Tip #5: Oriental Lilies
Oriental lilies deliver unparalleled garden drama through their gigantic, star-shaped blossoms and intensely sweet, intoxicating fragrance that perfumes the entire yard. Highly popular cultivars like the crimson ‘Stargazer’ or the pristine white ‘Casa Blanca’ yield magnificent flowers spanning six to eight inches across on sturdy, upright stems. These spectacular flowering plants shine brilliantly as middle-border highlights or striking patio container specimens, performing exceptionally well across USDA Hardiness Zones 4 through 9. For the absolute best results, you should plant their scaly, fleshy bulbs in the late fall or early spring using organically rich, rapidly draining soil. Oriental lilies perform best when their blooming canopy basks in bright full sun while their delicate root systems remain shaded and cool beneath a thick layer of compost or companion groundcover. Applying a slow-release granular bulb fertilizer just as the green spring shoots emerge provides the essential nutrients for these plants with large flowers to reach massive proportions.
