Taking Care Of Potted Lilies Inside Your Home

If you live in countries that don’t have tropical climate and you want to grow lilies, then you can keep these indoors. Potted lilies have been a popular option for people in cold places because these are easy to maintain and are very attractive when its flowers bloom.

Ideally, lilies should be grown outdoors because it needs a great amount of sunlight. But, to those who want to grow lilies inside their house, they can still do by ensuring that there is enough light or sunlight, air and moisture to keep these alive.

When buying and transporting lilies for the first time, make sure the plant is well-kept by placing it in a box or wrapped in newspaper to ensure its stem will not break or its leaves will not be torn in anyway.

Also, consider the span of time you will carry the lily to your car because it can damage the plant if the temperature is not right. Inside the car, make sure to place the lilies in front of the car before turning on the heater. Make sure that you do not place the plant inside the trunk because it’s too cold.

Taking care of indoor lilies 

If you plan to keep lilies inside your home, being familiar with indoor gardening is a must. This will ensure that you can take care of the indoor lilies plants properly. You can read up on basic gardening will help you a lot. You can also get reference from various gardening sites in the Internet or you can but agriculture and other gardening magazines.

Once you have basic knowledge on keeping a garden inside your house, you can now start growing indoor lilies on your very own space. The first consideration in growing indoor lilies is the type of ideal for the space. There are two popular types of lilies, the “Asiatic” and “Oriental.” These come in small species that are ideal for small and shaded spaces. 

Since lilies are ornamental plants, you can place these in containers for easy maintenance. In choosing which variety to grow, make sure that you buy one of each first and try it out. If the type bloom and grow in your space well, that’s the time that you can buy additional potted lilies.

To ensure that the lilies will grow well, consider the amount of sunlight it needs. If you are in a cold place, you need to place the plant in an area where it can be exposed in sunlight the whole time.

Another major consideration in keeping indoor lilies is the soil that you will place in its pot. Since soil is the major lifeline of the lily plant, make sure that you choose the best quality to keep it thriving.

Experts say that clay is considered as the most ideal type for indoor lilies since this has high retention that can hold as many nutrients as possible. If clay is not available, you can use the ordinary garden soil. Just make sure that you supply it with organic matter such as decayed plants, fruit peels, vegetable stalks, and manure of animals to ensure that it can supply the needs of the indoor lily.

 Lilies, like most other beautiful flowering plants, need not be appreciated only in gardens or in the wilds. For those less-than-hardy varieties of lilies, growing them in pots can be the only solution in surviving the winter outdoors.

It is also an excellent idea to help beautify your surroundings and other parts of your landscape. Dwarf lilies are an excellent choice for pot gardening. They can make such beautiful accents to your rooms.

Potting

Potted lilies can be as healthy as those that are grown under natural conditions in the ground or gardens. Potting the lilies can start around late March all the way to the first week of May.

After potting, take care to water them thoroughly. (Water should come out of the drainage holes in the bottom.) After which, slow-release fertilizer is to be added on top of the soil.

Storing

Move the trays of potted lilies to an unheated place so they can sit for a minimum of 2 weeks to root. Keeping them in the cold stimulates them to have healthy and extensive root systems before they send out shoots.

There is no need to water them now because they are kept cool, and they don’t dry out because they are in the dark. When they start poking out of the soil, it is time to move them into the sunshine outdoors.

Sprouts

There may be some frost yet before they can really start out growing in May. Once the sprouts are out, protect them from freezing if temperatures go below minus 5 degrees Celsius.

By the middle or end of June, dwarf lily varieties are ready to bloom. Watering should be daily, depending on winds, temperature or rains. Then, the flowers bloom.

Pots

Bigger pots are best. They hold more soil and there is less chance for the bulbs to be frozen or baked inside.

All pots must have the all-important drainage hole at the bottom. Another concern would be the depth of the pot. Lily bulbs need at least 4 inches of soil on top and another inch at the bottom of the pot.

Soil

Lilies love sandy soil. The bulbs grow bigger in the sandy mix than in regular peat mixes. Drainage is also assured against accidents of over-watering. Ideally, the soil composition can have 40% sand, 30% peat and 30% compost.

Because sand cannot hold many nutrients, fertilizers become an important issue on potted lilies. They are the best part in making a success of your potted beauties.

Plant food

Regular feeding of fertilizers results in healthier plants, bigger flowers, and better abilities for the lilies to resist pests and diseases. They are especially important in the early parts of the lily’s growing months. 

For bigger blooms, apply tomato fertilizer at least once right after blooming is finished. (Use the water-soluble type, and read the instructions very carefully.) Any vegetable fertilizer is okay.

