Is the Lily flower life cycle long enough for your summer garden?
A stretch of land with lovely flowers is definitely what all gardeners wish for. Each type of flower brings a different beauty and meaning, and their fragrance will not be the same.
The choice of flowers to plant will depend on each person’s preferences, but Lily is worth your attention if you are wondering. It’s easy to grow, but that doesn’t mean you can do anything.
Understanding the characteristics and life cycle of a lily plant will help achieve the expected results. Keep reading to know more!
What Should You Know About This Flower?
Why Choose This Flower
- They are easy to grow: You need to plant them under full sunlight to part shade with proper drainage, and don’t let them dry out during dry spells. They grow swiftly from bulbs sown in the fall or early spring. Moreover, we need to distinguish the true lily from other ones, such as water lilies.
- They attract pollinators: If you plant lilies, your gardens will attract pollinators like bees and butterflies. Growing pollinator-friendly vegetation makes watching these creatures fly in and out of your yard amusing and contributes to our world’s sustainability and aesthetic appeal.
- Lilies are diverse in types: You can pick a Lily to fit the color scheme of your garden because lilies come in various hues.
- There are numerous kinds to choose from, and the colors available include pink, pale orange, rose, white, and cream. Many are even spotted or striped.
Common Types Of Lily
Asiatic Lily
The blossoms of these true lilies are often smaller than those of certain Lily species and lack scent.
Asiatic Lily growth stages should be in full light, and they produce sturdy, straight stems that rarely need to be staked.
Asiatic Hybrid Lily produces 3 to 6 fragrant flowers per stem, and the petals are frequently dotted. They are available in various hues, including red, orange, creamy white, and yellow.
How tall do lilies get? It should be between two and three feet tall, as usual.
Trumpet Lily
These hybrid lilies, often known as Aurelian lilies, are wonderful. Their long-stem flowers are abundant, trumpet-shaped, vibrant, long-lasting, and fragrant.
While other trumpet Lily variations only have a few buds per stem, some varieties have a dozen or more.
Trumpet lilies come in various colors, including yellow, white, orange, pink, and cream. Their leaves are large, and their petals are spotless.
Oriental Lily
These edible Lilies are among the most fragrant varieties. The evening is when the beautiful blooms’ powerful fragrance is at its strongest.
How big do lilies get? Each stalk of an Oriental Lily has several flower buds and blossoms the size of a dessert plate.
In addition to creamy yellow and white, oriental lilies come in various pink and purple-red hues. Some types have speckled, recurving petals, whereas others do not.
Oriental Lily growth stages are among the newest blossoming. How tall do lilies grow? They can reach 2 to 5 feet tall.
Canada Lily
Only a few lilies have the peculiar stoloniferous bulb type like this one. This indicates that shoots extend a few inches from the bulb’s base rather than from the top.
At the ends of these shoots, new bulbs develop, and then development begins to go upward.
These Lilium plants are delicate and classy in comparison to its large trumpet siblings.
The centers of the dangling yellow blossoms are gently freckled with orange-brown dots, and they have sharply pointed points that sweep out and upwards.
Lily of the valley
It was known as May bells of Mary’s tears, originally discovered in England, are not as widely appreciated as the regular lily flower due to its distinct shape.
Despite how attractive their flowers, leaves, and fruits may be, they are all poisonous and should not be taken home.
What Is Lily Flower Life Cycle?
All parts of the Lily life cycle are Lily germination, growth, pollination plus fertilization for reproduction, and seed dispersal.
During reproduction, each bud will take 5-7 days to fully unfurl and thrive in 2-3 weeks.
Lily, like all flowering plants, reproduce sexually during their whole life cycle.
So, how do lilies grow? Germination occurs when a seed in the earth is met with warmth and water.
A plant embryo, or embryonic plant, is found inside a seed, filled with nutrients, and covered in a protective seed coat.
