Dr. Grow: Caring for your Easter lily

I'm sure that you are thinking that my calendar is out of whack because I am writing about Easter lilies. After all, Easter has already passed us by for this year. I am writing about them because the first phone call on the day after Easter begins with the following questions:"What do I do with the Easter lily that I received as a gift? Can I plant it outside? Will it survive our winters? Will it bloom at Easter next year?"

The Easter lily, Lilium longiflorum, is a beautiful garden plant. Most are grown in greenhouses in order for bloom time to coincide with Easter. Since the day that Easter falls on varies from year to year, growers must plant lily bulbs at different times each year. If you have received a lily as a gift and want to keep it in your garden plant as soon as you can after Easter. Find a sunny to part shady spot to place it. Plant the bulb only as deep as the bulb was planted in its container.

Lilies like moist, well-drained soils. Make sure that the soil you plant it in has been amended with plenty of peat moss or other organic matter. The soil pH should be near 6.5. After planting, water in the plant with a high-phosphorous, low-nitrogen fertilizer such as 9-59-8. Lots of phosphorous will encourage the bulb to root into the new soil.

Make two other applications of this same fertilizer at weekly intervals. Finally, place mulch over the soil in which the lily was planted. Since Easter lilies are only hardy to zone 7 (we live in zone 5-6), you must protect it from cold weather during the winter. A thick layer of mulch will help insulate the soil and protect the bulb from freezing temperatures. Be aware that if we have an extremely cold winter, the bulb may not survive. During the summer, water the plants with an inch of water each week. If rainfall is plentiful, then not as much watering is needed.

Remember, lilies like moist soils, but they must be well drained. If the soil is not well drained, the bulb will with all likelihood rot during the winter.

If your lilies survive the winter, the new stems will begin to emerge from the ground in late March or early April. Apply a generous dose of flower fertilizer monthly during the spring and summer. Water as needed to provide adequate soil moisture. Your efforts will be rewarded with beautiful blooms in June or July.

Easter lilies given in memory of lost sons, daughters, parents and friends, adorning the altar at church on Easter morning, always remind me the promise made by Jesus.

We will be united with them again in heaven. By planting your Easter lily in the garden, you can also be reminded of that heavenly promise each year.

Paul Schnare of Cape Girardeau has been in the lawn and garden business for more than 20 years. He's an adjunct professor in horticulture at Southeast Missouri State University.