Expert: Kenneth Joergensen - 7/30/2006

Question
I live in Connecticut and have just started growing Stargazers.  When and how do I fertilize them.  I have very acidic soil - how does this effect the lilies?  

Answer
Fertilize lilies in early spring just as they poke their head above ground and repeat every 30-45 days. I usually fertilizer 2-3 times during the active growing season.

Once the lily has finished flowered and you have cut off the spent blooms, you can stop fertilizing.

I prefer to use 10-10-10, 5-10-10, 10-18-20, or similar type pelleted fertilizers. They can be purchased in bags at garden centers or home improvement centers and are generally sold as "flower" or "vegetable fertilizers" (you can also use Osmocote 14-14-14).

How acidic is your soil ? Lilies will grow adequately over a wide range of pH values, but the lilies actually prefer a slightly or moderately acidic soil.

Lilies like most other plants prefer a soil with a pH between 5.5 - 6.8, but if your soil are anywhere between 5.0 to 8.0 you should be able to grow lilies.

If your soil pH is lower than 5.0, you can spread some lime (in small doses) around your lilies twice per year for 2 years to bring the soil pH up, or even better, you can mix lime with the soil if you are transplanting (re-planting) the lily bulbs in the future. But watch out: lilies do prefer acidic soils to alkaline soils and too much lime is worse for the lily than too little.

What did your soil test say ? If your soil pH is 5.5 or higher I would not recommend that you lime.

Some plants, like holies and azaleas like very acidic soil (5.0 - 5.5) and should never be limed. Other plants like Lupines, Eremurus, and Heuchera can tolorante much higher soil pH and are excellent choices for alkaline soils.

Unless you have a soil pH much below 5.5 then there is really not much to worry about.