Bulb · Liliaceae
Asiatic Lily
Lilium
Plant the bulbs once and Asiatic lilies hand you the first big blooms of summer, year after year.
Full sun
Every 5–10 days
USDA 4–8
2–5 ft · 0.6–1.5 m
Overview
Asiatic lilies are the easiest of the true lilies and usually the first to bloom each summer. They grow from a bulb, returning a little stronger every year, and carry upward or outward facing flowers 4 to 6 inches across in nearly every color but true blue. Most have little or no scent, which suits anyone who finds the heavy perfume of other lilies too much.
They ask for very little once they're in the ground. Full sun, soil that drains freely, and a cool root zone are the whole recipe, and the bulbs are hardy enough to ride out winters down to -20°F (-29°C). Set them in a sunny bed and they multiply on their own, forming fuller clumps you can lift and split every few years.
One thing has to be said plainly: these are true lilies, and they are deadly to cats. Every part of the plant, down to the pollen and the water in a vase, can cause fatal kidney failure in a cat. If a cat shares your home, this is a plant to grow only where the cat can never reach it, or to skip entirely.
Care
The short version: full sun and sharp drainage are what Asiatic lilies care about most. Keep the soil evenly moist but never soggy, mulch to hold the roots cool, and divide crowded clumps every few years to keep the flowers coming.
Light
Asiatic lilies flower best in full sun, with six or more hours a day. They'll take a little afternoon shade where summers are hot, which helps the blooms last, but deep shade leaves them leggy and shy of flowers.
Water
Keep the soil evenly moist through the growing season, and never let it dry out completely while the plants are in active growth. Water every 5 to 10 days, more in heat, but back off the moment the ground turns soggy, since wet feet rot the bulbs. A layer of mulch holds moisture and keeps the roots cool.
Soil
Drainage is everything here. Plant in well-drained loam, silt, or sand worked with compost, aiming for a slightly acidic to neutral pH of 6.0 to 7.0. Heavy, waterlogged ground is the fastest way to lose the bulbs.
Temperature
These are tough, cold-hardy bulbs that handle a range from -20°F to 90°F (-29°C to 32°C). They need winter chill to bloom well, so they thrive in cold-winter gardens where many other bulbs struggle.
Humidity
Ordinary outdoor humidity suits them, so there's no number to hit. Airflow matters more than moisture in the air, since crowded, still conditions are what invite botrytis blight onto the leaves.
Feeding
Work a balanced or low-nitrogen bulb fertilizer into the soil as the shoots emerge in spring, then feed again as the buds form. Go easy on nitrogen, which pushes soft leafy growth at the expense of flowers.
Pruning
Snap off spent blooms so the plant feeds its bulb instead of setting seed. Leave the rest of the foliage standing until it yellows and dies back on its own in fall, then cut the stems to the ground.
Repotting
Lilies like to be left alone, but a clump that's been in place 3 to 4 years starts to crowd itself and the flowers shrink. Lift and divide it in fall when you see smaller blooms or a knot of little bulblets around the parent.
Size & spacing
Stems reach 2 to 5 feet (60 to 150 cm) tall in a fairly narrow clump. Plant the bulbs 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20 cm) deep and about 12 inches (30 cm) apart so air moves freely and the roots stay cool.
When to plant
Asiatic lilies run on a simple seasonal clock. Plant the bulbs in spring or fall, deep and a hand's width apart, and they push up in spring to open the first lilies of the year in early to midsummer.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Plant: Plant bulbs in spring or fall, 6 to 8 inches deep and about 12 inches apart
- Harvest: Early to mid summer; Asiatic hybrids are usually the first lilies to bloom
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 4–8
Temperature: down to -34°C
Troubleshooting
Most lily problems trace back to one thing: soil that holds too much water. Watch the bulbs and lower leaves for the early signs below, then act before rot or blight takes hold.
Soft, mushy bulbs and growth that stalls or never appears
This is bulb rot, and it starts with soil that stays too wet rather than anything wrong with the bulb itself. Standing water suffocates the bulb and lets fungi move in. Lift any bulb that feels soft or smells sour, throw it out, and work compost and grit into the bed before you replant somewhere with sharper drainage.
Fix:
- Lift and discard rotted bulbs
- Improve drainage by amending soil with compost and coarse material
- Replant healthy bulbs in a raised or well-drained site
Gray fuzzy mold and brown blotches on leaves and buds
Cool, damp weather brings on botrytis blight, a fungus that fills in water-soaked spots with a tan or gray fuzz. Cut off the marked leaves and flowers and bin them rather than compost them. Give the plants room to breathe, water at the base instead of over the top, and clear away dead foliage in fall so the spores have nowhere to wait out the winter.