Water

Over-watering is the biggest monster for potted lilies. They can kill. Lilies love moisture but only with a good drainage available. Waterlogged bulbs rot and simply die. You would not even know it until they do or the plant would look sickly.

However, there is no doubt potting your lilies can be just as much fun as growing them in your gardens.

 If you are living in a country with cold weather and you want to enjoy the beauty of nature inside your house, then now is the best ti’me to consider keeping indoor lilies.

Lilies are ideal for outdoors but there are types that can survive in limited living conditions. There are actually small species of lilies that can be planted on pots. These don’t need so much sunlight compared to other varieties and they can even withstand limited air supply.

Getting started with indoor potted lilies

To be able to keep indoor potted lilies alive and healthy, it is a must that the owner knows basic indoor gardening. Much consideration should be given not only on the variety of lilies to be used but on the entire indoor set up for the plant.

Here are the things that you should keep in mind when you have decided to grow your very own indoor lilies:

• The type of container to be used. Since indoor lilies are usually placed in pots to make these space savers. It is also very important to know the most suitable types of container for these because the most suitable pot will ensure their healthy growth. The most ideal containers include those that have tapered bottom and sides to ensure that air and water will circulate very well. You can find these ready-made tapered trays and pots in the gardening areas of grocery stores. For those who are on tight on budget, you can recycle items such as empty juice cans, milk cartons, and other containers that can hold soil and water. Make sure that these recycled items have been cleaned thoroughly and have been sterilized well to avoid any contamination.

• The type of soil to be used. This is very important if you want to keep your indoor lilies alive since the soil will serve as the lifeline of the plant. It is a must that you know the most suitable soil that you can use so your potted lilies can get all the nutrients it need. Among all the types of soil available for indoor lilies, experts say that clay would be the best option. Since it has high water retention properties, clay can supply all the nutrients needed by indoor lilies despite restricted living conditions. The next best thing aside from clay is sand or the ordinary garden soil. Although it doesn’t have the same retention properties such as those in clay, sand can ensure the life of indoor lilies for as long as you replenish it with the right amount of organic matter.

• The area where it would be placed. Lilies are supposed to be placed outdoors where sunlight is directed at it. But for indoor lilies, it would be best to place the pot where it is not exposed to direct sunlight and out where there are sudden changes in temperature.

• Make sure that it is fertilized properly. For indoor potted lilies, it is ideal to maintain it with a 20-20-20 liquid fertilizer to ensure that its flowers will bloom.

Indoor lilies are ideal for any home that have restricted spaces. This is because it gives the home a nature feel to it and will also help the people living inside the house to get fresher and cleaner air to breathe.

For first timers, the best way to go about in keeping indoor lilies is to conduct a research about it. The information you will get will definitely help you from committing mistakes in buying varieties and also in the proper way to take care of it.

Other means of acquiring information on indoor lilies will also include reading agriculture and gardening books and magazines as well as surfing the Internet for web sites that contain information about it.

How to keep indoor lilies thrive

One of the most ideal solutions for people who love growing lilies but encountering problems due to natural elements such as climate and space restrictions is keeping them indoor. 

If you are having thoughts on how to start growing lilies indoors, you should focus first on selecting the right variety. The most popular types of lilies are Asiatic and Oriental. Asiatic varieties and its small species are commonly preferred for indoors because these are easy to maintain and can grow even in limited living conditions. There are also Oriental varieties that can be kept indoors and are perfect as accent pieces but they need more pruning and maintenance.

Since you are keeping lilies indoor, there are limitations to the variety that can be planted. You cannot just plant any lily variety you want because chances are, these will not grow properly. Make sure that you first assess the natural conditions of the site before choosing the lily variety you wish to grow. Also, ensure that you don’t buy a large quantity of lilies because there is no guarantee that you can grow them all.

You should also focus on soil selection since this serves as the lifeline of the lilies. Since soil is the main source of nutrients indoor plants need, make sure that you know which type of soil you should use. Experts say that soil selection is very important aspect in maintaining indoor lilies because this will determine the success and failure of your project.

Another major factor that affects the life of indoor lilies is the container and the process of repotting it. First time gardeners should be aware that growing indoor lilies need repotting every now and then because its roots already filled up the space of the original pot. Crucial to repotting is the type of containers to be used. Since repotting is inevitable, you should know what kind of pot to use and how to take care of that pot. In looking for the right pot, make that it would be large enough to provide space for the roots.

It should also have sufficient room above the plant line for proper watering. Also make sure that the pot provides bottom or side drainage. Types of ideal containers for indoor lilies can vary from ceramics, plastic, fiberglass, wood, aluminum, copper, brass, and others.