Simple Gardening

Welcome to Simple Gardening

Article

Easter Lilies, and the Number One Gardening Question Right Now
Doug Green

Everybody asks about Easter lilies! Can they go outside; can I plant them in my garden? And to this I reply, "Why not?" Like other bulbs,there are two options if you plant your leftover Easter lily bulbs - either they will live and flower for many years (it is perfectly hardy into zone 4) or they will immediately die. If you don't plant the bulb, it will definitely die. So you have nothing to lose by planting.
Once the Easter lily bloom has faded in the house, cut the stem back as far as you can. Grow the plant in a sunny windowsill, keeping it moist (not sopping) and feed weekly with houseplant food. After all danger of frost has passed wherever you live, you can plant it outdoors. Planting outdoors is as easy as digging a hole and planting so that the top of the bulb will be three inches below the surface.
Add a shovel of compost and a shovel of peat moss to the planting hole and ensure the soil is well loosened. Remember it is necessary to dig a large enough hole to spread the lily roots out and to ensure it is at least eighteen inches from another plant. Place the bulb in the bottom of the planting hole and backfill the soil up to the neck of the bulb – do not cover the green leaves. Covering the green leaves at this time could rot them.
Wait until the leaves have turned yellow and faded before totally filling in the hole. After you've planted the bulb, water it thoroughly. Carefully water and turn the area into a mudhole so no air spaces are left around the bulb.
The original foliage may die back immediately after planting. If this happens, cut the foliage right back to the bulb and then backfill the hole. Do not be surprised to see a new set of leaves emerge from the hole. Water thoroughly after backfilling.
The key to success with growing Easter lilies is to give the tops full sun but to shade the roots. Hot tops and cold feet would describe this growing condition. Also, excellent drainage is essential for bulb success. Poor drainage or clay soils will rot the bulb over winter because of excessive moisture.
Remember the normal time for the lily to bloom is mid-summer. The first planting year you may see a bloom in mid-summer but the likelihood is that the bulb will wait for next year to bloom again. Your job is to grow the bulb. Do not cut off leaves until they are well faded and quite yellow. Do not pin them up so other plants can grow next to the lily. You want those leaves to stretch out and absorb as much sunlight as possible because they are feeding the bulb and making next year's flower bud.
And next year's Easter lily bulb is what you're looking for, and the one after that, and the one after that too. If you're looking for other bulb information, check out this website.

About the Author

Award winning garden author

Home:http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com

Blog:http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/gardens-gardening-news.html

Florida Gardening Best products

Florida Gardening News

florida gardening

If those bookstore gift cards are burning a hole in your new goatskin garden gloves, give these books a try. So you got some flashy new garden tools for Christmas or Hanukkah, maybe a hard-to-find plant and a giant steppingstone that looks like a ...

Garden Fables - Tampa Bay Online

Jim Watson, pictured in 1993, was one of Northeast Florida's best-known gardening experts. James N. "Jim" Watson, the man known for a quarter of a century as the First Coast's gardening guru, died Friday in a Jacksonville nursing home from ...

'In his job, he was without equal' - Florida Times-Union

TALLAHASSEE - Florida legislative leaders and Gov. Charlie Crist have agreed on a basic road map for closing a $2.3 billion budget hole next month by draining trust funds, delaying construction projects and going deeper into debt. With the ...

More pain ahead as Florida tries to balance the budget - Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel

James N. "Jim" Watson, the man known for a quarter of a century as the First Coast's gardening guru, died Friday in a Jacksonville nursing home from complications of a broken hip suffered in November. He was 92. Mr. Watson's homespun advice that he ...

James N. "Jim" Watson 1916-2008: 'In his job, he was without equal' - Florida Times-Union

INTERESTED? Want to plant a wildflower garden in South Florida? Lisa Roberts, executive director of the Florida Wildflower Foundation, said the following species are recommended for this region: • Tickseed ( Coreopsis leavenworthii or Coreopsis ...

Wildflower auto tag sales pay for butterfly gardens and science ... - Miami Herald

It’s hard to believe another year has gone by, but obviously it has, and it’s once again time for the annual garden workshop lecture series. The Garden Workshop Series (GWS), presented by the University of Florida Collier County Extension Service ...

At Home: Garden lecture series here to take you to a brighter, more ... - Naples Daily News

FOR THE LOVE OF TREES: Buy tree seedlings complete with care instructions for $2 and $3, and get free admission to Tampa's Museum of Science & Industry by helping plant trees, during the Society of American Foresters annual Tree Seedling Sale. The ...

Gardening Notes - Tampa Bay Online

MICANOPY — If you have been looking for a book published years ago, you might try O. Brisky Books. While there is not a lot of fiction on the shelves of O.J. Brisky’s meandering store, there are thousands of other books, some rare, some old and ...

Micanopy bookstore a link to past - Star-Banner

Micanopy - If you have been looking for a book published years ago, you might try O. Brisky Books. While there is not a lot of fiction on the shelves of O.J. Brisky's meandering store, there are thousands of other books, some rare, some old and some ...

Micanopy book dealer amasses history, heritage - Gainesville Sun

Florida Yards & Neighborhoods classes will help you started on your great yard. Each of nine guiding principles will be explained to teach participants to choose the right plant for the right place, irrigate efficiently and mulch effectively and turn ...