Easter lillies ready to bloom for the holiday

Leider Greenhouses in Buffalo Grove was full of lillies ready to bloom Tuesday as workers graded and separated them in preparation for the Easter season, when more than 50,000 plants will be shipped to nurseries and groceries stores in the Midwest.

"The Easter lily is a traditional plant that has been grown to celebrate the Christian holiday of Easter for the last 50 years or so," said Mark Leider, president of Leider Greenhouses. "They are a sign that spring is happening."

According to Leider, lily bulbs were largely imported from Japan before World War II, when the war ended the supply to the United States.

Today, nearly all bulbs are grown in northwestern California and southwestern Oregon. Leider plants the bulbs in the fall and then places them in coolers to simulate winter, before they are planted in time to bloom around Easter.