House lilies: planting and care
You don’t have to have a dacha or live in the countryside to grow beautiful lilies yourself. Many varieties of this wonderful plant are very compact in size. So let's figure out how to grow lilies at home.
Contents
Planting lilies
Compact varieties of lilies are suitable for home cultivation. These include Asian and oriental hybrids, as well as royal and dwarf lilies. To successfully breed lilies, select planting material in the fall. Pay attention to the appearance of the bulbs. Good bulbs are always smooth and dense; they do not have brown scales. If you still find brown spots on the purchased bulbs, then prepare a 0.3% solution of karbofos and put the bulbs in it for half an hour.
- For planting, select pot with a diameter of at least 15 centimeters.
- Place good drainage at the bottom, as lilies do not like stagnant water. Expanded clay or broken brick or any other stones are suitable for drainage.
- Then add about 5 centimeters of soil from soil and sand in equal quantities.
- Make a small hole in the soil to accommodate the lily bulb.
- Then dig the bulb into the soil and straighten its roots. Add soil on top and compact it a little. Dig the bulb to half its height.
- Place the pot with the bulb on a windowsill so that the plant receives enough light.
- Water your lily sparingly to keep the soil moist.
How to care for lilies
Before the lily begins to bloom, it must be sprayed with water with growth stimulants diluted in it twice a month. This will speed up the process of flower bud generation and the onset of flowering time. Be sure to regularly loosen the top 4-6 centimeters of soil to provide air access to the roots.
When the lily stretches to a height of 9-12 centimeters, it can be taken to the balcony or outside. In this case, at first, take the lily out only for half an hour, then gradually increase the time. However, do not leave the flower outside overnight. To speed up plant development it can be sprayed with water daily. At the same time, try not to get water on the buds and opened flowers, so as not to reduce their lifespan.
Lilies require constantly moist soil. Therefore, make sure that the lump of earth in the pot does not dry out. Use for watering exceptionally soft water. This can be melt water, rain water, boiled water or settled water. Water once every three or four days.
After the flowering period, the lily will gradually begin to enter a dormant state. Therefore, you need to reduce watering to once every six or eight days. Stop spraying altogether. When the leaves and stems are completely dry, dig up the bulbs and place them in a plastic bag with a little damp sawdust and moss. The bag can be placed in the refrigerator.
Lily propagation
The easiest way to propagate lilies at home is by growing them from bulbs. You can also grow them from seeds. In this case, the seeds are planted in boxes in March. Place the seeds one to one and a half centimeters apart from each other. Place sand on top of the seeds and cover the box with film. Place the box in the shade and water moderately. The temperature should be average. When shoots appear, remove the film. Continue watering the seedlings as usual. To speed up the development of seedlings, you can spray the plant with growth activators diluted in water.
Feeding lilies
Lilies benefit greatly from fertilization. This can be done in the spring. Most often, fertilizers containing nitrogen are used for this purpose. For example, you can use ammonium nitrate or nitroammophoska. You can also use complex fertilizers in liquid form - superphosphate, liquid potash fertilizer.
In summer, use wood ash several times a season, mullein infusion. A nitrogen-free mineral fertilizer is perfect for the autumn period. Do not use organic fertilizers on lilies. They do not benefit the plant at all, and they also cause fungal infection.
When to replant lilies
Within a year, the soil in the pot is completely depleted. The plant draws out all the useful substances from it over the summer period, and it becomes empty. Therefore, once a year the lily must be replanted, completely replacing the soil. To do this, carefully dig the lily out of the pot so as not to damage the bulbs.
Separate them from each other, clean them from the soil and rinse them. It is recommended to soak the bulbs in a weak solution of potassium permanganate before storing. The smallest bulbs can be immediately planted in boxes for germination. Place large ones in bags and put them in the refrigerator for storage.
