Lilies are a beautiful, striking flower. The flowers are big and vary in color and somewhat in shape. Even without flowering, the lily plant has a beautiful, deep green color that is sure to add some aesthetics to your garden. You may be wondering when lilies are in season.
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There are many varieties of lilies, all of which have slightly different blooming times. However, you can expect your lilies to bloom between summer and fall. Most lilies will fade in the fall and die after the first frost, but the plant will bloom again next summer.
When Are Lilies In Season?
Lily season runs anywhere from summer to fall. When your lilies will bloom depends on what kind of lilies you have. The four most common lilies in the U.S are Trumpet lilies, Easter lilies, Asiatic lilies, and Oriental lilies.
When Are Trumpet Lilies In Season?
Trumpet lilies are in season during mid-summer. Trumpet lilies produce many flowers from a single stalk. They can grow up to fifteen flowers in a single season.
Trumpet lilies come in many colors, such as white and pastel yellow. These lilies have a lovely fragrant scent and are slightly smaller and more closed, like a trumpet, than the other lily varieties.
When Are Easter Lilies In Season?
Easter lilies mostly bloom around Easter, between March and April. Easter lilies are commonly grown as houseplants in pots. However, they can also be planted in a warm location in the garden once they have finished blooming.
The stalk of an Easter lily can grow up to three feet tall, and the flowers are primarily white or white with pink streaks. Easter lilies do not have such a strong scent as Trumpet and Oriental lilies, making them more suitable for indoor use.
When Are Asiatic Lilies In Season?
Asiatic lilies are the first in-season and bloom between May and June. These lilies are the easiest to grow and can produce as many as four hundred flowers in a season.
Asiatic lilies come in many colors, including pink, white, yellow, red, and orange. Because these lilies are so easy to grow, they are a favorite, even though they don’t have as lovely a scent as Trumpet and Oriental lilies.
When Are Oriental Lilies In Season?
Oriental lilies are in season from mid to late Summer. They grow more slowly than some of the other lilies but grow up to four feet. Some hybrids can grow up to eight feet.
Oriental lilies have the most potent scent of all the lilies, and this scent intensifies at night. Oriental lilies produce bunches of giant flowers and come in red, white, pink, or bi-colored flowers.
There are many other varieties of lilies, although not all “lilies” are true lilies. If you plant various lilies, you can enjoy lilies in bloom from the start of summer until the first frost, when the last lily flowers will die.
Related: Are Daylilies Poisonous?
How Do You Cut Lilies For A Bouquet?
Aside from being a beautiful plant, lilies are also popular in flower arrangements. If done correctly, cut lilies can last for up to two weeks.
When cutting lilies for an arrangement, avoid cutting off too much of the stem so that the plant can store energy for next season’s bloom. Additionally, don’t cut the flowers off lilies blooming for the first time as these still need to keep a lot of energy to grow strong.
Cut the lilies using clean pruning scissors and immediately place them in a clean bucket of water. You can start preparing them for an arrangement when you have selected enough lilies. There are a few things to keep in mind when preparing your lilies and their water.
To prepare the water for your lilies correctly is crucial to ensure that your lilies last as long as possible. So how do you prepare the water for your lilies?
- Mix together ten parts water, one part chlorine bleach, and one part lemon-lime soda. This forms a cut flower food that will help the flower arrangement last.
- Wash the vase you will put your arrangement in with soap and water and rinse it thoroughly.
- Pour the water into the vase. Fill the vase with sufficient water to cover the stems of all the flowers, but do not overfill the vase. Any leaves or flowers that are submerged in the water will decay rapidly.
Once your vase and water are prepared, you can start to prepare the lilies to put in the vase.
- First, remove the lilies from the water and cut the ends off the lilies. Make sure to cut the lily stems at about two inches, or according to the depth of the vase you are using.
- Cut the lily stems at an angle.
- Cut off any leaves that will be submerged in water to ensure the foliage will not rot in the water. You can also cut out the stamens of the lilies if you are concerned that they will stain any fabrics.
- Place the prepared lilies into another bucket filled with clean water while preparing the rest of the lilies.
- Once all the lilies are prepared, you can place them in the vase with the water solution.
Lilies in a vase should last about two weeks. You must change out the water every second day. Be sure to clean the vase and refill it with the water solution before placing the lilies back in the vase.
How Do You Care For A Lilly Plant After It Blooms?
When the lily plant has finished blooming, you should not cut off the dying flowers. Although they might not look as beautiful, they provide energy for the plant to store. This energy will enable the plant to bloom again in the next season.
Make sure the soil your lily is planted in has good drainage, and the area receives either full sun or part sun. You should add a layer of mulch to the ground to help keep the soil moist.
Lilies also do well when planted among other low-growing plants that can protect the lily’s roots from drying out. Be sure to give your lily sufficient water, especially during the dry seasons.
Are Lilies Safe For Pets?
Although lilies are a beautiful addition to your garden or home, it is best to keep them away if you have a cat. The pollen of lilies are toxic to cats, and if even the smallest amount is ingested, it can lead to kidney failure in the cat.
If you wish to keep cut lilies in your house, be sure to remove the stemples and any pollen-covered stamens of the lily and ensure the cat doesn’t drink the water in the vase.
When you switch out the water from the vase, keep the lilies in a safe place. Pour the water down the drain rather than in the garden to prevent the cat from drinking it.