Not the plant you're looking for? Search over 300,000 plants

Bulbs

Lilium 'Cream Tea'

lily 'Cream Tea'

'Cream Tea' is a bulbous perennial with leafy stems to 1.5m. Very large, scented, bowl-shaped flowers are produced in mid- to late summer, cream with dark red anthers

Save to My plants

Ultimate height

1–1.5 metres

Time to ultimate height

2–5 years

Ultimate spread

0.1–0.5 metres

Clay

Loam

Sand

Moisture

Moist but well–drained

pH

Acid, Alkaline, Neutral

	Stem	Flower	Foliage	Fruit
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter

Full sun
Partial shade

Aspect

North–facing or West–facing or South–facing or East–facing

Exposure

Sheltered

Hardiness
Hardiness ratings
All ratings refer to the UK growing conditions unless otherwise stated. Minimum temperature ranges (in degrees C) are shown in brackets
H1a: under glass all year (>15C)
H1b: can be grown outside in the summer (10 - 15)
H1c: can be grown outside in the summer (5 - 10)
H2: tolerant of low temperatures, but not surviving being frozen (1 to 5)
H3: hardy in coastal and relatively mild parts of the UK (-5 to 1)
H4: hardy through most of the UK (-10 to -5)
H5: hardy in most places throughout the UK even in severe winters (-15 to -10)
H6: hardy in all of UK and northern Europe (-20 to -15)
H7: hardy in the severest European continental climates (< -20)

Botanical details

Family: Liliaceae
Native to GB / Ireland: No
Foliage: Deciduous
Habit: Columnar upright
Potentially harmful: Ornamental bulbs - not to be eaten. Wear gloves and other protective equipment when handling. TOXIC to pets if eaten (cats) - see the HTA guide to potentially harmful plants for further information and useful contact numbers
Genus: Lilium are bulbous perennials with erect stems bearing whorled or spirally arranged leaves and terminal racemes or umbels of bowl-shaped, trumpet-shaped, funnel-shaped or turks cap shaped flowers, often fragrant, and white, yellow, orange or red
Name status: Unresolved

How to grow

Cultivation

Grow in moist but well-drained soil enriched with leaf mould or well-rotted organic matter

Propagation

Propagate by offsets after the foliage dies down

Suggested planting locations and garden types

Cottage and informal garden
City and courtyard gardens
Flower borders and beds

Pruning

No pruning required; tidy by deadheading spent flowers

Pests

May be susceptible to lily beetle, aphids and slugs

Diseases

May be susceptible to grey moulds and a virus. For more advice, see lily diseases

Get involved

The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.