Happy, happy Easter Lilly!

Lillies in your garden are colorful, fragrant and easy to care for. You can plant your Easter lilly after it is finished blooming and the foilage turns yellow. Lilies provide an easy to grow, colorful addition to your garden and landscape. By choosing a combination of early, mid-season, and late-blooming cultivars, you can have lilies in flower from mid June through mid September. These hardy bulbs require only minimal care. Each has the capacity to grow, eventually, into an large cluster of flowering stems.

Enchantment, Asiatic Lilly

Here are some hardy lillies that do well even in a Northern climate.

Cultivars	Type	Color	Height in Feet	Time of Bloom
Enchantment	Asiatic	orange	2 - 3	June
Connecticut King	Asiatic	yellow	3 - 4	June
Corsica	Asiatic	pink	3	June/July
Crete	Asiatic	deep pink	3 - 4	June/July
Dawn Star	Asiatic	cream	2 - 3	July
Black Beauty	Oriental	dark red	5 - 6	July/August
Journey's End	Oriental	deep pink	4 - 5	August
Stargazer	Oriental	crimson-red	2 - 3	August
Yellow Ribbons	Oriental	white/yellow	3 - 5	August
Casa Blanca	Oriental	pure white	4 - 5	August/September

Lily bulbs may be planted in spring or in the fall, usually from mid-September through mid-October. If you find hardy lilies growing in containers, you may add them to your garden throughout the growing season. When buying locally, select firm, plump bulbs with roots attached. Plant them as soon as possible. Bulbs never go completely dormant so they must not dry out before planting. Plant mail order bulbs as soon as possible, also. For best effect, plant lilies in groups of three or five identical bulbs. Space them eight to twelve inches apart, keeping groups three to five feet apart, depending on the vigor and size of the lilies. Plant small lily bulbs two to four inches deep and large bulbs four to six inches deep, measuring from the top of the bulb. Divide and replant large clusters of bulbs every three years or so – or when it seems they are not blooming as well as originally.

Never plant lilies where standing water collects after heavy rainfall. Well-drained soil is an absolute must or the bulbs will rot. Add lots of organic matter to clay soil to create a raised area with improved drainage. Incorporate organic matter into light, sandy soil also, to help hold onto nutrients and prevent it from drying too rapidly. Before winter, mulch over newly planted bulbs with four to six inches of loose, weed-free compost, leaves, or wood chips. This delays soil freezing and allows roots to continue growing longer. Mulch also insulates the soil against fluctuating temperatures, delaying the emergence of frost-tender shoots in spring. After lillies are established they won't need much protection....just enjoy.