Comments on: Easter Lily Care and Re-bloom

By: Bob

Bob — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 22:07:55 +0000

Hi Judith,
I’m sorry to hear about your Easter Lilies. We are experiencing problems with ours as well. Many of ours had their buds eaten by the deer (1st time for that) and others that did escape the deer are showing symptoms similar to what you describe.
Much of what we have here is the fact that we are growing a plant outside of its natural growing range, in this case, islands in the Pacific near Japan and that exposes the plants to new environmental stresses they don’t have in their original homes.
Anyway, many fungi, virus and bacteria attack Easter Lilies. If the weather during the growing season is just right to encourage a disease organism and at the same time puts some stress on the plant, then conditions are right for disease to take hold.
Dig up one of your bulbs, the roots should be nice and white and fairly thick like a piece of fat spaghetti, if they are brown or gray and/or shriveled, you have a root disease of one kind or another. Also, the bulb itself should be completely white, if you see any yellow, that also is a sure sign of disease.
There’s not much we can do about it. You can try drenching the area with a fungicide to see if that helps. It may be a good idea to dig up and toss the diseased bulbs. Plant any future bulbs in a different bed.
Finally, damaging the bulbs while digging, can leave a place for fungus to enter and infect the plant.
I’m looking forward to next year to see how (or if) ours recover.
I am glad to hear your other flowers are doing so well.
Good luck to you,
Bob

By: Judith

Judith — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 01:16:00 +0000

Hi Bob and Judy! I am so disappointed! We live in a new home, and last year was our first summer here…it was exciting to be surprised by the different flowers blooming! BUT our eater lilies turned brown just before they bloomed….now, last year, we were blessed with echinacea plants, so we put them in…..they are glorious!!!!! Is it possible they are robbing the lilies of their nutrients? thank you for your time and insight! God bless you both!-J.P. in Wayne county

By: victoria mcintyre

victoria mcintyre — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 03:51:02 +0000

An Easter Lily is blooming in my yard right now!! What a pleasant surprise. It’s beautiful. I has four blooms.

By: Bob

Bob — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 00:47:13 +0000

Hi Mark, I’m not sure what the record is for Easter Lilies, but yours is a prize winner for sure! When we grow Easter Lilies in the greenhouse we try to get 8 or 9 blossoms. Sometimes a plant will have 1 or 2 more than that. A good location with sunlight, adequate fertilizer and water along with some TLC all contributes to a vigorous plant and lots of blossoms. Some luck with the weather is also needed, temperatures in the mid 50’sF lasting for a week during bud developement will push the blossom numbers over the top.
Thanks for sharing your great experience with us, I hope you took some pictures.
Bob

By: Mark

Mark — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 23:42:51 +0000

I have a transplanted Easter Lily in my back yard that has 11 blossoms! Is that some kind of record?

By: Bob

Bob — Sun, 24 May 2009 21:10:41 +0000

Kelly, I would leave your Easter Lily outside all winter especially if it is in a somewhat protected spot or an area that collects or drifts over with snow. All of that snow acts as an insulating blanket for plants during the winter.
Good luck to you,
Bob

By: Kelley

Kelley — Sat, 23 May 2009 22:10:38 +0000

Can i leave it outside for the winter or do i have to dig it up in the fall to save it?I live in Nova Scotia and our winter’s are harsh.Alot of freezing, snow and ice.

Kelley Jamieson

By: Bob

Bob — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 00:34:28 +0000

Sabrina, I’ve planted old Easter Lilies with the top intact and with the top cut off as you did, and have had success both ways. If you do keep the plant in a container, transplant it into a larger pot, although, you are more likely to be successful if the bulb is planted outside. You have an additional problem with those gophers. If you want to take the time, you can plant your bulb in a wire basket of some sort to keep the gophers from chewing on your plant. Bulb planting baskets are sold at garden centers and on-line or you can make one out of a piece of hardware cloth (your local hardware store can cut you a piece from their roll). Sandy soil will work if the plant is fertilized once in a while and gets water when dry. The planting mix used in greenhouses for growing Easter Lilies has virtually no nutritional value so, we have to add all of the plant food ourselves.
Good luck and have fun,
Bob

By: Sabrina

Sabrina — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 17:59:27 +0000

I cut off the plant leaving about 2 inches. Can I just leave the plant in the plastic pot instead of planting them outdoors? I live in an area with strong coastal winds. The soil is very sandy and clay-like….plus I have gophers in the yard.

By: Bob

Bob — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 22:46:03 +0000

Hi Julie,
Since the weather in your part of the country warms up quicker than here in Michigan, you don’t have to wait until Memorial Day, the first week of May should be OK. If you have a choice, pick the sunnier location although we have some in a spot that gets only 8 hours or so and they seem to do fine. As far as soil, a well drained area that has access to natural rain would be ideal. If there’s a drought, give them a watering. Soggy soil can cause root rotting problems for Easter Lilies. Even in the greenhouse when forcing them for Easter we have to be careful not to over water them.
Have fun,
Bob