“Lilies in the Deep South?”, a copyrighted post, was written for my WordPress blog called Always Growing by Jan in Covington, Louisiana
After I had such great repeated results from my Easter lily bulbs, I decided that maybe lilies would grow down here after all. I had been told that true lilies don’t grow well this far south. So, when I saw a bag of lilies at Wal-Mart, I thought I’d give them a try. They were inexpensive, so if they did not do well, I hadn’t lost much. If they did do well, then maybe I’d try some better bulbs next year. Well, they were planted, and a few were dug up by some “thing”, and I replanted them (one in particular many times).
A few weeks ago, I got a lovely white lily bloom, and today another one bloomed – a pink one. Since this was a mixed bag of bulbs, I don’t know what this one is, but it does look like Stargazer. I’m not sure though.
This afternoon as I was taking this photo, I was struck by the soft, sweet fragrance of this lily. There still are buds on the stalk that will open in a few days, and I can’t wait to see and smell those. Since they are at the top of the stalk, I may cut them and bring them inside to enjoy.
Since I have never grown lilies before and no one I know has grown them, I really don’t know much about them. Easter lilies I know about because my mom grew them, but, as for other true lilies, I really don’t see them in the gardens around here. Being in the coastal south, I have a few questions. Will they come back next year? Do Asiatic or Orientals do better here? I guess I have some research to do because I really would like to add some lilies to my garden next year.
Always Growing 
Nancy Bond said,
June 18, 2008 at 8:37 pm
I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a lily I didn’t love, and this one is no exception. That’s a beautiful candy pink!
Jan said,
June 19, 2008 at 6:36 am
This is a pretty one, Nancy. I am really hoping to add more lilies to the garden since they come in such a variety of colors.
Brenda Kula said,
June 19, 2008 at 7:52 am
You have such talent with plants! I think most anything grows under your green thumb!
Brenda
Jan said,
June 19, 2008 at 9:27 am
Thanks, Brenda, I do try. I think gardening in the coastal South helps with its long growing season and mild winter temperatures, and, of course, Mother Nature helps a lot.
Randy said,
June 19, 2008 at 12:05 pm
Jan,
I have to agree with you that it is a stargazer. This is only the second time I’ve ever seen one with four petals. It’s a beautiful shade of pink. I plan on starting a collection of lilies next year. After seeing your photos, I’m even more inspired.
Jan said,
June 19, 2008 at 2:32 pm
Randy, I thought maybe it only had four petals because it is so young. I’ve noticed that sometimes the first flowers of a plant when it is new are a little different – smaller, paler color, etc. I, too, am thinking about putting more lilies in next year if I can find out that they definitely will do well down here.
Phillip said,
June 19, 2008 at 9:25 pm
It is odd but I had better luck growing lilies when I gardened at the tiny apartment where I lived before I moved into my present home. I had some amazing Casablanca lilies there and I’ve tried numerous times to duplicate that success but no luck. I do grow the Stargazer lily and it does well. I also have some lilies in a pot that did amazingly well last year and they are getting ready to bloom again.
Annie in Austin said,
June 20, 2008 at 1:32 pm
Jan, I have one oriental lily that’s survived 5 or 6 years – bought in a bag from a big box store, and grown in a deck pot for a few years before being planted here in mid-2005. It gets a few flowers each summer …. there might be 5 buds right now. This area is on a little rise, so it has good drainage, and has some afternoon shade.
Nancy of My Garden Spot is one of the bloggers who came to Spring Fling… I just saw her post for the 19th and she seems to have the same four-petaled lily that you have. http://nancysgardenspot.blogspot.com/
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
Jan said,
June 21, 2008 at 6:14 am
Phillip, since you had good luck in a container maybe lilies need very good drainage to succeed here. I know when I planted the Easter lilies, I put in plenty of compost and some sand to amend my clay soil. Thanks for the input on your experience with growing lilies.
Annie, your success gives me ideas about were to put lilies. Like I wrote to Phillip, it must be the drainage that is the secret to growing lilies here where we can get so much rain. I did see Nancy’s photo of her lily and was happy to see mine may not be a mistake.