Quick tips for choosing and growing lilies

Their often fragrant, trumpet-shaped blossoms in white, pink, yellow and orange have earned lilies the nickname "queen of the bulbs." Here are some quick tips for growing and maintaining these showy, sometimes large, eye-catching favourites.

Sold in both spring and fall, lily bulbs should be planted promptly as they remain dormant for only a short time.

• Choose a sunny spot with fertile, very well-drained soil amended with rotted manure or other organic matter.
• Dig a hole three times as deep as the bulb is high, gently set the bulbs 15 to 20 centimetres (six to eight inches) apart and cover with soil.

Lilies are also sold in pots.

• Plant them as you would any perennial, setting them in the hole at the same depth they occupied in the pot.
• Fertilize lilies soon after they emerge in spring with an organic or low-nitrogen, granular fertilizer, such as 5-10-10, applied as directed on the label.
• Stake tall types as the stems develop to keep them from toppling in the wind.

• When cutting the flowers, take short stems and leave the remaining foliage to nourish the bulb.
• Clip off spent flowers to keep energy from going into producing seeds.
• Tiny sap-sucking, pear-shaped insects called aphids may congregate on tender shoots and buds. Knock them off with a forceful spray of water.
• An increasingly common pest is the bright red European lily beetle. Inspect plants daily, especially in spring, and squash the beetles when found. Look for egg masses on the backs of leaves and slug-like grubs. If left unchecked, they will quickly defoliate and kill plants.
• Protect against deer by planting in well-travelled areas near your house, or put a fence around your lilies.

Most modern lilies are hybrids and are organized into groups.

• Oriental lilies (Zone 4), have huge, fragrant blossoms and grow to 1.5 metres (five feet) high.
• Asiatic lilies grow one metre (three feet) tall and produce smaller flowers over a long period.
• Trumpet lilies reach 1.5 to 1.8 metres (five to six feet), have smaller but more numerous flowers, and grow into vigorous clumps in a few years.
• Among the species there is the Easter lily (Lilium longifloru), which blooms in spring with long white trumpets but is hardy only to Zone 7.
• A good choice for the backyard fence is the 2.4 metre (eight foot), Zone 4 Turk's-cap lily (L. superbu), with freckled orange petals folded back into little "turbans".
• A garden standout is the Zone 5 Goldband lily (L. auratu), a late-season bloomer with white flowers streaked in gold and spotted with crimson.

Most lilies multiply into clumps that may need dividing every five years or when the plants produce few flowers.

• In fall, or early spring in cold areas, dig up a clump, break it into smaller pieces and replant them immediately.

With an upright habit, lilies mingle easily with shrubs, roses, perennials and annuals. Keep these tips in mind and site them prominently in a bed, pot or by a walk, where you can enjoy the blossoms all summer.