How to Take Care of a Lily

A lily is a beautiful flower and one that is easily taken care of. With patience and some TLC, your lilies will look gorgeous for months on end. Lilies have been rated in the top 10 easiest flower to care for, so follow these simple steps to keep your own lilies beautiful.

Things You'll Need

• Stakes
• Water
• Misting bottle
• Fertilizer

Instructions

1. Choose where to plant the lilies. If you are digging outside, select a place that gets both sun and shade. Dig holes about 4 to 6 inches deep, and spread the lily bulbs out from 12 to 18 inches, depending on their size.

2. Water the soil as soon as you have planted the bulbs. Ensure that the roots get growing as soon as possible, so make sure there is enough water to reach down to the bulb.

3. Be careful, as lily shoots can be fragile when they start to emerge from the ground. You may want to mark each bulb with a stake so that you won’t forget they are there.

4. After they have grown, lilies can be kept where they are or transplanted into a pot to bring indoors. To transplant them, carefully dig around each plant to get down to the roots. Pull the whole plant out and quickly settle it into a planter or pot, again about 4 to 6 inches deep. Pat the soil firmly around the roots and water immediately.

5. Caring for a lily is easy. Keep the lily out of direct sunlight; bright filtered light works well for a lily. However, you do need to keep it in a place where it is warm. Room temperature around 75 degrees is the best and humid areas are also ideal for a healthy lily.

6. Mist the lily every so often as well as watering it. This will keep the leaves from turning brown and possibly dropping off prematurely. Mist the lily 1 to 2 times per week.

7. Water the lily heavily, as a lily thrives on lots of water. However, you do want to let the plant dry out a bit in between watering, so check the soil frequently. Letting the soil of your lily dry up too much can cause the leaves on it to dry up as well as turn yellow.

8. Using fertilizer on lilies is usually not necessary. However, a small amount of Miracle Grow or some other type of fertilizer will not hurt it once in a while.

Tips & Warnings

• Lilies can be poisonous, so be sure to keep your pets and children away from this flower.

Resources

• Planting lilies