Tropical Gardening: Save that Easter lily

Easter eggs, rabbits and lilies represent new life and the resurrection of Jesus Christ after the crucifixion. In earlier pagan faiths, they represented the coming of spring after the darkness of winter.

Many types of bulbs are popular this time of year, but the Easter lily is by far the most sought after. However, Easter lily flowers soon will begin to fade after we celebrate the holiday only to come back to life next season.

These beautiful flowers give us pleasure, but we often don’t realize how much effort goes into producing that flower right at the correct Easter date each year. Some years it is as early as March 28 and others it is as late as April 21.

So instead of throwing that spent plant away this year, why not attempt to make it bloom for next Easter and each year thereafter.

You can place the plant in a sunny, garden location or even keep it in the pot until fall.

Easter lily, Lilium longiflorum, bulbs consist of scales growing from a core. When exposed to the air too long, scales lose their moisture and shrivel. Once they become dehydrated, the bulb is gone.

You can store them for a short period if you keep them cool and put them in a moist medium such as sponge rock or peat. However, it is better to replant the bulbs right after digging them up, cleaning them and looking for signs of disease such as basal rot.

Recondition the soil where the bulbs are to be planted. It should be rich in humus, which contains helpful microorganisms. A well-balanced plant food should be added and mixed with the soil.

The depth at which you should plant a bulb depends on its size. The rule of thumb is three times the diameter of the bulb. That means if you have a jumbo bulb that measures 3 inches in diameter, there would be a space of 9 inches between the top of the bulb and soil surface. Amaryllis is an exception. If planted in the ground, the top of the bulb should be just under the soil surface. In a pot, almost half of the amaryllis bulb should be sticking up above the soil.

Growers usually favor an inorganic bulb fertilizer high in potash. Some say organic fertilizers such as dried blood, tankage and cottonseed meal stimulate Fusarium fungus that causes basal rot. However, fish emulsions used in diluted form seem to cause no ill effects. These give excellent results in foliage color and growth, as well as flower development and bulb size.

A complete fertilizer is important for success. This should be applied two or three times during the growing season to keep the bulbs vigorous for next year’s growth.

Mulching is recommended to keep soil from drying. This is good for ground and pot culture.

If you want to grow Easter lilies in pots, line the bottom of the pot with an inch of gravel or cinder and fill the pot half full of soil. Place the bulb at the right depth for its size and then add soil mixture to within about an inch of the rim. Naturally, the larger the bulb, the larger the size of pot. Remember, lilies are heavy feeders.

The bulbs require plenty of sun, as do almost all bulbs. Locate the plants in a sunny location until at least mid-afternoon.

If you want to keep your bulbs from year to year, remember not to remove any part of the stem until it dries.

The real secret to getting the plants to bloom on time is to give the resting bulbs a five- to six-week “chill” in the refrigerator at 35 to 45 degrees. After chilling, the bulbs are potted so they have approximately 120 days until flowering. The timing won’t be exact because of variables such as temperature and bulb variety.

For guaranteed success in bulb growing, try some of the easier types such as amaryllis. These bulbs must have a little lime or crushed coral in the soil in which they are grown. They do well in either ground or pots.

Very few bulbs can stand deep shade. Most require plenty of sun to induce flowering. They will grow but seldom flower when planted in shade. An exception to this would be calla lilies and Clivia.

Another thing to keep in mind is that no fertilizer should be placed directly under the bulb. Mix the fertilizer in the hole, then place a layer of topsoil over this before setting the bulb.

Crinum lilies require extensive space. They are used in tropical landscaping. The original Crinum, known as the milk and wine lily, has flowers that look like spiders.

Others are Crinum kenthianum, C. campanulatum and C. zeylanicum. The species that have pure white flowers are C. asiaticum and C. moorei and C. giganteum, which produces large, white tuplip-shaped flowers. This is a variety that likes shade. A hybrid of C. giganteum known as Christopher lily also has tulip-shaped white flowers.

Among Crinum hybrids that bear flowers the shape of Easter lilies are: Crinum Cecil Houdyshel, pink; C. Ellen Bosanquet, wine-colored; C. Louis Bosanquet, light pink and white blooms; and C. Powelli variety album, which, as the name implies, is white.

Another very popular member of the Amryllid family is the Eucharis lily, known as Amazon lily, since it is native to the Amazon River valley. These bulbs have flowers that look very much like paper white narcissus at first glance. But when you examine closely, you will find the structure is different.

Although Eucharis lilies can be planted in a cool location in open ground, it is customary to plant them in pots. Six or eight bulbs to a pot that is just a little larger than the space required to hold them would be right. They seem to want to be pot-bound before they will bloom.