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YARD AND GARDEN

Easter lilies herald Spring's arrival

Dave Robson

The Easter season signals the start of spring, and one or the harbingers is the Easter lily resplendent in its beautiful, clear bell-like flowers and an entrancing fragrance.

In return for the pleasure the Easter lily provides, moderate light and simple care are all that are needed to enjoy it indoors for some time after the plant is received.

Even better, with a little care, you can plant it outdoors after flowering and it will bloom again this summer or fall. Easter lilies will tolerate extremes that many other plants won't survive.

Removing the pollen sacs won't make the flowers last longer, but will keep the pollen from staining the petals and your furniture.

However, you can enjoy the blossoms longer if you keep the plants out of direct sunlight or warm drafts. It's worthwhile to place the plant on an unheated, but frost-free porch at night.

To keep the plant looking its best, remove the lily flowers as soon as they wither and clip any leaf ends that may brown.

After all the flowers have been removed, you can keep the plant in a sunny window for its pleasing foliage, or remove it to a basement window until danger from frost is over.

Should the plant begin to go into a rest period, the leaves will start to yellow and fall. The plant should then be kept on the dry side to discourage rot.

The lily can be planted in a sunny garden spot as soon as danger from frost is past. Remove the plant from the pot by inverting it and while gently holding the top, tap the edge of the pot on a step or heavy board.

Open the root ball by pulling upward and out from the center of the ball. A few torn roots are better than an undisturbed dense root mass that may not be able to establish new roots in the soil. Clumped and matted roots are more likely to die and even injure the bulb.

Place the bulb a few inches deeper than it was in the pot, open the root as much as possible and work soil through them. Thoroughly water the plant

One-half teaspoon of a 10-10-10 fertilizer per gallon helps promote new top and root growth. Soon after the old tops die, new shoots will start. These will flower later, usually in July or August, if given ordinary garden care. Be sure that trees, weeds, or other plants don't shade the lily.

Although many people report good results, none of the lily varieties are reliably hardy. If the ground is well drained, you can cover plants with a mulch during the cold winter months-just as is done for roses. Mulches of straw, leaves, evergreen boughs, wood chips or ground corn cobs are satisfactory.

Most of the lilies are killed by exposure to winter winds and sun. Mulch limits the heaving action of the soil and, thus, prevent bulb exposure.

David Robson is an Extension Educator, Horticulture, at the Springfield Extension Center, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Illinois. You can write to Robson in care of Illinois Country Living, P.O. Box 3787, Springfield, IL 62708. Telephone: (217) 782-6515. E-Mail: robsond@idea.ag.uiuc.edu

18 ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING • APRIL 1997