Few summer flowers carry as much drama as lilies. Their big, trumpet- or star-shaped blooms arrive right when most of the garden is coasting through a midsummer lull, and they do it on tall, strong stems that practically beg to be cut for a vase. Growing lilies is far easier than their exotic looks suggest. Give them sun, sharp drainage, and a little patience while the foliage feeds the bulb, and these perennials will return and multiply for years.
This guide covers everything from choosing the right type to planting depth, watering, feeding, dealing with pests, and the one safety issue every cat owner needs to settle before a single bulb goes in the ground.
True lilies are not the same as daylilies, peace lilies, or calla lilies
Before you shop, it helps to know what you are actually buying, because the word “lily” gets attached to plants that are not lilies at all. True lilies belong to the genus Lilium and grow from scaly bulbs that send up a single upright stem. Everything in this guide refers to them.
Daylilies (Hemerocallis) grow from fleshy roots and produce a fountain of strappy leaves, with each bloom lasting only a day. Peace lilies and calla lilies are different plants again, often grown indoors. The distinction matters for two reasons: care needs differ, and so does toxicity, which is covered further down. If your bulb has overlapping scales and no papery skin, you have a true lily.
Asiatic, Oriental, and the types worth knowing
Lilies come in roughly a dozen groups, and choosing a mix is the single best way to stretch the show across the whole summer.
- Asiatic lilies are the earliest and easiest. They bloom in early summer in the widest range of colors, carry up to a dozen flowers per stem, and rarely need staking. They have little to no scent, which suits anyone sensitive to fragrance. Hardy in zones 4 to 9.
- Martagon lilies, also called Turk’s caps, open in early summer with dainty, downward-facing flowers and recurved petals. A single stem can hold 10 to 50 blooms. They are slow to establish but tolerate more shade than any other group, and they are hardy down to zone 3.
- LA and OA hybrids bridge the season in midsummer with large, open, lightly scented flowers on sturdy 4- to 5-foot stems. They last exceptionally well both in the garden and in bouquets.
- Trumpet lilies, including the white longiflorum types sold as Easter lilies, bloom midsummer with deeply fragrant, trumpet-shaped flowers, often a dozen or more per 5- to 6-foot stem.
- Oriental lilies close the season in mid to late summer with the largest, most intensely perfumed flowers of all, measuring 6 to 8 inches across in white, pink, rose, and raspberry, often freckled or striped.
- Orienpets (OT hybrids) cross Oriental and trumpet lilies for spicy-scented, slightly upward-facing flowers on tall stems, with eight to twelve blooms that hold for two to three weeks.
- Tiger lilies are the hardy, freckled orange classics with recurved petals and pendulous flowers, and they often form small black bulbils along the stem.
Plant Asiatics and Martagons for June, trumpets and hybrids for July, and Orientals and tigers for August into September, and you will have lilies in bloom for the better part of four months.
When to plant lily bulbs
Lily bulbs go in the ground in either fall or spring. Fall planting gives the bulbs a head start, letting them set roots before the next growing season; aim for at least four weeks before your average first frost so they establish before the ground freezes. If your winters are severe, plant in spring once the danger of frost has passed.
There is also a practical reason spring planting is common: most growers harvest lily bulbs at the very end of the season, so fall-shipped stock can arrive late. Many bulbs are held in coolers over winter and shipped for spring instead. Either timing produces flowers in mid to late summer.
The most important rule is to plant promptly. Unlike tulips and daffodils, lily bulbs have no dry papery skin to protect them, and they never go fully dormant in storage. Left in a bag, they dry out and deteriorate. Buy bulbs only when you are ready to plant, handle them gently so the scales do not snap off, and do not panic over a little mold on the outer scales, which is normal.
Where to plant: sun and sharp drainage win every time
Lilies want their head in the sun and their feet in the shade. Most types need full sun, meaning six to eight hours a day; Oriental, tiger, and especially Martagon lilies will accept some shade, and in hot climates all lilies appreciate relief from harsh afternoon heat. Plant a sun-lover in too much shade and the stem will stretch and lean toward the light.
Drainage is the make-or-break factor. Lily bulbs sit and rot in soggy ground, so choose a spot where water moves away quickly. A raised bed or a gentle berm is ideal. Work in compost or shredded leaves before planting to improve both structure and drainage. Lilies are not fussy about richness; ordinary good garden soil is fine, and a slightly acidic to neutral pH around 5.5 to 6.5 suits most types. If your soil is strongly acidic, a handful of garden lime in the planting hole helps.
How to plant lily bulbs step by step
Lilies are stem rooters, meaning they grow roots from the stem above the bulb as well as below it. That is why depth matters more than it does for most bulbs, and why planting too shallow leaves them poorly anchored under a heavy flower load.
- Loosen the soil 12 to 15 inches deep and mix in compost. Good tilth lets the new stem roots spread.
- Set each bulb so its tip sits 6 to 7 inches below the surface, roughly three times the height of the bulb, pointed end up. In regions where summer temperatures regularly top 90 degrees Fahrenheit, sink them an extra few inches to keep the bulb cool.
- Space bulbs 8 to 18 inches apart depending on size, about three times the bulb’s width, and plant in groups of three to five for the best visual punch. Crowding cuts air circulation and invites gray mold.
- In high-rainfall areas, lay the bulbs on their side so water drains off the top rather than pooling in the scales.
