What are Lilies?

Grown from bulbs, lilies are perennial flowers that will return year after year and require minimal care, provided that you plant them in the right place.

Lilies have six plain or strikingly marked tepals (“petals”) and are often trumpet-shaped, sitting atop a tall, erect stem with narrow, long, lance-shaped leaves. They come in many beautiful colours, including pink, gold, red, orange, and white.

Types of Lilies

There are a number of popular lily species—and their endless hybrids—available to gardeners:

Asiatic lilies bloom first in early summer (in May or June), right after peonies. They are not fussy as long as they are grown in well-draining soil. They are the shortest type of lily (about 2 to 3 feet tall) and come in many colours, from pastel to tropical. They don’t have much of a fragrance, but they do add bright colour to the garden.

Easter lilies are most commonly grown indoors as a holiday plant. As their name suggests, they are typically forced into bloom around Easter, in March or April. Outdoors, they are better suited for warmer regions  where they can be planted in the garden after blooming has finished.

Oriental lilies have that famously strong fragrance. They are tall and stately (4 feet), and tend to grow more slowly, often blooming about the time when Asiatic lily flowers are fading (mid- to late-summer).

Trumpet lilies are similar to oriental lilies, producing many blooms with a nice scent. Their flowers tend to be smaller and more closed (like a trumpet) than those of the other lilies.

There are other lilies out there, of course, such as tiger lilies and Turk’s cap lilies, as well as hybrids like “Orienpet” (Oriental + Trumpet) and LA lilies (Easter + Asiatic). Browse through our catalogue to find what you like best!

Growing Lilies

Lily bulbs can be planted from Autumn right through to the Summer and are happy being planted both straight into the ground or into containers. We supply lots of different varieties so be sure to check the bag for any specific planting instructions but in general lilies are ever so easy to grow and with a sunny spot, frequent watering keeping soil moist (not wet) and a little high potassium fertiliser, you’ll get some fantastic displays.

Lilies are hardy but if they can be moved into a frost-free position over winter then do so and if not it’s a good idea to wrap up with a little bubble wrap.