Expert: Long Island Gardener - 5/13/2007

Question
I live in the Orlando area and for Mother's day I received a pot full of Stargazer Lillies.  I would like to keep them and have them bloom again.  Can I plant them in my yard?  Can I keep them in the pot?  Please help me, they are my favorite flower!!!
Loryece

Answer
What makes this such a great country is that no American EVER understands the words 'it can't be done.'

Let us begin.

Lilies must go dormant to regenerate for the next season.  For that they need cold weather.  The thermomenter MUST be registering in the 40s for weeks during this dormancy.  If you don't have that outside, you must find it in your house.  Most Lily-lovers lift them and store them for several weeks in our refrigerator.

So grow them in your garden, just plan on un-planting them around October 1 and moving them to the fridge.  When you replant, which should be very easy since your ground won't freeze, be certain that you have added plenty of organic matter and that there is EXCELLENT drainage.  Peatmoss is a good amendment because it tips the pH down, something all Lilies appreciate.

Most so-called tropical Lilies need a cold season to survive your balmy, beautiful Florida weather -- Lilium formosanum (see the photo on the Floridata website http://www.floridata.com/ref/l/lili_for.cfm) and Lilium phillipense are perfect examples.  Lilium longiflorum, the very popular Easter Lily, is also one of the most tender Lilies, but still demands a cold spell to flower.  Brookings-Harbor, Oregon, is famous for growing 90 percent of the nation's Easter lily business; average minimum temp in its coldest month, January, is 41 degrees F, average high is 54 degrees F; it rarely snows and never accumulates.  But it does grow Azaleas very well and holds an annual Azalea Festival in the spring.  The warm climate has earned it the nicknames 'Banana Belt' and 'Home of Winter Flowers'.

Compare that to the weather for Orlando.  The coldest month, January, gets down to an average 50 degrees F.; average high is around 71 degrees F.  That's a LOT warmer than Oregon, even though technically they are fall in the same USDA Zones.  Still, to confuse the matter, there are indeed people who claim -- I do not know these people personally and it is a free country, you can say anything you want in the USA, but they may be telling the truth here -- they claim they are growing Easter Lilies (L. longiflorum) in South Florida.  Which is South of you.  MAYBE you can do this with 'Stargazer'.  What do you have to lose?

Bottom line:  Your incredibly popular Stargazers (the most popular Oriental Lily grown, by the way, so you are in good company) will need special treatment from you to grow with Orange Trees and Caladiums.

But Loryece....

What makes Mother's Day such a wonderful time is the MAGIC spirit of the day.

These Lilies are utterly fabulous because (a) they were a very special gift of love, (b) they are in themselves exquisitely beautiful, and (c) you got them on Mother's Day.

If for some reason you cannot pull off the quite daunting task of chilling and unchilling -- believe me, this is nothing like cooling a dozen tomatoes off the vine -- try to accept them for the wonderful gift they are, one that is fleeting, given with joy, from deep within the heart.  Yes, they smell wonderful.  Yes, they are beautiful.  Yes, yes, yes to all the things you love about them, yes!  They can also become one of your fondest memories, cherished forever.  Sheer Magic.  Hold that thought.

Any more questions, I'm here.  Thanks for writing.  Happy Mother's Day.