Page 123 - South Mississippi Living - April, 2025

Choose large, firm bulbs. Lily bulbs require well-drained soil. If the soil they are planted in is too moist, this can lead to the bulbs rotting. For the biggest and best flowers, plant your lily bulbs in a full sun location.
Lily bulbs will have a noticeably pointed end. Make sure the pointed end is planted upward towards the sky. The end of the bulb with evidence of roots should be planted facing the earth. Lilies perform best when planted 6-8” deep (three times the depth of the bulb's height).
For the first planting season, lilies grow very well in pots. After the first season, they will need to be transplanted into the ground if you want the bulbs to last for the following season.
If you are planting lilies in pots, use shorter varieties that grow less than 2’ tall. Since lilies go dormant within a few weeks of blooming, remember your pots will be bare when the lilies are done blooming. You can solve this problem by choosing and planting other bulbs that thrive later in the season to keep something blooming at all times. You might want to plant lower-growing perennials in front of your lilies to cover the bare spaces after the lilies bloom.
Using a soil mixture for containers, plant the bulbs as deep as possible keeping 1-2” of soil from the bottom of the container to the bottom of the bulb. Since the roots need to continue to grow, it is necessary to leave some soil below the bulb. The good news is that the lilies will return the following season as they are perennials!
Like most flowering bulbs, lilies go into dormancy after they flower. Typically, your lilies will go to sleep 2-4 weeks after blooming. After the lilies finish blooming, you can then remove the stems/leaf stalks. Make sure you wait until the leaves have yellowed a bit so the bulbs can continue to gather energy for next season’s blooms.
Lilies bloom in all the beautiful colors of the rainbow. They are a lovely addition in your yard if you have a sunny location and want to add some gorgeous blooms to your garden. Lilies are one of the most popular flowers for new gardeners, and with the variety of bloom colors and plant heights available, it is very easy to have lilies blooming all summer long!
Gaye Winter, Ph.D., teaches English at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and is a member of Biloxi Garden Club. Reach
her at gaye.winter@mgccc.edu. SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living | www.smliving.net
Lily of the Nile. Spring spider lily.
Lily of the Valley.
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