Plant Lilies in the Fall for Summer Bloom

Give Your Garden Color with Warm-Season Flowering Bulbs

Oct 19, 2009

There are times in even the best-designed garden when there isn't much blooming. Look to lilies to give your garden color from June to September.

The best time to plant lilies is in the fall so the bulbs can develop a strong root system before winter arrives. However, lily bulbs, unlike tulips or daffodils, can be planted in the spring. When planting in the fall, be sure to plant them before the first frost or when the ground freezes.

Lily bulbs vary considerably in size. Bulbs purchased at home-improvement stores and some small-scale nurseries are less expensive and tend to be smaller than those purchased from mail-order catalogs. These smaller bulbs generally tend to produce fewer flowers the first year of bloom.

Planting Lilies

A rule of thumb when planting lilies is to plant them three times the depth of their height. Space the small bulbs about 12 inches apart; large, tall-growing species should be spaced about 18 inches apart.

When planting lily bulbs, be careful not to break off any scales or any shoots that already may have grown or emerged from the bulbs themselves. If these shoots are broken off, the bulbs won't produce flowers that year.

Some lily bulbs have contractile roots. These types of roots will pull the bulb deeper into the soil, which ensures that the bulb is always growing at the proper depth.

Selecting Lily Varieties for the Garden

When it comes to lilies, each gardener has his or her own favorite variety. The Oriental lily is one variety of lily that produces huge flowers with petals that are ruffled and reflex back. Many Oriental lilies are highly fragrant, such as 'Casa Blanca.' 'Stargazer' is a lily with pinkish red petals that feature crisp white margins. 'Miss Rio' is an early bloomer, producing flowers before other Oriental lilies, and it grows to a maximum height of about 2 feet. 'Lemon Pixie,' an Asiatic lily, is short and compact, growing only 10 to 14 inches tall.

Folks tend to think of lilies when they think of Easter. Resembling the white Easter lily, 'Regale' is a Chinese trumpet lily featuring brilliant white petals with a deep maroon color on the reverse. 'South Pacific' is a hybrid from the Easter lily. It grows about 2 to 3 feet tall and is highly fragrant.

Aftercare for Lilies

After the flowers fade, they should be removed. The foliage, however, should not be removed after flowering. Allow the foliage to continue growing throughout the summer and early fall months. Once the foliage starts to brown and die back, it can be removed. The lily bulbs need the foliage to produce food to store up energy reserves so that they can produce next year's flowers.

Enjoy lilies in the garden, and give color and fragrance to your garden all summer long.

The copyright of the article Plant Lilies in the Fall for Summer Bloom in Bulbs is owned by Michael Vyskocil. Permission to republish Plant Lilies in the Fall for Summer Bloom in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.