Everything You Need to Know
Lilies are stunning flowers, much adored for their vibrant colours and striking graceful blooms. They’re perfect for flower arrangements, as they add drama and elegance and have an excellent vase life. Since we, too, like featuring them in our creations here at Freddie’s, we’ve compiled this ultimate guide for you, so you can make the most of your lilies.
When Do Lilies Bloom?: The Seasonal Calendar
Lilies can bloom from early summer to early fall, depending on the weather, environment, and lily variety. In the UK, that typically means from June to September, with peak flowering times throughout July and August.
If you plant a mix of lily types, including early, mid-, and late bloomers, you can enjoy continuous flowering all through summer. As cut flowers, you can marvel at them throughout the year in your favourite vase.
How to Grow Lilies: A Guide for Green Fingers
Lilies grow from bulbs and are an excellent choice to plant in containers in your garden or on your veranda. You ideally want to plant them in autumn, but you can still plant them until spring. Here are a few steps for you to consider:
- Container: Make sure your container is big and deep enough for your lilies, you want to make sure to leave a few inches between your bulbs.
- Prep: Include a draining layer at the bottom of the container by adding small stones, for instance; then fill in your potting compost.
- Planting depth: This depends on the variety of lily you’re planting but a good rule of thumb is to plant them at a depth equal to the height of the bulb.
- Care: Always ensure the soil is moist, but not soaking wet; fertilise them every two weeks during summer - tomato feed is a good choice as it’s high in potassium.
- Overwintering: Many varieties are fully hardy but make sure to do some research on the ones you’ve selected to plant. In general, the bulbs prefer cool, but frost-free environments - so you can leave them outside during winter as long as you’ve ensured they’re a bit sheltered to maximise their flowering potential in summer.
How to Care for Lilies in a Vase
Liles are excellent cut flowers for arrangements, as they last a very long time. To keep them thriving, here’s a few quick tips to make them look their very best in your vase:
- How to cut lilies: When you first receive your lilies, make sure to trim them at a sharp angle. This helps the flowers take up water.
- Prep: Remove all leaves that would sit below the water line to prevent bacteria from building up in your vase.
- Water & Food: Then, fill your vase with lukewarm water and pop in some flower food for nutrition before you add your flowers in. This encourages the buds to open. Refresh your water every 2-3 days to make sure it stays clean and add more flower food.
- Placement: Lilies are best displayed in a cool and bright area, but safe from direct sunlight or chilly drafts.
- Expert Care Tip: When your flowers have opened, you can remove the “anthers” (the yellow or orange stamens inside the flower) to prevent the pollen from staining the leaves or surface below. This also helps the blooms to last even longer.
The Art of the Arrangement
If you receive a Freddie’s box, you’ll have your bespoke Arranging Guide to help you place and display your lilies in a stunning arrangement. Of course, as with any flower display, you can really let your creative juices flow to make something truly unique. But if you’re struggling with how to arrange lilies in a vase, here’s a few quick pointers:
- Focus: Lilies are most commonly considered as focal flowers for your arrangement - because of their large, spectacular blooms. This means, you usually want to use them as an eye-catching statement in your arrangement or to add some drama.
- Placement: You can either add them in once you’ve created a bit of a nest with your foliage stems, in which the lilies can stand upright, or you could even use your lily stems to cross over in the vase and thereby create structure.
- Height: The key to arranging is always playing with different heights. Therefore, make sure to cut your lilies to different lengths, so that when you place them, your eye can catch them as standouts on different levels of your display.
Meaning and Symbolism
Ever wondered what these beautiful stems signify? There’s a variety of nuances to their symbolism, but we’ve put together a short overview of the most common types of lilies and their meanings:
Red lily meaning: Romance! Deep passion, love, and desire.
Pink lily meaning: Varied - from femininity to admiration, compassion, or the promise of prosperity.
Purple lily meaning: Elegance, royalty, and even spirituality.
Orange lily meaning: All good things - energy & enthusiasm, confidence, and wealth.
Yellow lily meaning: A gift of gratitude, joy, and friendship
White lily meaning: Purity, innocence, and virtue - or a rejuvenation for the soul.
Lilies and Pets
Unfortunately, lilies need to be kept away from your furry friends as they are highly toxic to cats. To keep your feline companions safe, you can always opt in for lily-free arrangements at Freddie’s, where the lilies in our regular arrangements are substituted with equally stunning stems.
FAQ
Do lilies open after they are cut? Yes! Our flowers arrive in bud, but after a trim, drink of water, and some flower food, they open up and unfurl within 2-3 days.
How do you get lily pollen out of fabric? Don’t touch or add water to the stain immediately. First, shake the fabric or garment outside or use sticky tape to get off excess pollen. Apply stain remover to the spot, then soak the fabric in cold water for a good half hour. Afterwards, you can run it through a regular wash cycle. Make sure not to tumble dry or heat it in any way until the stain is completely gone or else it may set.
Are all lilies fragrant? While commonly thought of as highly fragrant, not all lilies actually have a strong aroma. Asiatic lilies, for instance, have little to no scent.
How long do lilies last? In a vase, most lilies will last up to 2 weeks or even longer with proper care. If you have them potted, you may even enjoy them for over 3 weeks.
Posted on 5th March 2026