can result in frost heaves (essentially freezing and thawing cycles) in the soil that can lift the bulbs and expose them more than is desirable. Rain, followed by dryness, then rain again can also contribute.
Alternatively, we often recommend lifting the bulb, storing it in a cool, dry place in peat moss that you occasionally dampen, then replanting it in spring.
Hi - I've always had success with my lilies. This year, however, all the lilies that were either already planted or newly planted in the fall produced very small flowers - even the Casa Blancas and they only lasted a few days. We had a hard winter - 56 feet of snow in the mountains. But I prepared the beds as I always do before winter with lots of mulch and cover with pine needles. We are at 6000 feet so we get a fair share of snow. I had some bulbs left that weren't planted in the fall. I planted them in the spring and although they never got tall, they got nice flowers. So not sure what to think - wondering if the bulbs are permanently damaged - I lifted a few and the bulbs look okay although the roots are seemed to be shallow. Maybe plant them deeper - add a lot of soil and/or sphaghum on top, then mulch. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
We might suggest dividing the lilies, but if you lifted and looked at some and they don’t appear to need that… Then, we were beginning to think that maybe your altitude put you on the extreme end of the hardiness zone. But you’ve had success in the past. How about the soil pH? If you have lilies that prefer neutral to alkaline soil, the pine needles—esp if you have mulched with them over a period of years—may have altered the soil pH. Check it and amend, as needed. Fall is the best time to lime. Here in info on pH: https://www.almanac.com/content/preparing-soil-planting And more on soil amendments: https://www.almanac.com/news/gardening/gardening-advice/organic-soil-amendments-explained
We suggest high-potassium fertilizer above; ever done that? It would be lacking.
As for planting deeper; per above (you should review all the tips above), the holes should be 2 to 3 times the bulb’s diameter. If you think that’s it, we suggest checking the pH, amending as/if necessary, and then planting in fall.
Hope this helps!
I think I'll try the high potassium fertilizer. I have all varieties of lilies - my Casa Blancas were always huge and gorgeous. I'm going to test for pH as well. Nothing I can do about the very hard winter but I might increase the mulch topping this fall. Thanks for the suggestions!
I was recently given a pure white lily plant that I have admired in my neighbor's yard for 2 seasons. He moved and gave me the 4 ft. tall stalk, which I have planted in my flower bed. I've never had lilies and don't know what to do next. There are no flowers on the plant and the lower leaves are brownish yellow and wilted. Please help me save this gorgeous flower.
Jackie, we have to ask because you use the word “stalk”: did your neighbor include the lily bulb on the end? Did you plant that part of it? Assuming that you got and planted the bulb, if he only recently gave it to you, it is not likely to bloom this summer. It needs time to set roots and feel at home in your yard. You best bet for blooms next summer is to be sure that you provided the proper/best conditions. See the guidance above for specifics on sun, soil, and more.
The lily I was given by my neighbor did have a huge ball of dirt and I assume the bulb is in that. Since the plant no longer has flowers, can I cut the stalk down? In it's present condition, it looks rather pathetic. Thank you for your reply.
You mentioned this lily is white. Do you know what type? If it’s an Asiatic lily, you really should not remove the lily’s stem or leaves until they die back. Even with out the flower, the lily is alive and needs to store energy to bloom next year. Once it dies back and is yellow/brown, you can cut down.
what to do with the green pods and brown tongue that appear after flowering
