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Add to your plant collection with succulents and lilies

Easter is the ideal time for planting succulents and lilies
Credit: KUSA

There are two things I can't get enough of – succulents and lilies. Start or expand your collections of these rewarding plants. While doing so, avoid some fatal mistakes.

This time of year I see many people lugging their houseplants outside in the mistaken belief they "need some rays." This is a big mistake. While many houseplants do prosper if taken outside in summer, full sun will burn them badly. You might as well blow-torch them.

Some plants can recover from a bad sunburn but succulents suffer terribly. Because they grow slowly, it will often take succulents years to recover. Even if your succulents have been growing in a sunny window, they have to be exposed to direct sun very gradually.

The other way you can kill succulents is with kindness. Leave on a trip for a month and they'll be fine--but overwater them and they'll rot and die.

You can also kill lilies by drowning them. The best way to kill them is to plant the bulbs in wet clay soil under a downspout. If your soil is wet and sticky, grow lilies in pots with premium potting soil. They will live and thrive for years (potted lilies need winter protection).

Plant three bulbs in a pot about a foot deep with an equal diameter. Plant them about six inches deep. Keep them moist but not wet in a sunny location. Afternoon shade is ideal.

The tricky part is to keep your eye on them as the stems emerge. If that new stem freezes, that's it for the season. If temperatures drop below freezing, bring the pots inside or cover them. Stems of lilies growing in the ground can be covered with a mound of potting soil to keep them from freezing.

Lily bulbs can be planted in pots or in the ground for the next month. Easter is the ideal time for planting them. Lily bulbs and succulents can be found at garden centers or online. Get busy and go shopping to start or expand your collections.

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