Lily bulbs are classified as monocots rather than dicots because they only have one cotyledon, an internal embryonic leaf-like structure.
This solitary leaf absorbs the water and nutrients until the bulb can create a seedling.
Tips For Growing Lilies
When To Plant
As we’ve known about the life cycle of Lily, its bulbs should generally be planted in the fall, four weeks before the first fall frost date in your area.
The bulbs’ roots sown in the fall will already be established by April. The winter frost helps the bulbs grow large blooms.
Lilium planting in the spring in locations with exceptionally hard winters is advisable as soon as the risk of frost has passed.
Lily plants can be planted in containers with drainage holes whenever in the early summer. Purchase the bulbs right before planting. Its bulbs will lose their quality over time since they never go dormant.
How To Plant
- Aerate the soil and loosen it up to a depth of 12 – 15 inches.
- The bulbs should be inserted pointed side up and three times as deep as their height. Deep planting helps to stabilize the plant and does away with the requirement for staking by encouraging the growing stem to send out roots.
- Soil should be poured into the hole and carefully compacted.
- Bulbs should be placed three times their diameter apart (depending on the variety, they can be from 8 to 18 inches apart).
- When planting, give the area plenty of water.
How To Care For It
- Spread a layer of mulch to keep the soil cool for the roots to grow. The mulch needs to have a damp but not a soggy feel.
- Water frequently when the plant is actively growing, especially if the weekly rainfall is less than an inch.
- Apply a liquid fertilizer with a high potassium content every two weeks from planting until six weeks after flowering.
- Each spring, add a small coating of compost, then a 2-inch layer of mulch.
- You can even remove the stem alone after the flower blooms. Leaves shouldn’t be plucked until the fall after they die and become brown.
- Add 4 to 6 inches of mulch before winter to prevent the earth from freezing and let the roots expand.
- Keep the soil moist in the winter if no snow is covered.
- Gently remove the mulch after the Lily shoots emerge through it in the spring.
FAQs
What Are The Common Diseases Of Lily?
During the Lily growing stages, gardeners will likely face one or more of their diseases. What are the most common ones?
- Fungal disease: Gray mold or others usually love warm, humid environments. Using fertilizers high in nitrogen results in luxuriant, soft tissue that makes it simpler for the disease to attack the plant.
Botrytis and base rot are the two most dangerous fungal diseases that affect lilies.
- Botrytis: This disease invades the portion of leaves and stems above ground and, in more severe cases, the buds and flowers.
Little black spots on the leaves (look like black spots on broccoli stems), typically beginning at the stem’s base, are the first signs of the disease.
- Basal Rot: The basal plate, from which the roots grow downward and to which the leaves are attached, is afflicted by basal rot.
Yellowing of the foliage, stunted growth, and perhaps early plant death are examples of above-ground symptoms.
Should I Plant Lily In Summer?
No. You can plant bulbs from roughly mid-September through October in the spring or the fall.
The best time to plant is in the fall because this gives the roots more time to develop before a flowering stalk appears. If planting bulbs in the spring is necessary, start as soon as possible.
How long does it take for lilies to grow? It may take you from 8 months to more than a year. Plating in summer isn’t recommended as the climate and temperature can negatively affect Lily growth stages.
Which Type Of Climate And Conditions Are Best For Lily?
- Lilies can endure temperatures as high as 90 degrees Fahrenheit and as low as minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit. As lilies require a cold season with temperatures below 65 degrees, tropical areas can be problematic.
- To guarantee a good spring and summer bloom, planting is typically done in the fall or early spring, right after the threat of frost has gone.
- Put your lilies in a spot in your garden bed where they’ll get at least six hours per day of direct sunlight.
Final Thoughts
As mentioned above, the Lily flower life cycle includes 4 stages. Depending on the conditions, environment, and types, it can last 1 to 2 years.
The main thing is to plant them at the right time, preferably in autumn. And don’t forget to take proper care of this beautiful flower with the abovementioned tips!
