Enjoy your Easter lily for years to come

Ankaret Dean, Lanark County Master Gardeners

---

Next to the Christmas poinsettia, Easter Lilies are perhaps the most recognized flowers in the western world. With a little care a lily should remain in flower for about a month in the house. Firstly, remove the decorative packing around the pot to avoid the plant from becoming waterlogged. Keep the plant moist but not wet, check daily, and if the soil feels dry, place it in a sink and saturate the soil until water starts to drip out of the bottom drainage hole. Lilies do not like to be kept in the bright sunshine, so keep it in a bright room and the preferred temperature is about 65 degrees. As the flowers start to fade and the petals drop off, remove them using sharp scissors. When all the flowers are finished place the plant in a cool room and keep watered and fertilize with 20-20-20, half strength every two weeks. As it is difficult to persuade Easter lilies to re-bloom every year if they are kept indoors, the best solution is to plant them outside in the garden once all danger of frost is over. To harden them off, place them in a shady spot and gradually introduce them to sunshine while still in the pot. From here they can be put into a perennial bed, and planted in a hole about 5-6" down, with mulch around the stalk. They do not like intense heat or a soggy situation, preferring to have their heads in the sun and feet in the shade. Once established, remove the old stem, which will die back and wait for new growth and sometimes it will even flower again. They like to be fertilized with a half strength general fertilizer but do not continue once it has re-flowered. Before the winter arrives generously mound up old leaves or mulch around the plant, and cut back once the stem has died.

Many species of lilies, including Easter lilies, can be deadly to cats. If you notice cats digging up lilies or chewing the leaves, immediately take them to the vet.

For more gardening information, phone Renai Rennick at 613-267-7272.