When you’re in the process of beautifying your home garden, you need to go beyond planting trees, herbs and vegetables.
Although growing plants like butter lettuce will make your backyard look greener, they’re not enough to make your garden visually pleasing. If you want your yard to be the talk of the town, plant flowers.
One of the beautiful flowers that can make your garden pop is the stargazer lily.
This guide will tell you why you should plant stargazer lily flowers and teach you how to grow and care for this plant in your backyard, as well as inside your house.
Why Grow Stargazer Lilies
A stargazer lily is famous for its flamboyant mid- to late-summer blooms and delightful perfume. This is ideal for homeowners who want their garden to look and smell great.
A stargazer lily also comes in different colors and varieties. You could plant a white stargazer lily, a pink stargazer lily, a purple variety and even bicolor blends. This is an excellent way to make your garden more colorful and vibrant.
Another reason for choosing this flower is it’s easy to grow. Stargazer lilies do best in full sun but can tolerate partial shade. They can also thrive in nearly any kind of well-drained soil, including heavy clay.
Stargazer lilies are perennial plants. Although they will die back to the ground during wintertime, they’ll send up new stems from the stargazer lily bulb during spring. If you’re on a budget and want a plant that will last you several seasons, consider planting this flower in your garden.
How Do You Grow a Stargazer Lily?
Once you’ve chosen the stargazer lily variety you want, you’ll need to think about planting time. Ideally, you should begin growing this flower in spring or autumn. Place the stargazer lily bulbs in a sunny garden bed with well-drained soil.
When adding this flower to your garden, plant clusters of three to five bulbs. Make sure the bulbs are about four to six inches deep. Also, space them six to eight inches apart.
When planting the stargazer lily bulb, don’t simply shove it to the ground. Plant the root side of the flower down, with the pointy side facing up.
Caring for Stargazer Lilies in the Garden
Fertilizer
Depending on the soil you have, you could grow beautiful stargazer lilies without adding or using any kind of fertilizer.
The North American Lily Society, though, highly recommends adding a generous amount of 10-10-10 fertilizer in the early spring, preferably after the shoots of the lilies have emerged. They also suggest supplementing throughout the season with small amounts of fertilizer. Make sure you water thoroughly after applying the fertilizer.
Watering
You need to keep your stargazer lilies uniformly moist. Just make sure that you don’t overdo the watering.
High humidity along with excessive moisture can result in botrytis, a fungus that attacks the stems and foliage of a flower. You’ll know that your stargazer lily has this fungus when you come across white spots on the leaves.
When watering this flower, soak the soil to a depth of about six inches. Refrain from watering overhead, as this can destroy the blossoms. You can keep the soil moist by mulching.
Pruning
Deadhead the individual flowers after they finish blooming. This will separate the bloom from the rest of the plant. Deadheading stops the formation of seed pods on the stargazer lily, which expends energy that would otherwise go to rejuvenating the bulbs.
Just like other bulb plants, you should allow the stargazer lily to continue to stand after blooming. Do this for as long as the foliage stays green. Cut the stalks down to ground level as soon as the foliage turns completely brown.
Pest Control
Certain pests can harm stargazer lilies. Lily leaf beetles and aphids are two insects that can cause unsightly damage.
Lily leaf beetles are reddish and look like an elongated ladybug, minus the spots. They eat the buds, stems and leaves of lily plants.
On the other hand, aphids are tiny soft-bodied insects that you can find along the stems and on the bottom sides of the leaves. They damage the flower while feeding on sap.
Both insects are controllable. You can pick them off the stargazer lily by hand. Alternatively, you can use a contact insecticide if you come across an infestation.
How Do You Take Care of a Stargazer Lily Indoors?
You might be thinking, “What if I want to grow stargazer lilies inside my house?” Don’t worry, though, as we’ll provide you with tips on how to grow stargazer lilies in pots.
Start by planting the stargazer lily bulb in pots at least six inches wide. The pot should contain soil with a pH of 6.3 to 6.5 and that’s heavy with organic material. An example is a soil heavy in peat moss.
Stargazer lilies grown inside the home are usually smaller and require relatively warm temperatures (68 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and at least 60 degrees Fahrenheit during nighttime). Place them in areas that receive bright sunlight, such as a sunroom. Bright and indirect sunlight for at least six hours a day will produce regular and healthy growth.
A stargazer lily is an excellent flower that you can grow in your garden. You could also grow this flower in a pot to beautify your living space. Whatever option you choose, you’ll enjoy the flower’s fragrant scent and vibrant colors.
