Easter Without Easter Lilies? Far Safer for Cats!

 

Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/adorable-animal-cat-cat-s-eyes-236603/

Cat-Friendly Lilies? Yes, There Are!

Lilies are popular at this time of year as Easter approaches. But did you know that all parts of the Easter lily plant are highly toxic to cats? Indeed, even if your cat is not a nibbler of plants, a mere few grains of pollen from an Easter lily is enough to shut down kitty's kidneys. If that pollen gets on your cat's fur and kitty ingests it when grooming, you're going to have a very expensive vet bill at minimum and could even lose your feline friend!

To avoid a calamity, let's examine some alternative types of lilies to include in your Easter bouquet or to give as plants for Easter, courtesy of the ASPCA's list of plants that are toxic and non-toxic to cats. These options will keep you on your friend's good side by not killing their kitty when you take them a plant as an Easter gift. 

If you're a florist, this list will help you offer a service to your customers by offering cat-safe lilies. Planting a garden? These plants are among those that are safe for you to include if your cats will be enjoying the garden with you. 

Cat-Safe Lilies (and Lily-like Plants)

These lilies will brighten your Easter or your garden, while not endangering your cats:

Pretty good comparison for a starter, huh? This is the Queen's Cup, also known as the Bride's Bonnet or Bead Lily, Clintonia uniflora, which is safe around cats because it's not a true lily. It's a North American native that can be found from Alaska down to central California. Some Native American tribes use it medicinally or as a dye. A tiny thing, it only grows 6-10 inches tall and flowers from late May into July. (Alas, not at Easter time.)

Here's another very appropriate lily for cat lovers that's safe for cats to be around: it's the Leopard Lily (Lachenalia lilacina)! Native to Namibia and South Africa, this perennial plant that grows to around 8 inches in height produces drooping, tubular, spotted orange flowers from late winter into spring, then goes dormant for the summer.

Another spectacular option is the Scarborough Lily (Cyrtanthus elatus or Vallota speciosa). This South African native has several cultivars that produce red, orange, or yellow blooms from late summer into early fall. Some of the rarer ones may have pink or white flowers. They do well outdoors in zones 8-11 and grow up to 3 feet tall, but are also cultivated as a house plant.

Another cat-safe plant that's called a lily but isn't really one is the Canna Lily, Canna generalis. The 10 species of this tropical plant in the Cannaceae family come in colors ranging from red to yellow, orange, pink, and peach. Their foliage may also be quite spectacular. These plants also have many uses, from ornamentals to foods, dyes, paper fiber, as a substitute for jute, and are even used to make alcohol. It will grow well in zones 7-10 and can grow up to 3 to 5 feet tall.

 

The Saint Bernard's Lily or Spider Plant, Chlorophytum bichetti, produces lily-like leaves. It is native to Africa, Asia, and Australia. Outdoors, it will do well in zones 9-11, but many people use it in terrariums.

The Easter Lily Cactus, Echinopsis multiplex, produces pale pink lily-like flowers from late spring through summer (sorry, not at Easter time). It's also an actual lily, but isn't that bloom spectacular? Starting out around 6 inches, these cacti can grow up to 3 feet tall and do well in zones 8b-11b.

How about an Easter Daisy (Townsendia sericea)? These little cat-safe perennial herbal wildflowers are native to the central and western parts of North America. The plants only grow to around 7 inches tall, and the flowers that bloom from March-May are stemless, so you can't use them as cut flowers unless floating them in a shallow dish.

Who doesn't love an orchid, especially when it's safe around your kitties? The Easter Orchid (Cattleya mossiae) is known as one of the more fragrant orchids. Native to Central and South America, it is most often grown indoors, but can grow outside in zones 10-12. The plant grows 1-2 feet tall, and its spectacular blooms that appear in mid-spring can be up to 7 inches long.

Here's another cat-safe lily-like orchid: the Lily of the Valley Orchid (Odontoglossum pulchellum). Because these are native to higher elevations in Mexico and Central America, they actually like the temperature to be a little cool and flower from winter into spring. 

The Mariposa Lily (Calochortus gunnisonii), also known as the Gunnison's Mariposa Lily or Sego Lily, is in the lily family, but is not toxic to cats. A native wildflower found at high elevations (over 6,500 feet) in the western United States, the plant grows to almost 2 feet tall and flowers from June to August. It has been cultivated and will grow outdoors in zones 3-7.

This showy beauty is a Peruvian Lily (Alstroemeria), also known as a Lily of the Incas or Princess Lily. It's a perennial that grows well in zones 7-10, can reach 2 to 3 feet in height and blooms from late spring to early fall. Over 100 hybrids and cultivars of this plant produce blooms in apricot, orange, pink, red, white, and yellow with various types of markings on them. They do well as cut flowers and  with proper watering can last for up to two weeks before wilting.

