Oriental lily · Delhi, Delhi, India

When to plant oriental lilies in Delhi

Main outdoor window

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A climate estimate. Check your soil, forecast and cultivar.

Timed from last spring frost

7 January

In Delhi, on your chosen risk.

First flowers

1 Jul - 31 Aug

If you plant at the start of the window.

The average last frost. Half of all years are later than this.

Step by step in Delhi

Download these planting dates (.ics)

Import into Apple Calendar, Google Calendar or Outlook. Dates use the selected risk level and are planning estimates, not frost alerts.

Each window is a planning range. Check the forecast, soil and cultivar before planting; a later date is not automatically safer in hot or wet conditions.

In flower

1 Jul - 31 Aug

Frost tolerance
Very-hardy
Damaged below
-25°C (-13°F)
Hardy to
Zone 4a–9a
Spacing
25 cm
Sowing depth
200 mm (7.9 in)
Sun
Partial

Oriental lilies through the year

Against the frost risk in Delhi

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Frost risk Harvest Today
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Seasonal context

Rainfall and the growing season in Delhi

July has the highest average precipitation (217 mm); November has the lowest (4 mm). Compare this pattern with the planting windows and your water supply.

Jan 16 mm
Feb 22 mm
Mar 18 mm
Apr 15 mm
May 34 mm
Jun 81 mm
Jul 217 mm
Aug 203 mm
Sep 120 mm
Oct 13 mm
Nov 4 mm
Dec 8 mm

During wetter months, check that beds and containers drain after heavy rain. During drier months, plan how you will keep seeds and new transplants watered. Monthly averages can hide long dry spells and intense storms; they do not show soil moisture, humidity or this week's weather.

Source: NASA POWER, corrected MERRA-2 precipitation, 2001–2020. Values are approximate monthly totals, including the water equivalent of snow, from the nearest 0.5° × 0.625° grid cell. This reference period differs from the temperature record. Rainfall provides context and does not change the calculated planting dates. Method and limitations.

Monthly growing conditions in Delhi

Compare the planting window with the local temperature pattern. These are historical monthly averages, not this year's forecast or measured soil temperatures. Average frost days do not tell you whether a particular night will freeze.

NASA POWER climate averages, 1995–2024
MonthAverage lowAverage highFrost days
January 6.8°C (44.2°F) 22.3°C (72.1°F) 0.1
February 9.8°C (49.7°F) 26.5°C (79.7°F) 0.0
March 15.4°C (59.6°F) 32.9°C (91.2°F) 0.0
April 21.8°C (71.3°F) 39.3°C (102.7°F) 0.0
May 27°C (80.6°F) 42.6°C (108.6°F) 0.0
June 29.5°C (85°F) 41.9°C (107.4°F) 0.0
July 28°C (82.4°F) 37°C (98.6°F) 0.0
August 26.1°C (78.9°F) 34°C (93.2°F) 0.0
September 23.7°C (74.6°F) 33.7°C (92.7°F) 0.0
October 18.8°C (65.9°F) 32.6°C (90.6°F) 0.0
November 13.5°C (56.3°F) 28.5°C (83.3°F) 0.0
December 8.7°C (47.6°F) 23.9°C (75.1°F) 0.0

For oriental lilies, also check drainage, sunlight and cultivar requirements. See the rainfall context above; humidity, irrigation and local pest pressure are not calculated.

Local growing check

Before choosing oriental lilies for Delhi

  • July is the wettest month in the rainfall grid, averaging about 217 mm. Check how your own bed drains and plan watering around actual soil moisture; monthly rain totals are not an irrigation schedule.

The temperature and rainfall tables on this page show the underlying climate estimates. How these suitability checks work · Record what happens in your garden.

Before you plant oriental lilies

Use the calendar to plan ahead, then check the conditions in your own garden.

  • Frost tolerance does not make saturated or frozen soil suitable for planting. Wait until the bed can be worked without smearing or compacting it.
  • Check mature size, drainage and cultivar suitability before choosing a permanent position. A suitable planting window does not guarantee long-term survival or fruiting.

Plan for fragrant later lilies and enough root space

Provide suitable light above and a cool, moist but drained root zone. Use a deep enough container or prepared bed for the cultivar and support tall stems before they lean. Avoid bulbs sitting in persistently wet soil.

Retain healthy foliage after flowering and remove spent blooms if seed is not wanted. True lilies are highly toxic to cats, including pollen and cut arrangements; use an alternative where contact is possible. Record cultivar performance rather than generalising from all lilies.

What to record this season

Did the flowering season, fragrance and stem height suit the planned position? Add the cultivar, sowing date and conditions to your growing record so you can compare next season.

Further reading: Lilium (Lilies, Lily) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox . General crop guidance; local dates on this site are calculated separately. Source checked 19 September 2026 by Safe to Plant; this is not an expert review.

The reference describes plant identity and cultivation. Its regional calendar months and hardiness observations do not validate the calculated dates for another location. This reference covers the broader plant group; confirm the named form and its specific requirements with the supplier.

How the dates are calculated and their limits · Keep a growing record · Report a local discrepancy

Why these dates

Provide suitable light above and a cool, moist but drained root zone. Use a deep enough container or prepared bed for the cultivar and support tall stems before they lean. Avoid bulbs sitting in persistently wet soil.

Check the named variety and local forecast before exposing young growth. The catalog cold-damage figure is a reference, not a guarantee: plant age, acclimatisation, wind and the duration of a freeze affect damage.

Oriental lilies are planted once and then left in place, so there is no sowing offset to resolve. What matters in Delhi is the shape of the year: this crop is dormant through the winter and is planted while it sleeps, any time between leaf fall in autumn and the restart of growth in spring, so long as the ground is neither frozen nor waterlogged. That is why the window below spans the cold months rather than sitting in the middle of the growing season.

Delhi sits in zone 10b, which is above the catalog range. Confirm the exact cultivar locally; a zone number alone cannot measure summer heat or winter chill. The calculated dates do not confirm that this crop is suitable here. Check cultivar requirements and local growing experience before planting.

See every crop timed for Delhi →

Growing oriental lilies in Delhi

Can I grow oriental lilies in Delhi?

The calendar estimates a planting window, not a guarantee of success. July is the wettest month in the rainfall grid, averaging about 217 mm. Check how your own bed drains and plan watering around actual soil moisture; monthly rain totals are not an irrigation schedule.

When might oriental lilies flower in Delhi?

The estimated period is 1 Jul - 31 Aug, based on 210 to 250 days from the modeled planting date. Cultivar, planting material and growing conditions can change this interval; check the plant as well as the calendar.

How much frost will oriental lilies tolerate?

Check the named variety and local forecast before exposing young growth. The catalog cold-damage figure is a reference, not a guarantee: plant age, acclimatisation, wind and the duration of a freeze affect damage.