How to Grow Oriental Lilies? Detailed Care Methods and Tips
How do you grow Oriental lilies? The Oriental lily has always been regarded as the queen of lilies, with petals free of any spots or blemishes, very beautiful to look at, and some Oriental lilies have a light, delicate fragrance, making them very suitable for home decor. Below, the editor will share with everyone just how to grow Oriental lilies!
Basic Information About Oriental Lilies
The Oriental lily is a type of lily, also known as Casablanca and "Heavenly Lily," with its place of origin in the Himalayan region and Australia. The Oriental lily is the queen of lilies, with petals free of blemishes or spots and a very imposing blooming posture. The flower meaning of the Oriental lily is “great and pure love.”
How to Grow Oriental Lilies?
1. Soil: Oriental lilies prefer fertile, deep soil rich in humus, and most of all dislike hard clay; a well-drained, slightly acidic soil is best, with a soil pH of 5.5-6.5.
2. Watering: Watering only needs to keep the potting soil moist; the potting soil should not be too wet, otherwise the bulbs are prone to rot.
3. Light: Potted lilies have different requirements for light intensity at different growth stages. During the bud stage, shading treatment is needed, and if the leaf temperature is too high, appropriate shading should also be provided. During other growth periods, light should be increased, especially during the flower development stage.
4. Temperature: The growth and flowering temperature of Oriental lilies is 16-24°C. Below 5°C or above 30°C, growth almost stops. Only above 10°C do the plants grow normally. When it exceeds 25°C, growth stalls again. If the winter nighttime temperature stays below 5°C for 5-7 consecutive days, flower bud differentiation and flower bud development will be severely affected, delaying flowering and even causing blind flowers or split flowers.
5. Fertilizing: Lilies have a relatively large need for nitrogen and potassium fertilizers, so during the growing period they should be applied once every 10-15 days, while phosphate fertilizer should be limited, because too much phosphate fertilizer can cause the leaves to turn yellow. (During the flowering period, phosphate fertilizer can be applied additionally for 1-2 days.)
6. Pests and Diseases
① Gray mold: Use captan, thiophanate, or zineb at 500 times dilution for prevention and control.
② Damping-off: Before planting, soak in 500 times diluted formamide solution or 50 times diluted 40% formaldehyde for 15 minutes.
③ Root rot: Diseased plants need to be pulled out, then the soil should be disinfected with dexon.
④ Pests: For aphids, mites, grubs, and cutworms, use omethoate, dicofol, and poisoned bait for control.
7. Pruning: To make the bulbs plump, lilies can be cut off at the base after flowering to reduce nutrient consumption, because flowering has already consumed a lot of the bulb's nutrients. If you want to keep the bulbs for continued planting, you must continue fertilizing to replenish the bulbs' nutrients. After one month, the bulbs can be dug out, the fibrous roots cut off, and refrigerated for a period to break dormancy before planting again, but the quality of the flowers will decline.
Notes on Growing Oriental Lilies
1. Flowering regulation: If you want Oriental lilies to bloom from November to early February of the following year, first treat the bulbs at 13°C for 2 weeks (14 days), then at 3°C for 4-5 weeks (28-36 days), so they can bloom in November-December. If you want them to bloom in January-February, first treat at 13°C for 2 weeks, then at 8°C for 4-5 weeks (28-36 days). At this time, after planting, the nighttime temperature is relatively low, so heating should be added to maintain around 15°C.
2. Bud abortion treatment: In forced cultivation of lilies, when the flower buds grow to 1-2 cm, if light is insufficient, bud abortion is likely to occur. Bud abortion often occurs from the end of October to mid-March of the following year. Artificial lighting can be used to supplement light by hanging one 40-watt high-pressure sodium lamp or an ordinary waterproof incandescent lamp every 8-10 sq m. The supplementary lighting should begin when the flower buds are 0.5-1 cm and continue until harvest. At a temperature of 16°C, maintaining lighting for about 6 weeks, from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. the next morning each day, is very effective for preventing bud abortion, advancing flowering, and improving cut flower quality.
3. Overly elongated plants: During the growing period, Oriental lilies should also have their pots turned once a week. Otherwise, the plants tend to grow lopsided, affecting their appearance.
Propagation Methods for Oriental Lilies
There are many propagation methods for Oriental lilies. Below are several of the main ones.
1. Bulb propagation: The number of bulbs is relatively small, so it cannot become the main propagation method, but it can still be used.
2. Bulbil propagation: The purple-black bulbils, similar to small bulbs, can be used for propagation.
3. Seed propagation: Lily seeds are divided into fast-germinating and slow-germinating types. Slow-germinating seeds must go through: storage —— rooting —— small bulb formation —— flowering, and so on, while fast-germinating types have a relatively shortened process.
4. Cutting propagation: The stems and leaves of lilies near the ground can regrow in water or moist soil.
How to grow Oriental lilies? Through the above introduction to the cultivation methods and precautions for Oriental lilies, as well as their propagation methods, I believe everyone has gained some understanding and experience. If you also like Oriental lilies and hope to grow a pot of beautiful, lovely Oriental lilies to beautify your home, then give it a try right away.