Stargazer lily challenge

Hi everyone,

So yesterday I was talking to a gardener while I was looking for some seeds to take home, and boy did I ever learn a lot about my favorite flower of all – the stargazer. Now I know you have probably seen the previous blog post I did and how much I adore this flower.

Yet the one thing I did not know was how hard it was to actually grow and keep a healthy stargazer indoors. First off, the stargazer will only bloom once a year if it is kept in the pot indoors which is sad, seeing as its beautifully scented flower is absolutely amazing.

I decided there that I wanted to challenge myself to grow a healthy beautiful stargazer lily in my home and keep it potted till spring finally arrived. I decided to start shopping for this challenge right away .

The pot I picked out was 6-8 inches diameter. This will allow room for the bulb to germinate and water to drain out properly. So, instead of just a normal pot i bought one which can drain . Now, you don’t need to buy the expensive kind either. I spend about $5.oo on the pot of my choice, which had a dish already attached and two small holes on each side so the soil can be well-drained and as to avoid drowning the lily bulb .

For soil, I used Miracle grow potting soil . I was very unsure especially with so many different brands of soil out there. So I turned to my gardening expert – Grandma . She had grown so many lilies and tons of different flowers . The farm is covered with them, so I called her up . “Miracle grow potting soil”, she said. She explained that it has a good drainage and provides the flower with the nutrients it needs to develop properly.

I went to my local supply store in town and found a small bag with enough soil for me to plant my bulb. The next step was to pick out the healthy bulb itself. Another really cool thing I learned about this flower, or any bulb-like flower is to look at the bulbs carefully, even squeeze them a bit . If there are brown or black spots on them, or they’re soft to the touch, don’t use them. It means the bulb is dead and will not bloom or grow .

We want a healthy bulb that is spotless, knowing it will grow healthy and strong. Heads up, always shop around for lily bulbs . Some stores will sell them at a good price, others would make your wallet cry.

For example, going to a regular store they wanted almost $15 dollars for 3 bulbs, so I defiantly walked away. Then I went to my local supply store and found the same 3 bulbs for $7 dollars. I know it may seem steep but where I live most of the gardeners do not have bulbs for sale yet. Or they won’t order them till warmer weather arrives.

Yet I have my three needs set for my lily challenge; the proper pot to plant the bulb, a good soil to keep the lily well-drained and fed, and last but not least – the lily itself . Today I will plant my first ever lily bulb .

First off, fill the pot with soil only half full with the soil . Next we want to water the soil until the excess water begins to leak out of the draining holes at the bottom of the pot . Get your stargazer lily and place it on top of the soil . Here we want to fill in the bulb until it’s about 2 inches deep.

After we have planted the bulb water it again so that the excess water begins to leak out of the drainage holes . The bulb needs to be well watered . For the first two weeks the plant needs to be in an environmental where it is near 34 to 35 degrees . After the flower has sprouts about 2 inches tall, we want to move the flower into warmer weather, around 60 or 65 degrees .

I want everyone to have fun, and don’t forget twice every two weeks feed the flower some fertilizer to keep it healthy and strong . Have fun with this challenge, I know I will .

Keep on growing <3

Stacey