“Easter morn with lilies fair, Fills the church with perfumes rare,” is the beginning of a poem excerpt from Louise Lewin Matthews. The intoxicating smell of the Easter lily fills many Christian churches on Easter. They symbolically remind us of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The bulbs emerge from their earthly graves and bloom into majestic trumpet-shaped white flowers. In Luke 12:27 Jesus said, “Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not; and yet I say to unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.”

“As their clouds of incense rise, Sweetest offerings to the skies.” Easter lilies in churches and other venues are groomed by removing the yellow anthers before the pollen starts to shed. This gives the flower a longer life and prevents pollen from staining the white flowers. Gently pull the yellow anthers out with your fingers.

“Stately lilies pure and white, flooding darkness with their light,” The Easter Lily, lilium longiflorum, ranks fourth in floral sales after poinsettias, mums and azaleas. The Easter Lily or “Nellie White” is the most commonly grown cultivar. It can grow up to 3 feet high. It is commercially begun 2 weeks before Christmas. The root systems are established in cool situations. Then they are exposed to light and heat to bring them on. The blooms are manipulated by temperature to be in full flower on the right day as Easter occurs on different days each year.

“Bloom and sorrow drifts away, On this holy hallow’d day.” After bringing your Easter lily home remove the decorative foil wrapping to ensure that water does not stand underneath the pot. Root rot will be prevented. To help them last longer, keep daytime temperatures at 60-65 degrees and nighttime temperature slightly cooler. Avoid drafts, heat and glaring direct sunlight. Water thoroughly when the surface feels dry to the touch. When the flower starts to wither after its prime, cut it off to make the plant more attractive. Open blooms last about 7 days. When the lily has finished blooming plant the green foliage outdoors in a sunny, well drained area. A well-drained potting mixture to use is a mixture of 1-part soil, 1-part peat moss and 1-part perlite. Easter lilies need morning sun and afternoon shade. Add 1 teaspoon slow release fertilizer every 6 weeks. As the plant dies, cut stems back to soil surface. Mulch to conserve water.

“Easter Lilies bending low in the golden afterglow, Bear a message from the sod, To the heavenly towers of God.” Louise Lewin Matthews

Reach Jefferson County Master Gardener Eileen Slater at enslater08@gmail.com or call the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service at (409)835-8461.