Fix:
- Remove and destroy infected foliage
- Improve air circulation and avoid overhead watering
- Apply an appropriate fungicide if severe
Curled new growth with a sticky residue
Clusters of small soft-bodied insects on the new shoots and leaf undersides point to lily aphids, which leave behind the sticky honeydew that coats the leaves. Knock them off with a hard jet of water, then treat what's left with insecticidal soap. Stay on top of them, because aphids carry viruses from one lily to the next.
Fix:
- Spray plants with a strong stream of water to dislodge aphids
- Apply insecticidal soap to affected growth
- Encourage natural predators such as lady beetles
Toxicity
This is where Asiatic lilies demand real caution. As a true lily, the whole plant is severely poisonous to cats, and even a lick of pollen or a sip of vase water can cause fatal kidney failure. Dogs get off lightly with little more than an upset stomach, and the plant poses no serious threat to people, but no cat should ever be in reach of it.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds · People
Cats Severe
This is the one that matters most. Even a few bites of leaf or flower, a lick of pollen off the fur, or a sip of vase water can shut down a cat's kidneys. It starts with vomiting, a refusal to eat, and a drained, listless cat within hours, then slides into fatal kidney failure unless a vet treats it fast. Get to an emergency clinic at once.
Dogs Mild
Dogs get off far more lightly. A dog that chews the plant may drool or throw up, but true lilies don't appear to harm a dog's kidneys the way they wreck a cat's.
Horses Caution
Horses do not suffer the kidney failure that strikes cats, but the plant is no part of their diet. Keep bulbs, foliage, and garden clippings out of the paddock to avoid mild digestive upset.
Rabbits Caution
Experiments fed high doses without obvious harm, yet there is no real margin of safety here. Don't let a rabbit graze on the leaves or bulbs.
Livestock Caution
Cattle, sheep, and goats aren't known to fall seriously ill from true lilies, but the plant offers them nothing. Fence the bed off and never toss trimmings where grazing animals can reach them.
Birds Caution
There are no firm reports of poisoning in birds, so the picture is unclear. Treat that uncertainty as a reason to keep cages and aviaries well away from cut stems and pollen.
People Caution
No part of this plant is grown to eat, and chewing the leaves, bulbs, or flowers can leave the mouth and stomach irritated. Keep young children from nibbling on it, though it carries none of the deadly risk it poses to a cat.
Keep this 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.
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
Poison Control: (800) 222-1222
Canada
Poison Centres: 1-844-764-7669
Varieties
Asiatic lilies come in a wide spread of colors, and a couple of true lilies are worth knowing by name.
Asiatic hybrids (general)
These are the first lilies of the season, opening mostly unscented flowers 4 to 6 inches across that face up or outward in reds, pinks, oranges, yellows, lavender, and white.
Tiger lily (Lilium lancifolium)
A related true lily that carries orange, dark-spotted flowers with swept-back petals and forms little dark bulbils tucked into the leaf joints along the stem.
How to propagate
Asiatic lilies make more of themselves with almost no help, which is why a single planting fills out into a clump so quickly. Dividing the bulbs is the reliable route, while seed is slow work best left to breeders.
DivisionEasy
Fall, every 3 to 4 years when clumps become crowded · One growing season; divisions often bloom the following summer
Every 3 to 4 years, once a clump grows crowded, lift it in fall and gently pull the parent bulbs and their bulblets apart. Replant each one straight away at its proper depth, and the divisions settle in over a single season, with most flowering again the very next summer.
Offsets & pupsEasy
Fall, when lifting and dividing bulbs · One to two growing seasons to reach blooming size
While you have a clump lifted in fall, snap off the small bulblets clustered around each parent bulb and pot them up to grow on. They need one to two seasons to size up before they flower, so think of them as next year's lilies rather than this year's.
SeedDemanding
Sow ripe seed in fall or stratify and sow in spring · Several years to reach blooming size; named hybrids do not come true from seed
You can sow ripe seed in fall, or chill it over winter and sow in spring, but expect a long wait of several years before the seedlings flower. Named hybrids won't come true this way either, so seed is really a breeder's tool rather than a way to copy a lily you like.
Myths
A cat is only at risk if it actually eats the leaves or flowers.
The danger reaches well past the leaves and petals. A cat that licks pollen off its coat or drinks from a vase that held lilies can take in enough toxin to trigger kidney failure. With true lilies, every part of the plant and even the water counts as poison to a cat.
Asiatic lilies are just as deadly to dogs as they are to cats.
Dogs and cats react very differently to this plant. A dog that nibbles a lily usually gets nothing worse than an upset stomach, with no sign of the kidney damage the same plant causes in cats. The lethal lily toxin is a cat problem, not a dog one.