Easter lilies face their own distinct challenges
The first Sunday following the first full moon (this past Tuesday), following the spring equinox (March 19) is tomorrow — and that makes it Easter Sunday. Last year it was on April 21, and next year it will occur on April 4. I suspect that this Easter is one that will be remembered by all for a very long time.
While Easter lilies are not as popular as they once were, they are nevertheless still associated with the holiday. Unfortunately, given the current crisis, you may not have had an opportunity to get one of these, nor your usual spring gardening plants.
During these difficult times, I have thought about how all of this is affecting those businesses producing and marketing our spring gardening plants. I am well acquainted with the trials and tribulations associated with plant production. Folks in this line of work are at the mercy of the weather, the whims of consumers, insects and disease — and now this.
Plant growers plan well ahead and devise intricate production schedules to ensure they are able to meet the week-to-week needs of garden centers and mass market retailers. Greenhouses are busting with product now, but the distribution chain is undoubtedly backed up with customers being sidelined by the crisis.
Easter lilies present their own distinct challenges to growers, not the least of which is that the holiday, as aforementioned, moves around on the calendar from year to year. Plus bulbs can be recalcitrant, down right uncooperative, and this lily does not naturally bloom in spring, but later in the summer.
Accomplishing this depends on rather tedious greenhouse forcing methods, and this is why they are not a favorite of many greenhouse growers. Lilies are a long-term crop that require six weeks of vernalization in coolers at 42 degrees Fahrenheit. Growers either purchase bulbs that have been cooled by the supplier or they cool their own. After precise chilling at the proper temperature and time, they are moved and “forced” in warm greenhouses at 6265 degrees for about 120 days. This requires potting in early December for forcing — well before producers could have anticipated the issues we are having now.
The same applies to other crops. Many producers find their greenhouses full with demand low. And there are starter plugs and cuttings on the way each week — to begin flats, hanging baskets, planters and such, to be grown-on for shipment in subsequent weeks of the season. These are indeed trying times for those in the plant business.
If you can find a way to support them, do.
And one more thing
Easter lily care tips: If possible, chose plants that have large unopened buds. A cool location with bright, indirect light will help ensure the flowers last longer. The blooms should last for about a week, and will last longer by removing yellow anthers gently before pollen is released. Remove spent flowers and water thoroughly as needed, taking care not to over water. After flowers are spent, plant bulb 3 inches deep in welldrained soil outside in a location preferably with good morning and indirect afternoon sun. Fertilize with slow-release fertilizer. In fall, cut foliage to the ground as it begins to die back. Plant may re-emerge in late-spring, and in subsequent years bloom in midsummer.
Happy Easter to all, and everyone take good care.
Send questions to wkspen@gmail.com or to Home + Living c/o The Virginian-Pilot, 150 W. Brambleton Ave., Norfolk, VA 23510.