Easter Lily Lore and Care by Vicky Spelman

Pixabay

The popular Easter lily we use today to celebrate the holiday is referred to as ‘the white-robed apostles of hope.’  These snow-white flowers symbolize new life and hope.

Current U.S. production began with a World War I soldier, Louis Houghton, who brought a suitcase full of hybrid lily bulbs to the south coast of Oregon in 1919.  Houghton freely distributed bulbs to his horticultural friends and neighbors.  During WW II, the Japanese source of bulbs was abruptly cut off.  As a result, the value of lily bulbs sky-rocketed and many who were growing the lilies as a hobby decided to go into business. The Easter Lily bulbs at that time were called “White Gold”, and growers everywhere attempted to cash in on the crop.  By 1945 there were about 1200 growers producing bulbs up and down the Pacific coast from Vancouver, Canada to Long Beach, California.

Easter Lily Bulb - Cornell University

If you bought or received an Easter Lily, here are some tips for caring for them:

Indoors:

Choose a sunny or bright location so it will receive plenty of light during the day. Keep away from heat sources (like a heat register) since it prefers being cool at night.

Water well each day.

Once it blooms and the leaves begin to yellow, keep watering until ready to transplant outdoors (allow the leaves to die naturally before pruning them).

Outside:

When all danger of frost has passed in the Spring and the soil can be worked, plant the bulb 6 to 8 inches deep in the soil. Choose a location where it will receive lots of sun and make sure the soil is well-draining. Top the soil with about an inch or two of mulch to help keep the roots cool during the hot summer.

The Front Range’s biggest challenge for lilies is our clay soil and dry winters.

Lilies bloom in late May and June.  They are “forced” for Easter bloom. It may take the plant two years to bloom.

But who will watch my lilies, When their blossoms open white? By day the sun shall be sentry, And the moon and the stars by night! ~ Bayard Taylor

Easter Lily Research Foundation