Pruning Lilies
Lilies are a glorious, easy addition to any garden, and for the best results in your own home garden or landscape setting, you should learn how to prune them. There are several main types of liiles, of which the easiest to grow for beginners are Asiatic lilies. Oriental lilies, day lilies, tiger lilies, calla lilies, and more can also add beauty and variety throughout the spring and summer bloom season with just a moderate amount of care. But when it comes time to prune lilies, more often than not it is difficult to decide exactly how to proceed. Learn from the experts how to care for and prune your lilies.
Caring for Lilies
In general, lilies have easy care requirements, needing only moderate light and fertilization and some amount of staking for the varieties with larger, heavier blossoms. One area that will greatly influence the health of your lilies, however, is lighting. Lilies respond best when they are given access to sun for their foliage and blooms, and shade for their roots. Finding a location where this can easily occur is the biggest challenge for lily gardeners.
Pruning Lilies
Lilies will need help with deadheading to encourage reblooming, especially with day lilies which produce blooms lasting just one single day. Routinely deadheading fading or spent blossoms is part of the routine care that should be expected for your lilies. For best results, disinfect a pair of sharp garden shears and snip off the dead blossom just an inch below the flower base. Next, remove any foliage that looks like it is past its prime and clean all debris away from the base of the plant. At this time, you can examine your lilies for signs of pests and diseases as well. When fall arrives, it is important to cut back all dead or dying foilage and blossoms, while leaving the green foliage in place. This is necessary to help the plant build up its nutrient stores before winter arrives.
