Who has bulbils?

Last year, only my orange tiger (L.lancifolium) had bulbils, so I was really pleased to just discover that at least 2 of my new lilies have bulbils too!!!! I think (no blooms yet) they're Blood Tiger (from buggy) and Robinson's Comet.
What other lilies are bulbil-bearers? And does anyone know how long it takes a bulbil to become an adult flowering lily?

2-3 years

Thanks, Mainiac. That's not too bad at all - especially the 2 part of your answer!

Sharon I have Bulbils on the new Orange Tiger one I was sent last fall..
But so far not on my yellow tigers that produced a bunch last year...

Are these all in the same genre/family/catagory??

Phyllis, that's what I'm trying to find out. The orange tiger bulbils I sent you last year were, I think, lancifolium. The only info I could find on the internet was that crosses between lancifolium and other lilies are likely to produce lilies with bulbils. I couldn't find any other info, which is one reason why I'm asking here - but nobody's answering!
The bulbils from the yellow tigers you sent me last year are in a starter bed, and have only one leaf each so far. How are the ones I sent you doing?

Their in the Tiger lily bed in a pot..with lots of one leaves also
I got smart and put them in a pot and buried the pot so they'll be easy
to remove and keep track of..

My main bulbil making machines are all from buggycrazy:

Momentous
Blood tiger
Rochelle
Firetruck (bulbils forming in the upper axils)

Buggy may have others that do this that I don't know about...

Hi There! I was just lurking in the Lily Forum and came across this thread. I'm no expert on Lilies but I do know that 'America' makes bulbils and it's an asiatic. I have 2 of them and on one of them there is tons of bulbils and the other has none. I don't know if it makes a difference but the one that gets more sun is the one with the bulbils and this is the first time I've seen them on these lilies and this is their 3rd summer. So maybe it has something to do with age?

Steven

Phyllis, my starter bed is so small that I couldn't lose mine - and I wanted to give them enough room, because I don't know how fast they grow.

Thanks Pardalinum. Isn't this bulbil thing great?! I'll have to check those out and see if they have lancifolium in their genes, or if any others make bulbils too. Maybe I should ask buggy about it. (PS - by the way, my pardalinum made its first blooms this year! I think it was you who advised me last year when they only grew a foot or so and died back. That was their first year here).

Steven, are you sure that "America" is a straight asiatic? I'm not familiar with it. Will look it up. Thanks.

Production of bulbils is originally a characteristic of certain species of lilies: L. lancifolium, L. bulbiferum, L. sulphureum, L. sargentiae, are the ones I can think off the top of my head. Hybrids that include any of these in their parentage, may (or may not) produce bulbils.

As you can see, all of these species are not all closely related, so no, they are not grouped in the same "family".

Leftwood, again you're a fount of knowledge! Thanks! I'm not at all familiar with those - except lancifolium. Do you know what exactly the category "asiatics" refers to, if it can incorporate a bunch of different parentages, since several of the ones with bulbils are listed in that category?

Asiatics are first and foremost, of Asian origin. It's a big group, and somewhat ambiguous, since trumpets and orientals are from Asia (mostly), yet they are not termed "Asiatic". These are names (trumpet, asiatic, etc.) given by the trade, and not botanical classifications. Although, it is true that asiatics as a group, are more closely related to each other than to any in other groups. Asiatics are most often (but not always) upfacing and outfacing, rather than down facing. A characteristic you can use to describe asiatics in general, but not one you can use to differentiate them from other groups, as other groups have up and outfacing flowers too.

All the species I listed are from Asia, except bulbiferum (Europe). Sargentiae and sulphureum are trumpets.

Thank you Leftwood! You're extremely patient and good at clarifying things.

I'm not sure what the parentage of 'America' is but it has bulbils. I used to have a NOID red/orange asiatic some years ago that had bulbils too but I lost it somehow.

Thanks SW. I can't find it listed anywhere except in plantfiles. It is peculiar that one of yours has bulbils and one doesn't, if they're the same age.

Sharon..All the Tiger ones that had bulbils on them last year so far have none..
And one that didn't..... does this year...it's the only one I see so far..
Maybe it's not a every year occurrence...

Phyllis, how's this for a theory - Maybe your adult ones that produced the bulbils last year died off, and the ones that came back are from its younger bulbs and they're not grown up enough yet to produce bulbils. - ??? So the one that didn't have bulbils last year is now old enough to produce them. ?? Makes sense to me.

I dug all mine up last year and replanted them...and all the bulbs are accounted for...
So unless they all died off I don't know...

