An Answer

Hi Pastor Sandy, this is Carlos. Being a blogger myself, I read yours regularly. I have an answer to your Easter lily question.

You are right that it has more to do with the way the lilies are grown than the plant itself that seems to time its bloom just in time for Easter. Known in botany as Lilium longiforum, the Easter lily is a plant native to Japan where it’s growth has no connection to Easter whatsoever with Shinto having been the religious ideology of that country.

While planting a bulb in mid autumn will supply these lilies in time for Easter, there is another reason why your plants are being so proliferous at the moment. It has to do with Florida’s warm climate. As long as the climate is warm, the plant will continue to grow. While in cooler parts of the world it is known as an annual (meaning it only blooms once a year), in warming climates it can bloom twice each year (biennial). This is where it gets its second name, the November lily.

A footnote: Japan was the main source for this plant to the United States until the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. There was limited growth in this country after that, and the Eater lily became so valuable in the United States that it was often referred to as “white gold.”

THANKS Carlos.