I have some beautiful oriental Lillies in my flower bed that I would LOVE to propagate, but am not certain how to do this successfully. I tried this past fall but failed. Has anyone else done this and how? thanks ( photo / image / picture from carolyn keiper's Garden ) This patch is pretty much the same size today as when I planted it 5 years, or so, ago. Minus the one bulb I dug and tried to propagate :-? .
this looks very similar to one of the ones I've got. but mine's multplying. always new small bulbs. check how many stems you've got and that's the number of bulbs. some may be very small, some just like one leaf directly from the ground *(the smallest bulbs). if still only the big thick stems... there might be a problem. usually propagation is only by removing scales and planting them. if not too deep, you can dig around the bulbs in the fall and remove some scales and plant them. it worked for me. there's techniques to read online... some try in bags. not directly in the ground.
Yep! I'm with Calin I dug a bulb at work and brought as much of it home as I could and now I have gorgeous orange lily babies everywhere!! Takes them a while to mature but before you know it you'll have a whole new bunch
Hi Carolyn, look carefully at ground level, scratch round a bit and there might be some babies there, this is what happens to mine every year, if I want them in another place I pick some off carefully otherwise leave them there and increase the clump. ( photo / image / picture from chocolate's Garden ) ( photo / image / picture from chocolate's Garden )
Calin, That was what I was trying to do, but I wasn't very successful. I didn't do them in a bag, but in a tray that I covered in the greenhouse. Maybe I will try again this fall. I am not seeing any little bulbs beginning, maybe I need to feed them more. Thanks Chocolate. My asiatic lillies do this, but not the oriental ones. I was trying to propagate from the bulb scales, but I failed at that.
Hi Carolyn, oriental lillies have bublets too, but sometimes up the stem further, also both types have seed pods.If you dont pick the flowers you get seed pods.
Chocolate, my bulbs, so far, have not produced any bulbils, either , I have hesitated to let them go to seed, but I think this year I will let one do so. Myabe I will get something similar, in a few more years. Any ideas how long it takes to go from seed to flower stage? I havent done that before.
Hi Carolyn, yes that is the problem, I think it is about 4 yr to flowering stage.My hippies take about 4yr, the good part is that you know what they are going to be like. hippies seeds ( photo / image / picture from chocolate's Garden )
Thanks, Chocolate. Are these seeds flat and paper thin or is there a lump in them? I have seen paper thin, flat "seeds" and assumed there was no viable seed there.
The seeds are really thin but you can feel the seed inside. Once you have them, you will be able to tell the good ones apart from the empty ones! There's a bunch of info online. Just google "oriental lily propagation" I think it's easier to just place the scales on the ground, only a third in, and keep watering when dry. I have seen scales in early spring after a long and cold winter and they are just fine, and in a while they produce the first leaf. http://www.pwk.resteddoginn.ca/produce.php
I accidentally managed to destroy some lily buls 5-6 years ago. I dug a trench in the veggie patch, scattered the lily bulb shells in it, covered them with dirt and sat down to wait. I didn't pot them or put them in a greenhouse since I thought they would be better off outside. Most of them made little bulbs and I moved them after two-three years. Last year they bloomed. I've tried planting the bulbils too, but no luck there. I guess I'm best at getting something good out of my garden accidents.
