lily
When to plant lilies?
- Botanical name
- Lilium
- Family
- Liliaceae
Lilies are planted from September to October. They flower from June to August.
Lilies are perennial plants.
Lilies through the year
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this week
Planting
Flowering
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- planting
- flowering
In short
Planting
from September to October
weeks 36 to 40
Planting depth
18 cm
Flowering
from June to August
weeks 24 to 35
Propagation
division and seed
Growing conditions
🪨
Soil
loamy
☀️
Sun
full sun
💧
Water
little water
❄️
Frost
overwinters outdoors
📏
Height
30 to 183 cm
⚠️
Toxicity
toxic to cats and dogs, toxic parts: roots, bulbs, stems, leaves, flowers and seeds
Pests and diseases
Listed here is every problem for which the sources name this plant as a host. The problems are not listed in order of how common they are.
Aphids
pest- Signs
- Colonies of small aphids sit on the shoot tips and the underside of the leaves. The leaf curls and puckers, and sticky honeydew is left on everything below. The viruses they carry are more dangerous than the feeding itself.
- Prevention
- Go easy on nitrogen, because soft sappy growth is what aphids are looking for. Encourage the predators (ladybirds, lacewings, parasitic wasps). Use a reflective mulch, which puts them off settling, and a strong jet of water to knock the colony off the tips.
Gladiolus thrips
pest- Signs
- White blotches and streaks over the leaves and flowers. In a heavy attack the petals turn brown and the buds do not open at all. On stored corms and bulbs there are rough grey brown patches.
- Prevention
- The thrips overwinters on stored corms and bulbs, so at lifting cut off the top and remove it before they dry. It is most active from July to September. In a warm room it breeds all year, so keep the store cool.
- What to do
- The source suggests putting up with light damage, seeing to a clean lifting and encouraging the natural predators. It names no insecticide.
Lily beetle
pest- Signs
- Round holes in the leaves and chewed edges, and on the leaves a bright red beetle. The larvae hide under heaps of their own black droppings and strip a leafy shoot bare in a few days. It also eats the petals and the stems.
- Prevention
- The adults appear as early as late March and stay active until October, so check the plants every time you walk past. They are easiest to find in early spring, before they lay their eggs. Heavy feeding in early summer means a smaller bulb and poorer flowering the following year.
- What to do
- Pick them off by hand, beetles and larvae as you find them. There is no insecticide, only a repellent and the encouragement of natural enemies (birds, ground beetles, parasitic wasps).
Slugs and snails
pest- Signs
- Holes appear in the middle of the leaf rather than along the edge, young plants are eaten down to the ground, and there are slimy trails in the morning. On low-growing fruit there are gnawed pits.
- Prevention
- Remove the hiding places beside the bed: boards, stones, dense weeds. Water in the morning and not in the evening, so that the night is dry. Spread a band of coarse sand or gravel around the bed. Cover young plants with fleece. Pick them off at night, which is still the most effective measure.
Vine weevil
pest- Signs
- The half round notches along the leaf edges in summer are the work of the adult beetles and do the plant little harm. The larvae are the danger: white grubs with a brown head eat the roots, the plant suddenly drops its leaves and dies, most often between autumn and spring.
- Prevention
- Most at risk are plants in pots and troughs. In a bed the damage is rarer. At repotting check the roots and the compost and pick the larvae out. You find the adult beetles in the evening with a light, when they crawl over the plants.
- What to do
- Pick the adults off in the evening, set sticky traps indoors and change the compost, removing the larvae as you go. There is no insecticide. As biological protection, water beneficial nematodes into the compost at the end of summer, while the larvae are still small.
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Related plants
The plant below is in the same botanical family (Liliaceae).
Sources about the plant: ASPCA Toxic and Non-Toxic Plants, Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, GBIF Backbone Taxonomy, Iowa State University Extension, Merck Veterinary Manual, NC State Extension Plant Toolbox, Royal Horticultural Society, Wikidata. Checked between 14 and 28 August 2026. The problem descriptions also draw on: Clemson Cooperative Extension, University of Illinois Extension, University of Maryland Extension, University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension, Utah State University Extension.