- Backfill, firm the soil gently, water in well, and mulch. Fall-planted bulbs need only that single watering until spring growth begins.
Lilies also grow well in containers. Use a deep pot, at least 12 inches and bigger for tall types that can become top-heavy, with drainage holes and a light, fast-draining mix. Three bulbs to a 2-gallon pot is a good rule.
Watering, feeding, and the rest of the growing season
Once the stems emerge, lilies want soil that stays evenly moist but never waterlogged. A deep soak once or twice a week during the growing season is better than frequent light sprinkles, especially when rain runs under an inch a week. A few inches of mulch keeps roots cool, holds moisture, and suppresses weeds; refresh it each spring.
Lilies are light feeders. A slow-release balanced fertilizer in early spring gets them started, and a feed higher in potassium as buds form encourages more and better flowers. Avoid overdoing nitrogen, which pushes weak, leggy growth at the expense of blooms, and stop all feeding by late summer so the plant can wind down naturally.
Tall types benefit from staking. Set the stake early, before the buds add weight, and push it in beside the stem rather than straight through the bulb.
Cut lilies the right way, then leave the leaves alone
Lilies are among the world’s most popular cut flowers, but cutting comes with a trade-off. Every leaf you remove on a long stem is energy the bulb will not get back, which weakens it for next year. Take no more than a third of the stem when you cut for the vase. If you want generous bouquets, plant a separate patch just for cutting and replace those bulbs each spring; Asiatics, double Asiatics, LA hybrids, Orientals, and OT hybrids make the best cutting lilies. When you bring blooms indoors, snip off the pollen-bearing anthers, which stain skin, clothing, and tablecloths.
After flowering, deadhead spent blooms so the plant invests in the bulb rather than seed, but leave the stem and foliage standing. The green leaves spend the rest of the season recharging the bulb for next year’s flowers. Only when the foliage has yellowed completely, which may take until late fall, should you cut the stems to the ground.
Why lilies stop blooming, and how to keep them coming back
Most lilies are reliable perennials, hardy through roughly zones 3 to 9 depending on type, and they come back and multiply year after year. When they disappoint, the cause is usually one of a few fixable things: too little sun, overcrowding, too much nitrogen, or repeated hard cutting that starved the bulb. Move shaded plants into more light, divide congested clumps, and ease off the nitrogen.
Division is also how you propagate lilies for free. Every three or four years in early fall, lift a clump and gently separate the small bulblets that have formed around the main bulb, then replant them right away. Tiger lilies and a few others go further, producing pea-sized black bulbils in the leaf joints; pick these off after flowering and pot them up shallowly to set out the following year.
Pests and problems to watch for
Healthy, well-drained lilies have few troubles, and soggy soil leading to root rot remains the most common one, so resist overwatering.
The red lily leaf beetle, also called the scarlet lily beetle, is the pest to know, especially in the Northeast. The bright red adults overwinter in the soil and can strip foliage and flowers fast. Patrol from the moment shoots emerge in spring, hand-pick the beetles before they breed, and lay a light-colored cloth under the plant so dislodged ones are easy to spot. Aphids cluster on developing buds in late spring; blast them off with a jet of water while steadying the bud with your other hand. Slugs, snails, and gray mold round out the usual cast, and good spacing plus avoiding overhead watering keeps mold at bay.
Underground, voles, mice, and deer all find lilies appetizing. Where rodents are a problem, plant bulbs inside wire baskets or cages. Viral diseases, which show as yellowing, streaked, or distorted leaves, sometimes arrive on traded or secondhand bulbs; dig and destroy any affected plant before aphids spread it, and buy from reputable sources, since many modern hybrids are bred for resistance.
A serious warning for cat owners
This is the one issue to settle before you plant. True lilies and daylilies are lethally toxic to cats, and the danger is hard to overstate. Every part of the plant is poisonous, including the stem, leaves, flowers, pollen, and even the water in a vase. A cat that licks a few grains of pollen off its fur, nibbles a single petal, or sips vase water can suffer acute kidney failure.
Symptoms start subtly, with vomiting, drooling, and lethargy in the first 12 to 24 hours, then progress to kidney shutdown within a couple of days if untreated. If you suspect any contact, call a veterinarian or animal poison hotline immediately, because early aggressive treatment makes the difference. Lilies are toxic to dogs as well, though the effects are far less severe.
If you share your home with a cat, the safest choice is to skip true lilies and daylilies entirely, indoors and out. For similar height and color in the garden, blazing star, coneflowers, and snapdragons fill the same role without the risk. Peace lilies and calla lilies, despite the name, cause only mouth irritation rather than kidney failure, but they are still best kept out of reach.
Companion plants that keep lily roots cool
Because lilies like their feet shaded, low companions that cover the soil are ideal. Small hostas shade the bulbs and add their own late-summer flowers once the lilies finish. Ornamental grasses give tall textural contrast, and easy annuals such as alyssum, petunias, or marigolds carpet the ground and supply color all season. Pairing lilies with mid-sized shrubs works well too, hiding the sometimes bare lower stems while the shrub shelters the bulb.
Get the sun, drainage, and depth right, leave the foliage to do its work, and keep them well away from any cat in your life, and lilies will reward you with one of the most show-stopping displays in the summer garden, then come back stronger the next year. Pick up a mix of early, mid, and late types this season and start your own succession of blooms.