Bulb · Liliaceae
Oriental Lily
Lilium
Tall, richly scented summer blooms that perfume a whole garden, with one firm rule for the home: keep them away from cats.
Full sun
Every 3–7 days
USDA 3–9
1–6 ft · 0.3–1.8 m
Overview
Oriental lilies are the grand, fragrant lilies that set the tone of a high-summer garden, their scent drifting to meet you at the gate before the blooms come into view. They grow from bulbs in the genus Lilium and trace back to Japanese species that breeders shaped into the showy hybrids planted today. Stargazer is the name that comes to mind first, though the whole group carries the same tall stems and generous, perfumed flowers that make them a centerpiece.
As hardy perennials, they return from the same bulb each year and settle into fuller clumps over time. In the right corner the stems rise to 6 feet (183 cm), lifting their flowers above the border and giving a planting its vertical line through mid to late summer. A couple of seasons of patience earns the reward: a settled clump puts on its finest, most polished display.
One consideration comes before any question of placement or pairing. Oriental lilies are deadly to cats, far beyond the risk to any other animal, and that danger is reason enough to leave them out of certain homes entirely. Kept with that in mind, they are otherwise an easy, giving plant that asks for little more than sun and soil that drains well.
Care
The short version: a full-sun spot with a touch of afternoon shade, deep planting in rich free-draining soil, even moisture with the roots mulched and cool, and a light feed in early spring.
Light
Give Oriental lilies full sun for the fullest flowering, though they will take a little partial shade through the hottest part of the day. The old ideal is sun on the flowers and shade on the roots, and a layer of mulch is what keeps that balance in a bright, open bed.
Water
Keep the soil evenly moist but never waterlogged, since standing water is what rots the bulbs. Water every 3 to 7 days as the weather dictates, and mulch to hold that moisture and keep the roots cool right through the warmest months.
Soil
Plant in fertile, humus-rich soil that drains freely, on the acidic to neutral side at a pH of 5.5 to 7.0. Alkaline ground is out, so test where you are unsure and work in plenty of organic matter before the bulbs go down.
Temperature
Oriental lilies take a wide range in stride, from about 30°F to 84°F (-1°C to 29°C), and the bulbs are hardy enough to overwinter in the ground across their zones. They carry through summer heat as long as the roots stay cool and moist.
Humidity
Average outdoor humidity is all they ask, so there is no figure to aim for. Airflow counts for more than moisture in the air, because a crowded, damp planting is what lets botrytis take hold.
Feeding
Feed with a light touch. A balanced fertilizer in early spring, as the new growth appears, carries them through the season, and there is nothing to gain from adding more.
Pruning
Deadhead the spent flowers, and on cut stems bound for the vase snip the anthers off so the pollen leaves no stain. Let the foliage die back on its own, since it feeds the bulb for the year ahead, then cut the stems down in fall.
Repotting
Divide a clump every 3 to 4 years in fall once it goes dormant, which keeps the blooms full rather than shrinking. Container bulbs appreciate a refresh every few years, and thin flowering, crowded clumps, or bulbs pushing to the surface are the cues that the time has come.
Size & spacing
Stems reach from 1 to 6 feet (30 to 183 cm) tall by cultivar, with a spread of 1 to 3 feet (30 to 91 cm). Give each one room so air moves through the planting, and offer the tallest stems a discreet stake if the height calls for it.
When to plant
Lilies keep the rhythm of the bulb, and it fits neatly into the gardening year. Set the bulbs in fall or early spring, about 6 inches deep, let them root and rise through spring, and the flowers arrive from mid to late summer, with some cultivars carrying the show into fall.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Plant: Plant bulbs in fall or early spring, about 6 inches deep
- Harvest: Mid to late summer, some cultivars into fall
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 3–9
Temperature: down to -40°C
Troubleshooting
Most of what troubles a lily begins out of sight or shows during a wet spell, so the bulb and the lower foliage are where a first look pays off. Rot and disease settle in there before anything reaches the flowers. Match what you see below and step in before it climbs the plant and spoils the display.
Soft bulbs and beds that stay stubbornly bare
A border planned around lilies that never rise is almost always a case of bulb rot, and the fault sits in the soil rather than the plant. Ground that holds water keeps a bulb sitting wet until fungus moves in, so a low, damp corner is the wrong home for them. Lift and discard anything gone soft, turn compost through the bed to loosen it, and give the healthy bulbs a spot where water runs off instead of gathering.
Fix:
- Improve drainage by amending soil with organic matter
- Remove and discard rotted bulbs
- Replant healthy bulbs in raised or better-drained sites
Spotted foliage and gray mold that dulls a wet-weather display
A planting packed too closely for looks can turn against itself in a rainy spell, when botrytis settles in as gray mold and spots the leaves before it softens the stems. Trim away and remove anything marked so the display stays clean. A little more space between plants and water aimed at the base rather than the leaves keeps the foliage dry and the mold from taking over the scene.
