How to Grow Lilies for Dazzling Summer Blooms That Return Year After Year

Lilies are popular for their large, extravagant, trumpet or star-shaped flowers. They are elegant, striking, and fragrant. There are many different types of lilies in colors spanning the rainbow.

Not all plants called lilies are true lilies, though. Daylilies and peace lilies, for example, are different types of flowers despite the common name of lily. The true lilies are perennial bulbs that grow readily in beds and containers if you provide the right conditions and basic care.

I’ll walk you through exactly what kind of lily plant care you need to provide for thriving flowers that produce stunning blooms year after year. Plus, I’ll share some of the most beautiful types of lilies you can grow in your garden.

Quick Lily Facts

Planting Lilies

Lily flowers are planted as bulbs. The bulbs can go in the ground in the fall or the spring. The choice depends on your local climate. Fall is the typical time for planting, but if you have very harsh, cold winters in your growing zone, wait for spring.

If planting bulbs in the fall, do so at least four weeks before the average first frost date. This gives the bulbs time to establish healthy, strong roots ahead of the following growing season. If you are doing a spring planting, wait until any danger of frost has passed.

Unlike some other types of bulbs, lily bulbs don’t go dormant when stored. If you try to store them to plant later, they’ll deteriorate. Buy bulbs right before you intend to plant them. Burpee is a great resource for lots of unique different types of lily bulbs.

Soil Requirements

Lily bulbs rot readily in standing water and soggy soil, so a planting area that drains well is essential. You can amend the soil with compost to enrich it and improve drainage.

The ideal pH for soil varies depending on lily type, but neutral or slightly acidic is generally fine.

Light Requirements

Most lilies grow best in full sun. Some types will tolerate partial shade, including oriental lilies and tiger lilies. Martagon lilies are woodland flowers, so they can grow in partial or even deeper shade.

However, if you plant sun-loving types of lilies in the shade, the stems will stretch and lean towards the light. To prevent legginess, be sure to plant lilies that need full sun in areas that receive at least 6-8 hours of sunlight per day.

Planting Step-by-Step

Once you’ve selected the best growing spot for lilies, have the bulbs, and the time is right, take these steps to plant your lily bulbs:

1. Before placing bulbs in the ground, it's important to loosen the soil. Because lilies need well-draining soil, it helps to mix compost throughout the soil. Dig down about 12 to 15 inches (30-38 cm) into the ground and make any other needed soil amendments.
2. The final depth of the soil should be about three times the height of the bulb, typically around 6 inches (15 cm) deep. This encourages good root growth and keeps bulbs cool in summer. Place the bulb in the hole with the tip pointing up. A bulb planter, like this one from Amazon, makes planting the perfect size hole easy.
3. Fill the hole with soil and gently pack it in and around the bulb. If you have bulb-digging critters in your garden, you might want to bury wire cages along with the bulbs to protect them.
4. Space bulbs 8 to 18 inches (20-46 cm) apart, depending on their size. Generally, the distance between them should be three times the width of the bulbs. With appropriate spacing of individual bulbs in mind, plant them in groups of three to five for the best visual impact.
5. Once planted, water the bulbs thoroughly and cover the area with mulch. Only water them once if planting in the fall.
6. Mark the planting area, so you know where and what to expect in spring. These colorful garden stakes that look like lilies from Wayfair will provide you with beautiful metal blooms until the real ones arrive.

Lily Care

Lily plant care is fairly simple if you give them a good foundation and the right conditions for healthy growth.

Watering

Lilies grow best in soil that remains consistently moist, but that is never soggy. You only need to water plants during the growing season. Water deeply once or twice a week during the growing season if you are not getting consistent rainfall.

If you plant bulbs in the fall, water them once and leave them alone until the spring.

Fertilizing

Lilies are not heavy feeders, but they will benefit from a few applications of balanced fertilizer, like this organic plant food from Miracle-Gro.

Use a slow-release product in early spring, either with the bulbs if you’re planting in spring, or as soon as you see the first growth of spring from fall-planted bulbs. In summer, apply a fertilizer that is higher in potassium to encourage more flowers. This organic bloom booster from Espoma is a good option.

Avoid overfeeding lilies especially with too much nitrogen, which can lead to long and weak stem growth. Stop all fertilizer applications by the end of summer or early fall.

Mulching

Lilies benefit from a few inches of mulch to suppress weeds, retain moisture in soil that dries out quickly or during droughts, and keep roots cool during hot summer months. Refresh the mulch each spring. If you have cold winters, put plenty of mulch over bulbs in winter.

