There seems to be conflicting information when it comes to hardiness. Most websites are saying zone 7b+, but one or two are saying as hardy to zone 4. My guess is the easter lily will need to be dug up (if that is something you can do with them?) in zones 4-6. OR, it varies from the climate they are grown in.....or the internet is unreliable (that is most likely it.lol). If you have never seen one sold at your local nurseries, other than during easter, then it probably can not survive in your area. What i can say for sure is that they are not sold at my local nurseries outside of easter time and i am zone 6.

Hey, TG, if you can't find the answer to this from a search, or would like some encouraging testimonials, you probably should ask in the bulbs forum, if there aren't already multiple identical discussions there that answer your question. Not really a house plant question.

I have had one that consistently comes up and blooms every year. I'm in zone 5. It doesn't bloom around Easter for me as it is only starting to come up now.

I posted on here because it is sold as a houseplant. It is very difficult to get reliable hardiness online

Hi Teen,
Go ahead and plant it. I am also in zone 5 (WI) and had several in my yard that came up last year. I pulled them, because this is a new house to us and they weren't planted where I liked them, so they will be replanted this year in a new spot.

Nancy

Hi
Wife brought home 6 of these that she got at a clearance sale for a buck each lol. I have the opposite problem no winter chill so suspect they will fail. Think I'll make containerized bed in a semi shady area and see what happerns. Good luck with yours!!! gary

I'm excited to hear they are hardy, think i'll buy them when prices get knocked down even further....local store had over 50 or so on this big stand.

Good luck gary and auron, im gonna plant mine when it starts to wither inside, zone 10 may be too hot, but it may be worth a try

Hi
Most of the commercial production in the US is done in Oregon. Have seen pix of them in gdns in Bermuda but find they are a closely related species . not longiflorum
Have not only the heat but very poor soil . Going to use a sunken trough along with a very open soil to contend with the summer rains
Noted the normal flower period is June /July so will have a long wait!!! gary

OK, a good discussion has commenced, I'm pleasantly surprised. So now I'm curious... TG's getting input that says they might not have enough warmth in NY, Gary in FL thinks his might need more chill. Very few plants will only live from Z6-9... is this really one?

I'm a little confused, info besides TG's name says NY albany z5a, but just stated (s)he is in z10 and it may be too hot. I was under the assumption we were talking about the plant being hardy up north. No idea if it will survive that far south :(

Well I'm inclined to go with USDA although this is one of the most bizarre entries I've seen on here for any plant, not very "strong" IMO.

A friend gave me one that had been sitting outside in it's little 4" pot since last Easter and I put it in the ground a few weeks ago. No idea I happened to be in one of 3 states where it will live perennially (if that's to be believed.)

The-site-which-can't-be-named is rarely wrong regarding hardiness info, one of my primary reasons for searching a plant on there. It does say 7b-9b.

MO Bot Garden would also seem a reliable source, which says 4-8.

The genetics of any particular plant may be dubious, hence the confusion if so. Univ of VT has no hardiness info, but says there are various cultivars although what bearing on hardiness that might have is beyond me.

If these folks steer people wrong, that would be bad for business, I'm sure they know, at least for the 2 cultivars they sell.

This sounds like about the same gamble as putting mums in the yard, pretty much impossible to predict if they'll show back up in any particular place because you usually don't know exactly what you have. Doesn't look good for TG or Gary though, unfortunately, but clinically interesting.

I was saying garys lily may not flower in florida, but the discussion is about the lily being hardy in zone5a

Gah, misread. It's dangerous for me to do things without coffee first :)

For what it's worth, easter lilies are indeed happy and hardy in the ground here in 6b-7a. So are surprise lilies. Also used to seeing them farther south in 7b-8a. I'm a renter, but I see them reliably do their thing every year.

Ozarkia, would you have an interest in trading L. squamigera for L. radiata? Please email me if there's anything to discuss!

well, i'll be slightly off-topic but close enough;): after easter how you can grow them in the pots semi-outside and make them bloom again next year.
i can't put my easter lilies in the garden, 'cause i am in the apt. i don't have fridge space for them either. but i have a balcony - so they just stay there, until they decline by aug. then i stuff them under loungers and dribble occasional water on them. but even so sometimes i forget and they get bone dry. in the fall i was ready to toss them and discovered that they had perfectly healthy bulbs! shame to discard.
but the year before i kept them on a cold NE sill (proly 60Fs on jan nites) and they started growing spindly stalks and bloomed indoors early with sickly 1-2 flowers. not smth to repeat.
BUT!
i noticed that when i cover the cold sill pots with plastic : no watering - it retards growth considerably. which is what i did and at the end of jan my lilies were happily growing about 2-3" and dense: still just a few drops of water. i kept them bagged in feb but started slow acclimation on the balcony when days were in the 40s, bringing them back in at nite and bagging to cut the temp swings.
finally now that nites are in the 40s - they are outside and happy, about a foot tall. i am very excited and hope they will bloom in june.

Ack, well, I meant I reliably see them do their thing on other people's property (I walk everywhere). Not sure trading out of random yards would be a good policy, LOL.

Oh yeah...I can just see it...

"Excuse me,I know we haven't met but well...I have this friend online who wants your plants...would you mind if I took some?"

Actually....if you got to know that neighbor and established trade agreements,the two of you might could arrange something. Heck who knows? maybe Purp has something your neighbor wants.

Just random thoughts. :)