Easter lilies will tolerate extremes that
many other plants won't survive. You can enjoy the blossoms longer if you
keep the plants out of direct sunlight or warm drafts. It's worthwhile
to place the plant on an unheated, but frost-free porch at night.
To keep the plant looking its best, remove the lily flowers as soon
as they wither and clip any leaf ends that may brown. After all the flowers
have been removed, you can keep the plant in a sunny window for its pleasing
foliage or remove it to a basement window until danger from frost is over.
Should the plant begin to go into a rest period, the leaves will start
to yellow and fall. The plant should then be kept on the dry side to discourage
rot.
The lily can be planted in a sunny garden spot as soon as danger from
frost is past. Remove the plant from the pot by inverting it and while
gently holding the top, tap the edge of the pot on a step or heavy board.
Open the root ball by pulling upward and out from the center of the ball.
A few torn roots are better than an undisturbed dense root mass that may
not be able to establish new roots in the soil. Clumped and matted roots
are more likely to die and even injure the bulb.
Place the bulb a few inches deeper than it was in the pot, open the
root as much as possible and work soil through them. Thoroughly water the
plant. One-half teaspoon of a 10-10-10 fertilizer per gallon helps promote
new top and root growth. Soon after the old tops die, new shoots will start.
These will flower later, usually in July or August, if given ordinary garden
care. Be sure that trees, weeds, or other plants don't shade the lily.
Although many people report good results, none of the lily varieties
are reliably hardy. If the ground is well drained, you can cover plants
with a mulch during the cold winter months -- just as is done for roses.
Mulches of straw, leaves, evergreen boughs, wood chips or ground corn cobs
are satisfactory. Most of the lilies are killed by exposure to winter winds
and sun. Mulches limit the heaving action of the soil and, thus, prevent
bulb exposure.
Please read the Copyright
Information.
Easter Lilies are Toxic (Poisonous) to Cats
According to a report from Purdue University the Easter Lily has a
high toxicity rating for cats and is usually fatal without immediate attention.
The White Trumpet Lily arrived in Europe from the Orient in the 1700's,
and became quite popular in England. Transported to Bermuda during the
1800's, and in 1875 from there to the USA.
Lilium longiflorum, the Easter Lily is native to the Ryukyu Islands
of southern Japan. Prior to WWII, Japanese grown Easter Lilies accounted
for a large share of the US market. In the United States, the lilies are
produced on a small number of farms along the California-Oregon border.,
which by 1996 were producing some 11.5 million bulbs annually.
More
on the Easter Lily at aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu
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