Forced Lilies for Your Indoor and Outdoor Enjoyment

Florist and garden centers are filled with white lilies for Easter and spring celebrations. Get the most out of your purchase by extending their life into your garden.

Grow your lily in a cool bright location to maximize flowering. Clip off the faded blooms and move your lily to a sunny window.

Water often enough to keep the potting mix slightly moist and fertilize with a dilute solution of flowering houseplant fertilizer.

The traditional white Easter Lily (Lilium longiflorum) is suited to zones 7 through 9, though I have grown them in protected locations in zones 4 and 5 with fairly good success. The Oriental and Asiatic lilies are more colorful and hardier.

Move the plants outdoors to a sunny well-drained location after the danger of frost has passed. Plant the bulb 6 inches deep, leaving the leaves intact to produce energy for next year’s bloom. Water thoroughly.

Then be prepared for beautiful blooms in next summer’s garden.

A bit more information: Stop, don’t rub the lily pollen that lands on your clothing. You’ll only stain your clothes. Grab the tape instead. Place the tape over the pollen and peel the problem away