Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
Bulbs => Bulbs General => Topic started by: fermi de Sousa on January 06, 2019, 06:02:15 AM
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The summer's heat has been a bit rough on some of the liliums but the Oriental-Trumpet Hybrid 'Mr Cas' has come through with only minor sunburn
cheers
fermi
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Noticed recently that one of my Lilium henryi plants has a divided stem with 2 growth points. Not unusual for lilies from other online postings, but the normally robust stem, nearly 3 cm in diameter feels much weaker to me. It flattens (figure of eight) and divides at 40+ cms. Last years final height was taller than me. If it's a windy year could need staking. I recall there are a number of very tall lilies (Cardiocrinum apart); do they grow in very sheltered situations in the wild?
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Lilium sargentiae
Spends winters in the cold greenhouse and outside in a 6 inch pot during summers.
Requires some staking with winds and rain.
Good crop of stem bulbils.
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They might not appeal to those who like the delicate species but I went to a fantastic garden today, Dale Farm at Dereham in Norfolk. Inspirational pond planting, wonderful large clumps of scented phlox and the most jaw-dropping lilies (Lilium 'Revelation' and 'Robina') that I've ever seen - more that 6ft tall with huge flowers in shades of pink, richly scented and looking particularly good combined with pink and white hydrangea arborescens.
[attachimg=1]
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Crumbs! No shortage of blooms on those stems - how pretty - and nice combo with the hydrangea, too.
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Robina has been around for quite some time now, and has proven itself to be robust, relatively long lived and tolerant to differing environments. If you want a reliable Orientpet lily, you can't go wrong choosing it.
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If you want a reliable Orientpet lily.
I hadn't realised that I wanted Orientpet lilies but having seen and smelt them I now want lots
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Hello Lily lovers,
Maybe someone can shine a light on which species lily make bulbs as shown in the picture? I've grown them from srgc seed. I did get quite a few martagons through the years, canadense, monadelhum, duchartrei, and maybe other but I mislaid the lists of 3 years worth of exchange seed so it could be anything really. I guess the bobbly-ness combined with the stolon might narrow it down.
All suggestions appreciated!
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An eastern North American. L. canadense is a strong candidate, but I'm not sure we can tell at this early stage. Below, see
Lilium canadense seedling bulbs
[attachimg=1]
Lilium michiganense seedling bulbs
[attachimg=2]
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Hi Rick, thank you for that. I will go with L. canadense until I get a flower. Given the list of seeds I planted it seems pretty safe. How close to flowering you think these are? The seed is from seedex 2013!
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These L. canadense seedlings I pictured here:
-- photo taken in fall 2010
-- first feeble flowers in 2012
-- nice flowering in 2013. This was the best one:
[attach=1]
However my garden is surely drier than their preference, and my pH is only slightly acid. I wouldn't be surprised if you could do better. :)
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I started hypogeal germinating seeds on November 23.
[attachimg=1]
On December 25, they aren't ready to go into a cold treatment, but they can be planted in pots. Here you can see the little seed bulbs forming.
[attachimg=2]
[attachimg=3]
[attachimg=4]
[attachimg=5]
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thanks for these very interesting photographs Rick !
L. canadense is very beautiful
if I understood correctly it was able to flower from seed in 3/4 years?
I like lilies and I am looking for species that bloom fairly quickly from seedlings.
my 'baby' martagon bloomed for the first time this year after I don't remember how many years (7 or 8) :P
I would like to sow faster and fairly easy species: which ones do you think?
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Actually, no. L. canadense seed was planted in 2007, the little bulbs pic was 2010, first feeble flower was 2012, good flowering 2013. So for me it was 6-7 years. But for me, not optimal conditions, and of course, being delayed ypogeal germinating, in year 2007 there was no growth above the soil surface, which is normal. (Back then, I did not start this type of seed inside the house in the fall, as I did with the most recent pics above.)
For faster maturing lilies, I think you'll need to stay away from the hypogeal germinating types, except for L. pensylvanicum(dauricum). The Balkan hypogeal species, I don't really know as they don't seem to be very hardy here. I get them growing for a while and then one "bad" winter and they all die. I grow a lot of martagon section lilies, and my fastest blooming was 4 seasons from seed(including the season completely underground). Longest was eleven years. Usual is 5-7 years.
The more easily found species are pretty fast to mature. formosanum, longiflorum, concolor, davidii, amabile, callosum, leichtlinii, oxypetalum, pumilum, henryi, regale, philippinense. Of course, hybrids are always relatively fast.
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thank, Rick
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I've had Lilium candidum in flower in 2 years.
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and have you found a way to protect the bulbs from rodents? it's a scourge for lilies in my garden.
I also managed L. formosanum in 2 years.. :).
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and have you found a way to protect the bulbs from rodents? it's a scourge for lilies in my garden.
The neighbours' cats were very thorough in that role but sadly two have been killed by cars in the past year. Currently I have a pair of squirrels trying to make their way through all my potted bulbs.
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I think I'm going to have to lock the bulbs in a mesh pocket!
I have already had several henryi species, (2.5 m high), wild martagon (5 flowering bulbs), formosanum, bulbiferum .. which were completely devoured. only one hole remained with some debris of scales. .. hopeless !
my new Lilium henryi from seed is tiny (only 1 germinated seed)
or should you plant them in a large pot, put them in the ground with their pot and take them out of the ground in winter?
but I prefer plants that acclimatize and stay in the ground all year round.
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Rick, very informative series of photos. :)
[/i].. which were completely devoured. only one hole remained with some debris of scales. .. hopeless !
About ten years ago there were many voles in the garden, and they dug and moved many martagon bulbs to their underground food storages (and ate them >:(). However, some years after that disaster I noticed martagons starting to grow in odd places and now they have been flowering again and doing well. There were obviously scales left in the ground and the lilies started to grow from them again, so they were not lost after all. :) Perhaps it is their ability to grow from scales which makes it possible for them to grow without anyone caring for them in abandoned farms or places where no-one lives any more.
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And some observations regarding the little hypogeal lily seed bulbs:
--- bulb initiation occurs before root initiation. In the pic below, in #1, the "stem" (not a root) looks as though it was broken off at the tip. But no. The "stem" abruptly stops elongating, and this is where the bulb begins to develop. Then the root grows from there, as seen in #2.
--- Time lapsed from #1 to #2, about two days at 60-65°F.
--- Time lapsed from #2 to #3, about three days at 60-65°F.
--- Time lapsed from #3 to #4, about three days at 60-65°F.
--- Normally the "stem" between the bulb and the seed would be straight, growing vertically downward, as the purpose is to position the bulb deeper in the soil. However normal growth is compromised and constricted in the little baggies, hence the weird twists and turns.
[attachimg=1]
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Fascinating pix and most helpful, Rick, thanks!!
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yes it is really very interesting. :)