Lily is one of the most popular ornamental plants. She won the hearts of domestic flower growers for a long time. But the flower is quite moody and requires a lot of attention. Buying a lily in a pot is worth it only if it is possible to care for it properly.
This is a bulbous plant, also called amaryllis. The flowers consist of 6 petals and have a pleasant unsharp smell. You can grow a lily in an apartment or office, in the warm season, put on the balcony.
Appearance story
White domestic lily appeared relatively recently. These are new hybrid varieties bred by Western European (Dutch) breeders in the 1950s by crossing individual varieties of lilies growing in open ground.
Lily
This plant is very popular in Russia.
Description
The plant belongs to the family Liliaceae.
Salient Features and Short Description:
- thickened fleshy stalk;
- flowers shaped like a funnel or bowl;
- oblong light green leaves;
- the height of an adult plant is 60-70 cm.
The most common varieties are considered Chinese and Asian. They are most often grown at home.
Common varieties
Popular varieties can be easily purchased at any flower shop. Chinese and Asian varieties are unpretentious and respond well to the introduction of complex mineral fertilizers. Flowering, with sufficient watering, lasts longer than other varieties.
Chinese lily
It attracts attention with large white flowers with yellow stamens. It is not recommended for growing in a house where there are children - some parts of the plant contain toxic substances - alkaloids. Bulbs of Chinese variety resemble ordinary onions in shape.
Beautiful variety
The Chinese variety is one of the most beautiful, it resembles a swamp water lily.
Asiatic Lily
One of the most famous names for hybrid varieties. The flowers have a bright color: lilac, orange, pale pink. The color is heterogeneous. The colors can be dark spots, stripes, specks. The only drawback is that with a lack of lighting, the Asian variety does not bloom at home.
Care Features
Lily in a pot care at home is simple, but can take a lot of time. The plant is sensitive to temperature changes and is often affected by fungal infections. The lack of timely transplantation can significantly slow down the development of lilies, so it is very important to transplant a flower on time.
The list of main care activities includes:
- watering;
- air humidity control in the room;
- top dressing;
- pest and parasite control.
During flowering, it is also necessary to remove fading flowers.
Temperature
Recommended room temperature is from 18 degrees. You can not put a flower pot near the steam heating batteries - the lily does not like dry air. In winter, if the apartment is cold, you can use additional sources of heating.
Lighting
Lily bulb onion grows well in partial shade and does not like direct sunlight. She feels best in a secluded place behind a curtain of thick fabric. In summer, the pot is taken out onto the balcony, but cleaned at any sign of a quick cooling.
Flower
The flower must be protected from drafts and direct sunlight
Watering
Water only when the soil is completely dry. A great option is to combine moisturizing the earth in a pot with rubbing the leaves with a damp cloth. Lily leaves actively absorb moisture, so this procedure will benefit the plant.
Spraying
Lily is an indoor flower, often suffering from pests and parasites, so it must be regularly sprayed with water from a spray bottle. This will help scare away harmful insects, wash them off the leaves and stem. The spray liquid should be at room temperature.
Humidity
Lily home flower loves moisture, but does not tolerate stagnation of fluid in the soil. The air in the apartment should be moderately humid. If it is dry, the plant will develop poorly, and the leaves will be deformed.
Priming
Potted lily grows well if there are a lot of nutrients in the soil.
The composition of the soil should include:
- turf;
- humus;
- sheet earth;
- river sand and charcoal.
You can use the purchased primer for plants of the Liliaceae family.
Top dressing
Lily is fed up to three times per season with organic and complex mineral fertilizers of industrial production. Fertilizing must be done immediately after planting and before leaving for the winter.
Care in winter, at rest
In the cold season, potato lily enters a period of physiological dormancy. Watering should be minimized at this time. Top dressing stops. In the cold season, the main thing is to give the plant as much light as possible. To do this, a lily in a pot or planter can be placed on the south window.
Care
In winter, watering is minimized.
Attention! Excessive moisture in the soil in winter can trigger the appearance of fungus. In this case, a deep root lesion is possible, fraught with the death of the plant.
When and how it blooms
Especially beautiful is the house lily during the flowering period. It lasts from the first decade of June to the second decade of August.
Flowers can have different colors:
- orange
- yellow;
- white;
- bright red.
A delicate lilac shade looks very beautiful.
Flowering period
During flowering, the plant requires increased attention. It is necessary to take good care of it: timely remove wilted flowers, add top dressing, increase watering. After each watering, loosening is carried out so that moisture is better absorbed, and lilies bloom longer, otherwise the plant may bloom ahead of schedule.
Changes in flowering care
During the flowering period, the lily must be protected from the sun and drafts. Top dressing is carried out every 7-10 days. If the summer turned out to be warm, you can temporarily place the plant in open ground until the fall.
Breeding
Indoor lily propagates with the help of small bulbs, departing from the mother. Separation of children from the main bulb and planting them in separate pots is carried out in April - May.
To do this, you must:
- Pour a layer of drainage and soil into the pot;
- Place a shallow onion there to a depth of not more than 5 cm;
- Sprinkle with a thin layer of earth;
- Water a little.
Experts recommend planting several “children” in one pot, then flowering will be more plentiful and long. You need to plant onions very carefully, without damaging them.
Reproduction of a flower from seeds is a rather troublesome and long task. In this case, the lily develops very slowly and for the first time begins to bloom only 5 years after planting. Seeds that have expired will not germinate, so you should be careful when buying it.
Bulb Transplant
Once a year, the soil should be completely renewed. This stimulates the growth of lilies and is a good prevention of diseases, pests and parasites. Little children are separated from the large onion and each placed in its own pot.
Each grower should know how to plant lilies. For transplanting, the bulbs are carefully dug up and cleaned of the ground, the children are removed with a sharp knife. If the tuber begins to rot, the affected areas are cut off. Next, the bulbs are disinfected in a solution of potassium permanganate and dried, then to plant in the spring. You can dry it on the windowsill, laying a newspaper or a piece of dense fabric there. Store planting material in a dry and dark place in cotton bags.
Transfer
Transplantation is the most important care event.
Why the lily indoor does not bloom
Lovers of lilies often think about why the plant does not bloom at home. What to do depends on the situation. The most common reason for the lack of flowers is a too spacious pot. In this case, reducing the size of the vessel during transplantation will give good results. Children are transplanted into the smallest pots. Also, this problem sometimes occurs due to lack of moisture, it is enough to intensify watering, and the long-awaited flowers will appear.
Another common reason is sharp temperature drops and drafts. In this case, it is necessary to move the plant for cultivation into the warmest room in the house protected from the wind. Sometimes the lily stops blooming due to the fact that it did not rest in the winter. In cold weather and until spring, the plant must always stand in a cool place so that its development slows down as much as possible.
Attention! Lack of flowering is often caused by scarce top dressing (or lack thereof). In this case, timely and regular application of complex mineral fertilizers will help to solve the problem.
With proper care of a room flower with a lily, it will delight for a long time with large bright flowers and will become a worthy decoration of any interior in a house or office. Specialists recommend adhering to the care calendar and perform basic activities only at the appropriate time. Most care will be required for domestic white lilies during the flowering period.
