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Lilies from seed

16 years ago

Hello,

If you are interested in growing lilies from seed, you should visit the North American Lily Society's website at:

www.lilies.org

They have a great seed exchange that allows online ordering. If you are not a member, you can join at the same time you order seeds.

David

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hld6
16 years ago
Hi All,

David made a good suggestion. I have a bunch of seed that have already germinated that I got from the NALS seed exchange this year.

If you don't mind taking your chances on seed being sold out In the past they have opened it up to non-members after they've given their members first chance at them for a while.

Some easy species lilies (Div. 9) to grow from seed (immediate epigeal) that are currently available are the trumpets, L. Leucanthum and L. Regale. They both can produce some flowers the very next year after germination. L. Candidum (Madonna Lily) is also available which is a beautiful lily that can be a tricky bulb to establish (and is $$$). Yet it grows easily from seed and flowers a couple years after that. (Read up on its cultural requirements before planting out.) I have some I grew from seed that flowered last year. The bulbs I bought BEFORE I started my seed still have yet to do much (and they cost a lot more than $1.50 per 25!). Candidum can also be a virus carrier (since it is resistant), a risk you avoid growing from seed.

The Martagon v. Album on the seed exhange is delayed hypogeal (which takes more patience) and then takes a number of year to bloom (more patience still). But like the Candidum it can be $$$ and doesn't care for transplanting much. The seed I bought this year had a really great germination rate (close to 100%). After I keep them warm for a few months so they can form a little bulblet it's into the fridge for a few more months. They should get their first leaf after that ("crossed fingers!").

I germinated my seed with a very simple method that satisfied my need to "poke around" to see if anything's happening. I took a paper towel that I folded over so it would lay flat in a ziplock baggie, dampened it with water, sprinkled seed over it, sealed it up, and put it over my fridge. That way I could look to see when they germinated (at which point I fished them out and planted them). This is helpful since some lily seed is much slower than others - and you can check to see if the ungerminated seed is still plump and healthy without disturbing them.

If anyone decides to try it, Good Luck!

-Helen
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Exactly! We're talking about the same lily. I've let the seeds both fall and plant themselves naturally and planted in pots for redistribution elsewhere in the gardens. I see you've got enough bulbils to pick off (now is fine, they're ready) to experiment both ways. Although they're very hardy, when I plant some in pots I bury the pot in the ground in an out of the way place - mainly just to keep track of them until they're ready to transplant. When the bulbils fall naturally around the mother plant, they will eventually form a cluster which makes for a spectacular blooming show. The only thing problematic with transplanting them in the first growing season is they're fragile and you'll probably end up breaking the bulb away from the new leaf sprout - the little bit of foliage is needed for the bulb to replenish itself for the next season. So, I've just left them potted until the second or third year when they're good and strong enough to handle. Being crowded in even a relatively small pot doesn't hurt them. If you're really new to lilies - you know that late in the fall when the stalk of the lily pictured above has become yellow/brown and woody you can cut it down at ground level or just slightly above - the yellowing/browning means it has done its job of feeding the bulb for next season's growth.
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