Pruning

Deadhead flowers once they’re spent to allow the plant to direct energy into more flowers rather than seeds. But be sure not to cut off more than a third of the stem. This can reduce the plant's heartiness and longevity.

Leave lily foliage in place for a while after flowering so that it has time to gather energy to store in the bulb for next year. Once the leaves have yellowed, you can trim them off. Cut stems all the way to the ground in late fall.

If you are growing lilies as part of a cutting garden, it is best to replant fresh bulbs each year. Cutting blooms off repeatedly can diminish the vigor of your lilies for the next year.

Propagation

Division is the easiest way to propagate lilies. To do so, dig up the parent plant and gently separate small bulblets from the main bulb.

When plants go dormant in the fall, this is the best time to divide and transplant lilies. Early fall is a great time to do this and you can immediately plant the divisions in beds.

Lily Care Calendar

Types of Lilies

There are lots of types of lilies to choose from, most of which also include many different varieties. Below are some of most common types you should know. Then shop tons of stunning lilies from Burpee.

• Asiatic Lilies: Asiatic lilies are the earliest bloomers and easiest variety to grow. This lily will grow almost anywhere. They don’t have strong scents but do come in the widest variety of colors. They can grow as tall as 6 feet (1.8 m).
• Oriental Lilies: Oriental lilies are the most fragrant lilies, and they bloom latest, in mid to late summer. They have a spicy scent and come in colors of pink, white, red, and bicolor. Some varieties of oriental lilies have double petals. They can also grow up to 8 feet (2.5 m) tall.
• Tiger Lilies: Most famously orange, tiger lilies can be any shade from red to yellow, with dark speckles on the recurved petals. They are hardier than most other types of lilies. They multiply in clumps and produce more than a dozen flowers on each stem.
• Easter Lilies: Easter lilies are the pretty white lilies you see in stores in spring. They are most often grown indoors in pots for just one season after being forced to bloom. You can plant an Easter lily outside in warmer growing regions, up to zone 5, with good winter mulch protection.
• Trumpet Lilies: Trumpet lilies are similar to Oriental lilies in terms of fragrance and bloom time. When it comes to their flowers, trumpet lilies have blooms that are smaller and more closed and resemble trumpets.
• Martagon Lilies: Martagon lilies are similar to the North American native lily, the Turk’s cap lily. These lilies not suited to hot weather, but they can tolerate a decent amount of shade. They come in many colors. Martagon lilies have whorled leaves and turk’s cap flowers. They can produce as many as 20 blooms on one stem. They come in many colors and are often freckled with flecks of color.
• Rubrum Lilies: The rubrum lily resembles the tiger lily, although the colors range from white to deep pink and have a sweet scent.

Common Problems

Most lilies are easy to grow with minimal problems. Soggy soil and root rot are the most typical issues. Make sure your soil drains very well and never overwater lilies.

Some common garden pests and diseases that may affect your lilies include gray mold, aphids, lily beetles, slugs, and snails. Space plants appropriately and avoid overhead watering to prevent mold.

Mammals may eat bulbs and entire plants. You can protect bulbs by planting them in wire bulb baskets, like these ones you can get from Amazon.

Container Care

You can grow lilies in pots or beds. They need deep containers, at least 12 inches (30 cm), but even bigger for tall varieties that can become top-heavy and tip over.

Make sure the container has drainage holes and use a light potting mix that drains very well. This potting mix from Miracle-Gro is my go-to for healthy growth all summer.

Water potted lilies more frequently than you would lilies in beds, as the soil will dry out more quickly. As with in-ground lilies, use fertilizer to promote good growth.

If you’re growing potted lilies year-round, keep in mind that the bulbs will be more vulnerable to cold than those in the ground. Mulch well and protect containers in winter with plastic or another material. Alternatively, bring the containers indoors for winter.

Companion Plants for Lilies

Low-growing perennials that tolerate some shade are great companions for lilies. Small hostas, for instance, shade the soil and help keep lily bulbs cool. They also produce late summer flowers once the lilies are spent. For something taller, ornamental grasses offer good textural contrast to lilies.

You can also use classic annual flowers to fill in the space around lilies. Alyssum, petunias, or marigolds will shade the ground over the lilies and provide season-long color, even after the lily flowers have finished.

Frequently Asked Questions

Lily Care Must-Haves