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The Easter lily, the time-honored flower of Easter, is highly regarded as a joyful symbol of beauty, hope and life. The large, trumpet-shaped, fragrant white flowers embody the essence of the celebration of Easter. If you have one to decorate your own home, the following tips will help make your Easter lilies keep on giving.
For the longest possible period of enjoyment, you want flowers in various stages of ripeness: one or two open or partially opened blooms and three or more puffy, unopened buds of different sizes. The puffy buds will open up within a few days, while the tighter ones will bloom over the next several days.
As the flowers mature, remove the yellow anthers before the pollen starts to shed. This prolongs the life of the flower and prevents the pollen from staining the white petals. When a mature flower starts to wither after its prime, cut it off to make the plant more attractive while you still enjoy the fresher, newly opened blooms.
In the home, the Easter lily prefers moderately cool temperatures. Recommended daytime temperatures are 60 to 65 degrees, with slightly cooler night temperatures. Avoid placing the plant near drafts, and avoid exposure to excess heat or dry air from appliances, fireplace or heating ducts. The lily will thrive near a window in bright, indirect, natural daylight, but avoid glaring, direct sunlight.
The Easter lily prefers moderately moist, well-drained soil. Water the plant thoroughly when the soil surface feels dry to a light touch, but avoid overwatering. If the pot is wrapped in decorative foil, remove it and water the plant thoroughly until water seeps out of the pot's drain hole to completely saturate the soil. Allow the plant to drain before replacing it in its decorative pot cover.
After the last bloom withers and is cut away, plant it out in your garden to enjoy it for years to come. Place it in a sunny location with an eastern exposure. It prefers a well-drained garden bed rich in humus. Your nursery has several kinds available. Good drainage is the key for success with lilies. To ensure adequate drainage, raise the garden bed by adding good soil to the top of the bed, thus obtaining a deeper topsoil and a rise to the planting area.
Plant the bulb 3 inches below ground level, and mound up an additional 3 inches of topsoil over the bulb. Spread the roots and work the prepared soil in around the bulb and the roots, avoiding any air pockets. Water immediately and continue to water thoroughly as needed. Add a houseplant fertilizer every 6 weeks using the dosage recommended on the label.
As the original plant begins to die back, cut the stems back to the soil surface. New growth will soon emerge. You may get a second set of blooms later this summer, but most likely you will have to wait until next spring to see it again.
Another planting tip to consider is that lilies like their roots in shade and their heads in the sun. Mulching helps conserve moisture between waterings, keeps the soil cool and loose, and provides a fluffy, nutritious medium for the stem roots. Or, a more attractive alternative would be to plant a "living mulch," or a low ground cover of shallow-rooted, complementary annuals or perennials. The stately Easter Lily will rise above the lacy violas or alyssums, which is not only aesthetically pleasing, but sound gardening.
History, mythology, literature, poetry and the world of art are rife with stories and images that speak of the beauty and majesty of the Easter lily. One of the most famous biblical references is the Sermon on the Mount, when Christ told his listeners: "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they toil not, neither do they spin; and yet ... Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these."
Often called the "white-robed apostles of hope," lilies were found growing in the garden of Gethsemane after Christ's agony. Tradition has it that the beautiful white lilies spring up where drops of Christ's sweat fell to the ground in his final hours of sorrow and distress. Christian churches continue this tradition at Easter by banking their altars and surrounding their crosses with masses of Easter lilies to commemorate the Resurrection and hope of life everlasting.
Since the beginning of time, lilies have played significant roles in allegorical tales concerning the sacrament of motherhood. Ancient fables tell us the lily sprang from the milk of Hera, the mythological Queen of Heaven.
The pure white lily has long been closely associated with the virgin Mary. In early paintings, the angel Gabriel is pictured extending to Mary a branch of pure white lilies, announcing that she is to be the mother of the Christ child. In other paintings, saints are pictured bringing vases full of white lilies to Mary and the infant Jesus.
The legend is told that when Mary's tomb was visited three days after her burial, it was found empty save for bunches of majestic white lilies. Early writers and artists made the lily the emblem of the Annunciation, the Resurrection of the Virgin: the pure white petals signifying her spotless body and the golden anthers her soul glowing with heavenly light.
In yet another expression of womanhood, lilies had a significant presence in the paradise of Adam and Eve. Tradition has it that when Eve left the Garden of Eden she shed real tears of repentance, and from those remorseful tears sprung up lilies.
Learning opportunity: The Master Gardener Mojave Guides are sponsoring a garden tour at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Desert Demonstration Gardens, 3701 Alta Drive. For more information, call 258-3205.
Linn Mills is a horticulturist with the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension.
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