How to grow Regal lilies

The white Regal lily is certainly a stunner in any garden, and even though it looks exotic it is very easy to grow. The White regal Lily’s perfume is beyond compare and the bulbs can be kept from season to season, making it very cost effective. The bulbs can be planted in the autumn or the spring.  I personally find spring planted bulbs perform well, as long as they are firm. The White regal Lily looks very good in containers, as long as the soil drains well. White regal Lily’s prefer to sit with their feet in the shade and their heads in the sun, so a container makes it easy to move them around to accommodate their needs.

1. Fill the bottom of a large pot with plenty of broken crocks, to provide good drainage.
2. Place the bulbs 2.5cm to 5 cm apart on a layer of compost, with the pointed tip uppermost.
3. Spread out the roots, cover the bulbs with compost. Water well and keep the compost moist.

To care for your Lily is to make sure the compost is kept moist throughout the growing season, and encourage beautiful blooms by applying a high potash tomato fertilizer. If using a liquid feed take care not to splash it on leaves or stems. After flowering, you must keep the pots watered for a few more weeks until the leaves begin to die down. This allows nutrients to be taken back into the bulbs. Store the pots somewhere cool and dry for the winter.

There are two main pests for lilies and they are slugs and the red lily beetle.  As soon as the lily breaks the surface of the soil you must use a barrier against slugs.  A few rinds from citrus fruits placed around the lily will capture most slugs, as will a beer trap. If growing in a container then copper tape placed around the rim of your pot will stop the slugs.  The red lily beetle is not hard to spot, with a red body and black legs; they can turn a lily into a leafless mess in less than no time. The removal of the leaves deprives the plant of food production which severely weakens it and may prevent flowering the following year, or in severe cases kill the plant. . From spring to autumn the adults and larvae feed on the foliage, flowers and stems. The only way to deal with them is to pick them off. This may be time consuming, but it is better than using chemicals, which doesn’t always work.