Easter Lily
Lilium longiflorum
Through the year 🗓️
🍂 Fall now
Let the foliage yellow and die back, and cut it down once brown. Potted bulbs rest cool and barely moist.
❄️ Winter
Dormant. Store a potted bulb cool (35–45 °F) and nearly dry, or leave garden bulbs under mulch.
🌱 Spring
In bloom: bright indirect light, a cool room, anthers pulled, water when the surface dries.
☀️ Summer
After flowering, keep the leaves growing in a bright spot, or plant it out after frost, 6 in deep.
The details
Light & placement
- Light
- Bright indirect light while in bloom; full sun if planted outdoors afterward
- Ideal PPFD
- 150–350 µmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹
- Grow-light distance
- 14–20 in below LED
Water & feed
- Watering method
- Keep the mix evenly moist but never soggy: water when the surface feels dry, and empty any foil sleeve or saucer so the bulb never sits in water.
- Fertilizer
- None while in bloom. After flowering, balanced feed at ½ strength monthly while the leaves stay green.
Home & habit
- Soil
- Well-draining potting mix; pH 6.5–7.0
- Humidity
- Average (40–60%)
- Temperature
- 60–65 °F keeps the flowers going longest; keep it away from heaters
- Mature size
- 1–3 ft
- Repotting
- Not needed indoors; plant it outdoors after frost, 6 in deep, if you want to keep it
- Propagation
- Bulb offsets, scales or bulbils, separated in fall.
When something looks wrong
- Overwatering signs
- Yellowing lower leaves; a soft, rotting bulb
- Underwatering signs
- Drooping stem and leaves; buds wither before they open
- Common pests
- Aphids, botrytis (gray mold), lily leaf beetle outdoors
Common problems 🩺
The usual suspects when Easter Lily looks unhappy. Most houseplant trouble is watering or light, not disease — see all plant problems if you are not sure which plant is the culprit.
Lower leaves turning yellow
Likely cause
Water left standing in the foil or saucer, or a spot that's too dark.
What to do
Empty the saucer after every watering and move it to bright indirect light.
Flowers wilting within days
Likely cause
A warm room or a spot near a heater.
What to do
Keep it at 60–65 °F, out of drafts and direct heat, and pull the anthers so each bloom lasts longer.
No flowers the next spring
Likely cause
Easter lilies are forced to bloom for Easter; on their own they flower in early summer.
What to do
Plant it in the garden after it flowers; it comes back in summer rather than spring.
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