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Easter Lilies, and the Number One Gardening Question Right Now
Everybody asks about Easter lilies! Can they go outside; can Iplant them in my garden? And to this I reply, “Why not?” Like other bulbs,thereare two options if you plant your leftover Easter lily bulbs -either they will live and flower for many years (it is perfectlyhardy into zone 4) or they will immediately die. If you don’tplant the bulb, it will definitely die. So you have nothing tolose by planting. Once the Easter lily bloom has faded in thehouse, cut the stem back as far as you can. Grow the plant in asunny windowsill, keeping it moist (not sopping) and feed weeklywith houseplant food. After all danger of frost has passedwherever you live, you can plant it outdoors. Planting outdoorsis as easy as digging a hole and planting so that the top of thebulb will be three inches below the surface. Add a shovel ofcompost and a shovel of peat moss to the planting hole andensure the soil is well loosened. Remember it is necessary todig a large enough hole to spread the lily roots out and toensure it is at least eighteen inches from another plant. Placethe bulb in the bottom of the planting hole and backfill thesoil up to the neck of the bulb – do not cover the green leaves.Covering the green leaves at this time could rot them. Waituntil the leaves have turned yellow and faded before totallyfilling in the hole. After you’ve planted the bulb, water itthoroughly. Carefully water and turn the area into a mudhole sono air spaces are left around the bulb. The original foliage maydie back immediately after planting. If this happens, cut thefoliage right back to the bulb and then backfill the hole. Donot be surprised to see a new set of leaves emerge from thehole. Water thoroughly after backfilling. The key to successwith growing Easter lilies is to give the tops full sun but toshade the roots. Hot tops and cold feet would describe thisgrowing condition. Also, excellent drainage is essential forbulb success. Poor drainage or clay soils will rot the bulb overwinter because of excessive moisture. Remember the normal timefor the lily to bloom is mid-summer. The first planting year youmay see a bloom in mid-summer but the likelihood is that thebulb will wait for next year to bloom again. Your job is to growthe bulb. Do not cut off leaves until they are well faded andquite yellow. Do not pin them up so other plants can grow nextto the lily. You want those leaves to stretch out and absorb asmuch sunlight as possible because they are feeding the bulb andmaking next year’s flower bud. And next year’s Easter lily bulbis what you’re looking for, and the one after that, and the oneafter that too. If you’re looking for other bulbinformation, check out this website.
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