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Back a few years ago, new cultivars of Easter Lillies have entered the market. The climate I have is ideal for bulbs. I live in a Mediterranean climate, with temperatures above freezing, allowing the bulbs to grow throughout the winter.

The lilies were planted in the garden. From my experience with the white variety (the "old classic" Easter Lily), the bulbs are not affected by summer irrigation. Neither did the other colored varieties I have found. All the bulbs have survived in the garden for a few years. However, I have noticed that the shoots which emerged each winter were smaller and weaker than those from previous year. The old classic Easter lily, on the other hand, has remained vigorous and produced new pups. The colored varieties were too weak to survive and in their twilight they looked like low-growing grass...

So my guess is that the other colored varieties may have been different species or hybrids with different cultivation requirement. Maybe they needed a different climate? Colder? Warmer? They are often marketed as "Asian lilies", but I don't know if they are related to Easter lilies.

Christmas Snow
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    Easter lilies. Asiatic lilies, and Oriental lilies are not the same (Easter lilies are less cold tolerant, for example, while Asiatic lilies are scent-less. Easter lilies and Oriental lilies have outward facing flowers while Asiatic lilies are upward facing). To make it more confusing, there are also LA and OT lilies, too. Do you cut the stems of the lilies down as soon as they're done blooming, or do you let them remain until they turn brown naturally? How about watering? – Jurp Feb 22 '21 at 18:07
  • I always keep the leaves until they are completely dry before I take them out. I noticed how the flowers are aligned as you mentioned. The scaly bulbs still look and somewhat smell the same, and nurseries often mislabel them, adding to the confusion. All are marketed as "Lilies" in my area, so I have to wait for the flowers or see the picture on the package. They grew mostly in the rainy season and went dormant in summer. I did not water them directly during dormancy, but nearby plants, like a foot or more apart were watered. – Christmas Snow Feb 22 '21 at 20:28
  • Sounds like you're doing everything correctly regarding leaving the plants up and then not watering when dormant. How about fertilizer? I don't do anything special with my lilies other than using a woodchip mulch, which slowly feeds them and keeps the soil moist (this latter sounds like it's not an issue if they grow during the rainy season). How about drainage? Are they in clay? Loam? Sand? They need good drainage to thrive, although the Orientals/OTs do okay in clay, if not too wet. – Jurp Feb 22 '21 at 20:39
  • It's light clay, so not too heavy. I will try more fertilizers/compost – Christmas Snow Feb 24 '21 at 08:58

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