Lily
Lilium spp.
📖 About this plant
Among the most elegant and culturally significant flowers in the world, lilies produce spectacular trumpet, bowl, or Turk’s cap-shaped flowers atop tall stems in summer. Available in an extraordinary range of colors from pure white to deep burgundy, with many varieties offering intoxicating fragrance. The upward-facing, outward-facing, or downward-facing blooms are borne in clusters and make outstanding cut flowers.
🧑🌾 Care requirements
Full sun to partial shade (5-7 hrs)
Every 1-2 weeks
Moderate (40-60%)
15-25°C
Well-draining, slightly acidic soil (pH 6.0-6.5) enriched with compost and organic matter; bulbs need good drainage
Balanced slow-release granular fertilizer (10-10-10) at planting, then liquid feed every 2-3 weeks until flowers form
📋 Plant facts
- 🌍 Origin
- Temperate Northern Hemisphere — native to Europe, Asia, and North America across diverse habitats
- 📏 Max height
- 60-180 cm (depending on species — Asiatic 60-90 cm, Oriental 90-180 cm, Trumpet 120-180 cm)
- 📐 Spread
- 30-60 cm
- 🕰️ Bloom time
- Summer
- 🎨 Bloom color
- White, Pink, Orange, Yellow
- 🍃 Foliage color
- Green
- ⏳ Lifespan
- Perennial
- 📈 Growth rate
- Moderate
- ☠️ Toxicity
- Highly toxic to cats — even small amounts of pollen, leaves, or water from the vase can cause fatal kidney failure; ASPCA classifies as extremely dangerous to felines; generally safe for dogs and humans
- 🌱 Propagation
- Bulb division (separate scales or replant daughter bulblets), bulb scales (individual scales can produce new bulbs), or seed
🛡️ Health & Safety
Highly toxic to cats — even small amounts of pollen, leaves, or water from the vase can cause fatal kidney failure; ASPCA classifies as extremely dangerous to felines; generally safe for dogs and humans
Common issues
- Lily beetle defoliating plants, Botrytis petal blight, Basal bulb rot, Aphids on buds
💡 Care tips
- Large trumpet-shaped flowers are intensely fragrant,Plant bulbs in fall at a depth three times their height,Remove pollen stamens from cut flowers to prevent staining,Multiply by dividing bulb clumps every 3-4 years