The Prairie Lily (Zephyranthes drummondii) is also called the Giant Rain Lily, Evening Rain Lily, or Hill Country Rain Lily. It grows well in zones 7-9, reaching about 1 foot in height. It only blooms for a short time, from late April through early May.

Another cat-safe "lily that's not a lily" is the Red Palm Lily (Cordyline rubra). An Australian native, it produces these lovely red-and-green leaves. Lilac-colored blooms appear in summer, which turn into red berries once pollinated. While not widely cultivated, it is hardy in zones 10 and above, and can grow up to 13 feet tall. They are most often sold as houseplants.

What could be more perfect for Easter than the Resurrection Lily (Kaempferia)? A relative of ginger, this genus of cat-safe plants is also sometimes called Peacock Ginger and has over 100 specific types, all native to southeast Asia. It does well outdoors in zones 8 and above and produces leaves that grow around 18 inches tall. Its delicate flowers are quite fragrant. The Resurrection Lily blooms from late May through June. Too late for Easter, but it could make a lovely gift as a plant, with its blooms as a nice surprise later in the spring.

Speaking of ginger, White Ginger (Hedychium choronarium), also known as Ginger Lily, Butterfly Ginger, Cinnamon Jasmine, or Garland Flower, produces a fragrant, lily-like flower from late summer into early fall. The plant can grow from 3-6 feet tall, and is native to India, the Himalayas, China, Taiwan, and southeast Asia...but it is the national flower of Cuba! It grows well in zones 8-10, but if heavily mulched in winter, it may also survive in zone 7.

What? Purple lilies? Yes, when they're Turf Lilies (Liriope muscari), also known as Lilyturf or Monkey Grass. This plant is native to China, Japan, and Korea, where it grows in shady forests. It is not recommended for North America, as it is considered to be an invasive plant, but it is cultivated for gardens in zones 5-10. The leaves grow 1-1.5 feet tall, with flower spike of 6-8 inches tall emerging in late summer into fall.  

If you go on outdoor adventures with your cat (What? Some people do.), you may encounter the Sand Lily (Leucocrinum montanum). Also known as the Mountain Lily or Common Star Lily, this is a wildflower native to the western United States. A low-growing perennial, it grows on the dry prairies, scrub flats, grasslands, sagebrush deserts, and mountain meadows. Safe for cats to nibble, it's also a favorite snack of rabbits and deer. It's a tiny plant, only growing to about 6 inches tall. Blooms appear from April through June, after which the plant wilts back to the ground.

The Speckled Wood Lily (Clintonia umbellulata), also known as White Clintonia, is native to the eastern United States, where it grows wild in hardwood forests with a little elevation. It does well outdoors in zones 4-8, growing about a foot tall with flower stalks extending upward about another 6-10 inches above the leaves. The flowers are white and speckled or edged in pink and attract pollinators. They appear from May-June, followed by clusters of bright blue berries from August-October. 

The Torch Lily (Kniphofia) is also known as the Red-Hot Poker, Tritoma, or Poker Plant. As you can see above, its showy bicolor blooms in red, orange, and yellow attract hummingbirds. This African native comes in 73 species, several of which have been cultivated for gardens. They do well in zones 5-9, growing up to two feet tall with blooms on stalks that grow up to three feet long. Flowers appear throughout the summer, from June-August.

The link in the introductory text will take you to the ASPCA's full list of plants that are toxic and non-toxic to cats. There are many more than the lilies shown here, including many other flowers, trees, shrubs, and houseplants...even food crops. It's not an exhaustive list of all possible plants, but will at least give you some handy guidelines on cat-safe plants as a starting point. With just a few minutes of research, you can spare your kitty from sickness or death by using feline-friendly lilies -- or lily-like flowers and plants -- this Easter.

Images in this post are from the ASPCA's site linked to above. Initial information on plants to include also came from that site. Additional sources consulted included the websites for Wikipedia, the National Parks Board, Dave's Garden, Urban Organic Yield, The Old Farmer's Almanac, the USDA Forest Service, American Meadows, World of Succulents, North Carolina State Agricultural Extension Office, Plantly, Hortipedia, The American Orchid Society, Garden Chronicle, Orchidweb, Pro Flowers, Gardenia, Wildflower.org, Plant Care Today, Southeast Garden, Budburst, Garden Center Marketing, Garden Tags, Maryland Biodiversity Project, Plants For a Future, Portland Nursery, Missouri Botanical Garden, and HGTV.