Maybe they didn't like being dug and replanted, so they're rebelling?

But the one producing Bulbils was dug and replanted too...
It's in the same bed as the others..

Some interesting reading..I have alot of offsets this year...

http://www.mikesbackyardgarden.org/lilyprop.html

Great stuff Phyllis. I've read it all before, but haven't done much digging up yet, since most of my lilies are pretty new, so I don't really have the "how to's" of this stuff in my head yet - but I will have to do a bit of it this fall.

When you dig lily bulbs up...be careful cause 9 out of 10 times their not where you think they are..
and you end up cutting the bulbs in half....they move themselves around and send up their stalks
lots of times at an angle...So start out and work your way in......carefully...LOL

Thanks Phyllis. I know that some came up far from where I planted them.

I found stem bulbils on Zeus and Tiger Babies for the first time this year. I assume its from the L.lancifolium genes.

Hooray! I planted Zeus last fall (just flowered - does it get more than 2 feet tall next year? I was surprised how short mine are.) - And I ordered Tiger Babies for this fall. I just love those bulbils because it makes me think they'll increase more rapidly - and I can trade them too, before I have extra bulbs. How long have yours been planted?

Anything special happen with your Zeus and Tiger Babies this year, Neal? BTW, Zeus (that you gave me) is doing better then ever. I love it. I've never seen bulbils on in or Tiger Babies.

I think this is the 4th year for Tiger Babies and the 5th for Zeus, and they were both short the first year, but have been 3-4' tall ever since. They both do increase nicely.

Rick, glad to hear Zeus has done well for you! Same here with the Tiger Babies you sent- I wish more cultivars were as strong as these. The main difference this year is we're having a really pleasant growing season, cooler than usual, plenty of natural moisture, and relatively few pest issues. This is the 3rd year they've been in their current location.

Thanks Neal. I'm glad my Zeus is likely to grow up.
Well it's interesting to discover that bulbil-capable lilies don't necessarily produce bulbils, nor do it every year. I wonder if anyone has an answer as to why this is?

That is what I was trying to discern from Neal: what it was that made his Zeus and Tiger Babies produce bulbil this season, when they normally don't.

From the aforementioned "Mike's" site:
The formation of bulbils can be induced in some varieties by cutting off the flower head before they get to the small bud stage.

I supposed he could add that there are other unknown factors that may also spur bulbil production. It's pretty tedious though, and since these factors are so ambiguous, I think I would leave it as he did. His site is fairly good, but I do take exception to his treatment of species lilies. Take my advice and skip that section.

Something interesting I observed today about those stem bulbils- each stalk only has a few (3-5), and they're concentrated around the top of the stems, right around the inflorescence. Not like the Tiger Lily that has them all up and down the stem.

A normal expectation for those varieties that don't usually produce bulbils.

Interesting stuff. I wonder if the unusual cooler than normal and rainy weather has something to do with Neal's lilies producing bulbils. I know lots of strange things are going on in my garden with the exceptionally cool and rainy weather. I have an aconitum blooming and helenium and japanese anemone in bud, all 1 to 2 months early. If the weather's telling them its fall and they haven't yet reproduced, maybe bulbils are a way to do that. ???

The one with bulbils got more sun so maybe that had something to do with it? And the other day a vole chewed through the stalk so hopefully it'll come up next year as it was really nice!

I have bubils on Tiger Lily Splendens-no surprise there,on Commander in Chief-a cluster at the broken tip,on Queen of Spades-low on the stem and on Red Dutch-also low on the stem.
We have had extremely hot weather with one full week over 100 degrees.The temps have moderated now to their usual low to mid 90's.These temps killed the tops of some varieties but the bulbs seem to be ok.

That's really interesting ("a cluster at the broken tip"). It's beginning to appear that they'll do whatever they have to to reproduce. that and the extra hot weather there - the extra cool weather here - insects and animals going crazy chewing on them.......
I assume that you usually don't get bulbils on Commander in Chief , Q of S, and Red Dutch?
SW, make sure those bulbils take, to be sure you'll have more.

I have a lot of lilies making bubils also. I have to make a list. Pink Panther from Buggycrazy is actaully making them this year.

Thanks Mainiac. You would know a lot better than a lot of us who usually makes bulbils and who doesn't. Is this unusual for a lot of yours?

Yes, the only one that comes to mind in past years is Robinson's Comet. But it seems like I am seeing them all over the garden. I will start a list!

Please do. Thanks.