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Lilium species

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David Nicholson:
In other threads Gene Mirro, Rob Krejzl and Martin Baxendale have referred to growing Lilium species from seed. I wonder if some of them, or indeed all of them, might be prepared to share with us their Lilium seed sowing  and raising regimes. I ask having just read Lilies-A Guide for growers and Collectors by Edward Austin McRae- and frightened myself to death with the apparent technicalities involved, that mitigate my normal seed sowing regime of put 'em in a pot, cover 'em with grit, shove 'em outside, and leave 'em too it. I for one would be very grateful.

Gene Mirro:
For western US species germination, take a look at this article :
 western species germination.doc (52.5 kB - downloaded 723 times.)

For species lilies in general, I'll post something tonight when I get home from work.  But I will tell you this:  germination may take a long time, but it's the easy part.  The hard part is keeping the plants alive through hot summer weather.  If the bulbs get too warm, they rot.  This does not apply to modern hybrids, which are bulletproof.  By the way, there are lots of other plants that have complex germination requirements, such as Peony and Corydalis for example.  But none of them are as hard to keep alive as species lilies, in my opinion.

Edit: broken links removed and Western Species Germination notes added.

rob krejzl:
David,

Most of the technicalities arise when you're trying to hurry types with delayed germination along - when you try to germinate seed as soon as you can after it arrives from an exchange and then (perhaps) have to grow it indoors through a dark winter. If your climate consists of a warmish, moist autumn followed by a cool to cold winter, especially if you're sowing your own, fresh, seed as it ripens, your normal regime will work OK (but you'll note that McRae suggests a little winter shelter, to give protection from excessive cold and too much rain).

I've used variations on the baggie method for types with delayed germination. As McRae says the amount of moisture in the medium is critical. So is regular examination of the plastic bags, since the seed sometimes hasn't read the same books we have. When you move the seed on from the first stage of incubation to the next is as much a function of when you can expect/supply good growing conditions as the readiness of the seed itself. Though lily seedlings can shrug off light frosts with no apparent damage, anything too cold is obviously a check. Once they're in growth it's best if you can persuade them that spring lasts forever. I've certainly had some WA hybrid seedlings remain in growth for more than a year just by keeping them cool and brightly lit.

The foregoing is just the observations of a relative beginner; I'm sure that Gene has much more valuable advice to give.

Gene Mirro:
Yes, I've killed more lilies than anyone, so that makes me a GURU !   ;D

Martin Baxendale:
For lily scales I use the same system of plastic bags with moist vermiculite that I use for snowdrop and narcissus chipping. I find that lily scales will produce bulbils if taken at any time of year, either when the parent bulbs are in growth or when they're dormant in winter.

Like Rob, I've used the same bags of moist vermiculite for delayed-germination lily seed like L. martagon, sowing in autumn, keeping warm in a cupboard until germination, then chilling in the fridge during late winter and transferring to pots in Spring.

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