Emily Chan
Your garden just wouldn’t be complete without the terrific, show-stopping tiger lily. Its distinctive orange petals, speckled with dark brown spots, curve backward gracefully and welcome passersby to stop and stare.
The lilies can produce up to a dozen blossoms on each plant and even come in a variety of vibrant summer colors, such as red, yellow, and pink, although they are typically orange.
Luckily for beginner gardeners, they’re extremely easy to grow and will come back every year as long as they are cared for properly.
They require minimal care on your part. Just choose a sunny spot with well-drained soil and plant them in separate beds to let them be the star of the garden.
Plant them in the fall and wait for the burst of blooms that will come in mid-summer. During the first few years, water the lilies regularly.
Make sure you haven’t planted them in an area that gets waterlogged easily, as that can cause the bulbs to rot.
After they’ve been established for a few years, they become more tolerant to drought and are more low-maintenance.
In the summer, keep their roots cool by applying mulch around the base of the flowers. This prevents their roots from drying out in the hot weather.
Tiger lilies originally hail from East Asia and are native to China, Japan, and Korea, where they were cultivated for food.
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