How to Plant Asiatic Lily Bulbs

If you are looking for some beautiful, easy to grow flowers to spruce up your landscape, give Asiatic lilies a try. They are some of the easiest lilies to grow because they aren't picky about soil, don't need staking and are quite hardy. They are available in a variety of colors, both brights and pastels, and a wide range of heights. Asiatic lilies will begin blooming from early to midsummer, depending on your climate and the variety.

Asiatic lily bulbs

Spade

Bone meal

Organic matter

Choose a location for your lilies. Make sure that it receives plenty of sunlight and has a well-drained soil. Dig the bed twelve inches deep, removing rocks, and mix in organic matter, such as compost or peat moss.

Dig the holes for your bulbs. Measuring from the top of the bulb, you should plant small bulbs two to four inches deep and larger ones four to six inches deep. Add a small amount of bone meal to the bottom of the hole before you plant the bulbs.

Put the lily bulb into the hole with the pointy side up. Plant bulbs eight to twelve inches apart in groups of three to five of the same type of lily. Fill the hole with soil.

Water your bulbs deeply immediately after planting. The bulbs need to stay moist year-round. About an inch of water per week should be enough. Just don't let them dry out.

Spread mulch around the lilies to protect them through the winter. Four to six inches of compost, bark or wood chips is sufficient. Leave the mulch until spring when you begin to lily shoots and then you can remove it.

Lily bulbs should be planted soon after you get them so that they don't dry out. They can be planted in spring or fall.

Apply a phosphorus-rich fertilizer during the spring.

Remove flowers when they fade, leaving the stems and foliage as long as they are green.