Home Gardening Flowers How to Grow and Care for Lily Flowers Lilies are a garden staple (and can be grown indoors, too). Here's how to help them thrive. By Staff Author Updated on October 02, 2023 Lily flowers are a perennial garden and cut flower favorite, with those gorgeous, showy blooms in a multitude of colors. The best part? It's relatively easy to help lily flowers thrive in your garden—or even indoors—with a little TLC. Here's everything you need to know to grow some gorgeous lilies, wherever you plant them. How to Grow a Cutting Garden Mariia Romanyk/Getty Images How to Plant Lilies Lilies like well-drained, enriched soil to help them thrive. You can plant the bulbs in fall (at least a month before the first frost) or in the spring, after the last frost. You'll want to plant the bulbs pointy side up, deep in the soil (at least twice times as deep as the bulb size—so eight inches deep if your bulb is four inches tall). Applying mulch can help protect the bulbs (especially if you're planning to overwinter them in your garden), and ensure that the soil stays moist. How to Care for Lilies Indoors Easter lilies are commonly grown indoors, but other varieties can also do well planted in containers in your home, as long as you're able to provide the ideal sunlight and watering conditions to help it thrive. Use a pot that'll look proportional to the bloom—and probably stick with smaller varieties. (Some of the tallest lily flowers can grow up to eight feet tall!) The pot should have draining holes to avoid issues with overwatering. You'll also need to let the plant hibernate for two months in the winter. Store the bulbs in a cool location, like an unheated garage or shed, or in a refrigerator that doesn't have fruit in it. (The fruit will produce a chemical that could inhibit blooms next year.) How to Care for Lilies Outdoors Lilies require generous helpings of sunlight and water (see the details below), and should be fed a potassium-based fertilizer every two weeks until a month after the final bloom. To maintain the beauty of your plant, you may want to use flower stakes to keep the blooms upright, and trim back the stems and spent blooms after they're done blooming. (Just leave the leaves until they turn brown, to help your bulb grow back strong the following year.) Sunlight Requirements Lily plants need six to eight hours of full sun to thrive, whether they're living indoors or out. Some varieties can handle light shade, but for the best blooms, pick a sunny spot. If your lilies don't get enough sun, they will start to lean toward a sunnier spot. Water Requirements Lily plants don't tend to be as drought resistant as other perennial flowers, so you'll need to water them weekly if conditions are dry. Applying an inch or two mulch when you plant them can help the plant retain moisture. But lilies can also be the Goldilocks of flowers, as too much moisture can cause the bulb to rot—so it's not a good candidate for a swampier spot in the garden (look to rain garden-friendly plants for those spots.) How to Fix Common Lily Plant Problems Lily flowers tend to be relatively hardy, but there are some common issues that can keep your lilies from thriving. Aphid infestation Aphids are a common garden pest that loves lilies. Neem oil can help control aphids, or apply insecticides that target aphids. Yellow or browning leaves Yellow and brown leaves are more common in bulbs planted indoors, and can be a sign of leaf scorch. They can be a sign that the conditions for the plant aren't right (too much or too little water or fertilizer), and correcting that could help the plant thrive. Drooping flowers Sometimes, the weight of those gorgeous lily flowers is too much for the stem! Staking can help the stems stand upright. Frequently Asked Questions What's the difference between daylilies and true lilies? There are a ton of flowering plants with the word lily in their name—including lilies of the valley, peace lilies, and daylilies—but they are not true lilies. (True lilies include many common lily flowers including Easter lilies, Asiatic lilies, and Oriental lilies.)True lilies grow from bulbs, while daylilies grow from a fleshy root. But the easiest way to tell a true lily plant from a daylily? Watch the lily flowers: Daylily blooms only last a single day, while true lily flowers will last for several days. What are the most common types of lilies? Lilies are divided into a few different groups: Asiatic lilies, which are among the most popular ones to plant in your garden; Easter lilies, which are commonly grown indoors for the holiday they're named after; Oriental hybrids, which feature gorgeous showy blooms and are often featured in bouquets and arrangements (think Casablanca lilies and stargazer lilies); Trumpet lilies, which feature trumpet shaped flowers; and native species that can appear in the wild. Can Easter lilies be planted outdoors? Yes! (Though when planted naturally, they bloom in summer, rather than the forced bloom in the spring.) Continue to care for the Easter lily indoors after the flowers are spent, and replant in garden in May.Don't worry if it looks like the plant is dying. Cut the plant back to ground level, and you'll see new growth that summer (and perhaps, if you're lucky, a second bloom in late summer). Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit