I LOVE EASTER...because it is a milestone on our way to the warmer days ahead.  Another reason I love Easter is the appearance of all the flowers used to celebrate the holiday.  The first flower we think of is the traditional Easter Lily.  Most of the Easter Lilies sold are not hardy, but if you cut them back by about a third after they finish flowering, feed them and plant them in a sunny location in June, you may be rewarded with a second round of flowers in late summer.  Traditional Easter Lilies are lovely but aren’t something that we can reliably resurrect in our flowerbeds here in USDA zone 5. 

Lately, hardy varieties of lilies are being offered at the garden centers at Easter. Asiatic and oriental lilies have become a popular substitute for the traditional Easter Lily. Once they finish flowering, you can cut off the flowers (leave the leaves on) and plant the bulb in your flowerbed. It won’t flower again this year but will come up and flower next summer. If you go this route, make sure to check out the display of hardy lily bulbs available in the garden center. They can also be planted right away in your beds, and they WILL grow and flower this summer and for many years to come. Remember to add some Bio-Tone starter food to the planting holes.

Also available at Easter are hardy bulbs that have been tricked into flowering early for our enjoyment during the holiday.  Daffodils, tulips and the fragrant hyacinths are all popular.  These too can be planted outside after the flowers are done.  Just cut off the flower stem (leave the leaves) and plant them into your beds.  Like the hardy lilies, these bulbs won’t flower again this year, but they’ll be back next spring for you to enjoy...again, don’t forget the Bio-Tone starter food. 

Hardy miniature roses have also become a popular Easter plant. Miniature roses are also winter hardy and can get transplanted into our flowerbeds.  I’d wait until the middle of May or later to plant them since they are way ahead of the season and can’t handle a frost like the lilies and hardy bulbs I mentioned above can. Once established, hardy miniature roses will have no trouble making it through the winter ahead and will dazzle us with more and more blossoms for years to come. Make sure they get a sunny location and the Bio-Tone starter food, of course.

Begonias have also become a popular option at Easter.  Begonias aren’t hardy, but they can add some great color over summer in a semi-shady flowerbed. Wait to plant them until mid to late May when all danger of frost is past. Snip off the flowers as they go by, and you’ll get plenty more to enjoy especially if you feed them every couple of weeks with Jack’s Blossom Booster soluble plant food. Before frost gets them, you can pot them up and bring them indoors to enjoy over winter if you wish.

While not a winter-hardy plant, cyclamen make a wonderful flowering houseplant that can provide years of enjoyment. They enjoy a bright location in the home but no direct sunlight other than a couple hours of morning sun. They also like it cool so they are a great option for unheated rooms in the home. Water only when the soil gets dry...they grow from a tuber so they prefer to be on the dry side rather than being constantly wet.

Hothouse azaleas traditionally make an appearance at Easter. These azaleas are cousins of the hardy azaleas that you’ll find outside in the nursery for landscape use. Hothouse azaleas are beautiful and can be grown as a houseplant but will only flower once a year. Likewise, the hydrangeas that are in flower at Easter aren’t generally varieties that are hardy in our USDA hardiness zone 5. They can be grown as a houseplant. You might have some luck with them but they are most often enjoyed for a couple of weeks after the holiday and then discarded.

THANKS FOR THE READ!