Keeping Easter lilies in bloom

Christians all across America will probably have one or more Easter lilies adorning the altar in their church on Sunday. Their beautiful white blooms remind us of the resurrection of Jesus on Easter morning and of the white gown that he wore when meeting with his disciples after his resurrection.

After church, members usually take the lily home. I have a lot of church members ask me how to take care of it when they get it home. They want to keep it blooming as long as they can.

Some church members want to take the lily home and plant it outside. If you do that, place it in an area where is gets of lot of sun. When planting make sure that you add some peat moss to the soil that you take out of the planting hole. Rough up the root system, place it in the hole, and backfill with the combination of soil and peat moss. Then water it in with a high phosphorous fertilizer such as a 9/58/8.

After planting during, the rest of the growing season, water the plant as needed. Stick your finger in the soil. When it is dry to the touch, water it. When the soil is still moist to the touch don't water it. You can keep the plant looking beautiful throughout the rest of the Heartland's growing season.

In the fall you can dig up the lily and treat it like a house plant inside your home during the winter months. Some gardeners then replant the lily outside during the following spring.

TYLER GRAEF ~ tgraef@semissourian.com An Easter Lily is seen Wednesday, April 17, 2019, at Sunny Hill Florist in Cape Girardeau .

If you want to just enjoy the lily without all of the outside planting activity, treat you lily as a houseplant and keep it inside. Place it near a very sunny window. Test the soil with you finger every other day or so. When it is dry, water it thoroughly, letting excess moisture run out of the bottom of the pot. When it is wet, don't water. Too much water too often will result in root rot and the demise of the plant.

About once a month add a soluble fertilizer such as the 9/58/8 to the water when watering. Keep it near a sunny window. Again only water when the soil feels dry.

If you get an Easter lily try to keep it going during the rest of the year. It will always remind you of Jesus death on the cross, burial, and then his resurrection on Easter morning. Happy Easter.