Fix:
- Remove and destroy affected foliage
- Improve air circulation and spacing
- Avoid overhead watering
Ragged leaves and buds with bright red beetles in residence
Nothing spoils a summer border faster than the lily leaf beetle, a scarlet insect whose larvae leave the foliage and buds in tatters. Lifting the adults and grubs off by hand as you pass keeps the planting looking its best. Aphids gather on the buds in the same season, so a rinse from the hose or a pass of insecticidal soap moves them along, and a regular walk through the beds in spring and early summer heads off the worst before it shows.
Fix:
- Handpick beetles and larvae
- Spray aphids off with water or treat with insecticidal soap
- Monitor regularly through the growing season
Toxicity
This plant comes with a warning that outweighs any styling note. Oriental lilies are catastrophically toxic to cats, and even a trace of pollen or a sip of the vase water can cause fatal kidney failure, so they have no place in a home shared with cats. They are far gentler for dogs and horses and pose no real danger to people, but the cat risk is the point that settles everything.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Safe for
People
Cats Severe
This is the one no beautiful arrangement can excuse. A single part of the plant, a lick of pollen from the coat, or a sip from the vase on the console table can shut down a cat's kidneys, and the first signs slip by easily: some vomiting, a sudden lack of interest in food, and a listless, tired cat. Within a day or two that becomes acute kidney failure, which turns fatal fast without emergency treatment, so a vet visit cannot wait.
Dogs Caution
A household dog fares far better than a cat around these blooms. A chew on the plant tends to bring on some drooling and vomiting, yet the kidneys stay clear, and most dogs settle once it has passed.
Horses Caution
A horse that samples the foliage may come away with a mild stomachache and a little drooling. The upset is uncomfortable rather than dangerous, though there is no reason to leave one grazing near the planting.
Rabbits Caution
Extension sources mark lilies as unsafe for rabbits, so the leaves, stems, and flowers are best kept off the menu. Set pots and cut stems well beyond the reach of any rabbit that roams the house or garden.
Livestock Caution
Cattle, goats, and sheep are better kept clear of lily plantings, since a graze on the foliage can leave them with digestive trouble. A fence around any bed of bulbs settles the matter.
Birds Caution
Pet birds should not be left to pick at the leaves or blooms. Treat the whole plant, pollen and all, as off limits anywhere near a cage.
People Safe
For the household itself, Oriental lilies pose no poisoning risk, and no part needs to be eaten or avoided for safety. The pollen does stain skin and fabric, so brush the anthers from cut stems before they reach the table, and wash your hands after handling if a cat shares the home.
Keep all parts of the plant and any cut stems, fallen pollen, and vase water completely out of reach of cats; even brushing against pollen and grooming it off the fur can poison a cat. Wash hands after handling.
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
United Kingdom
Animal PoisonLine: 01202 509000 (fee applies)
Australia
Animal Poisons Helpline: 1300 869 738
Varieties
The Oriental lilies run to many named hybrids, though a few return to the border season after season. These are the ones worth knowing by name.
Stargazer
The best-loved of the group turns its crimson-pink blooms up toward the sky, rimmed in white and dusted with orange pollen, and it opens a little ahead of most other Oriental lilies.
Rubrum (Lilium speciosum var. rubrum)
A fragrant Japanese show lily whose white-and-pink spotted petals sweep back on themselves for an elegant, relaxed line.
Casa Blanca
The choice for a refined white scheme, prized for its large, pure white, outward-facing flowers and a rich scent that travels right across a garden.
How to propagate
Lilies increase so freely from the bulb that seed rarely earns a place in the plan. Each route below trades a little speed for how soon the border fills with flowers.
Bulbs & cormsEasy
Fall when dormant · 1-2 growing seasons to flowering size
The simplest way to widen a planting is to lift a dormant bulb in fall, ease a few of the fleshy outer scales away, and pot them up. Each scale forms its own small bulblet, and those come to flowering size in one to two seasons.
Offsets & pupsEasy
Fall · 1-2 seasons
Settled bulbs quietly produce small offset bulblets of their own. In fall, part them from the parent and set each about three times its own height deep, and they round out the display over one to two seasons.
DivisionEasy
Fall when dormant · 1 season to reestablish
When a clump grows crowded, lift it in fall while it rests and divide it into smaller pieces. The divisions settle back into the border and return to bloom the following season.
SeedDemanding
Fall or spring · Several years to flowering
Seed is the unhurried route, sown in fall or spring for a patient gardener. Seedlings take several years to reach blooming size, which is why most keep to bulbs for a quicker display.
Myths
A cat has to eat the leaves to be poisoned, so pollen and vase water are harmless.
Every part of a true lily is toxic to a cat, and the leaves are only the start. A cat can be poisoned simply by grooming a few grains of pollen from its coat or drinking from the vase, so even a tiny, indirect exposure can trigger fatal kidney failure.
Lilies are equally dangerous to cats and dogs.
The two are nowhere near a match. True lilies cause severe, often fatal kidney failure in cats specifically, while a dog that eats one usually comes away with nothing worse than a brief upset stomach and no kidney harm at all.