Illustration
Oriental Lily
Lilium
Oriental Lily blooms from July through August.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing Oriental Lily
Plant it in full sun. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 4–9. Expect it to reach about 3.5 ft tall and 1 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 2 years (not yet checked).
What was checked
Mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun and the trait tags were checked against named botanical sources for this plant. The bloom months and water need on this page were not, and each fact above says which. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.
When to plant Oriental Lily
Oriental Lily is a hardy bulb with two planting windows: fall is ideal, and early spring is a close second. In zone 6, the middle of its hardy zones 4 to 9, that means September or October, or March or April in spring. It blooms from July to August.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 6, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 6 in September. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Oriental Lily get?
3.5 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult1 ftwideSee Oriental Lily in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.
Where these facts come from
Oriental Lily's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun and trait tags were checked against 15 published sources on August 1, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources.
- NC State ExtensionPlant Toolboxheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, years to mature size and trait tags
- NC State ExtensionPlant Toolboxheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, years to mature size and trait tags
- Missouri Botanical GardenPlant Finderheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun and trait tags
- Missouri Botanical GardenPlant Finderheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun and trait tags
- Missouri Botanical GardenPlant Finderheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun and trait tags
- Missouri Botanical GardenPlant Finderheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun and trait tags
- Missouri Botanical GardenPlant Finderheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun and trait tags
- American Meadowsheight, hardiness zones, sun and trait tags
- University of Wisconsin HorticultureWisconsin Horticultureheight, hardiness zones, sun and trait tags
- John ScheepersBeauty from Bulbsheight, hardiness zones and trait tags
- Longfield Gardensheight, hardiness zones and trait tags
- Van EngelenWholesale Flower Bulbsheight, hardiness zones and trait tags
- High Country Gardenshardiness zones and trait tags
- extension.missouri.eduUniversity of Missouri Extensiontrait tags
- Iowa State University Extensionand Outreach, Yard and Gardentrait tags
How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.
Good to know about Oriental Lily
Curated from university extensions, botanic gardens and other primary sources, with the source named on every note.
Safety
Every part is deadly to cats: eating a few bites, licking pollen from fur, or drinking vase water can cause fatal kidney failure. Harmless to dogs. per ASPCA and Frontiers in Veterinary Science
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Design a garden with this
Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.