Formosan Lily Seeds

Can anyone tell me where to go to find info on getting these seeds to germinate? Can they be wintersown? Should they be covered, and if so how deep? As you can tell, I've never done this before. I was gifted some seeds and don't want to waste them.

They are quite easy to germinate. You can sow them now in the best soil you`ll get, cover them about one cm and give them some sunlight. Then you`ll see them grow after a few weeks. Keep the soil moist,not wet.

I would not recommend winter sowing. They germinate fine directly at room temperature. The will even germinate in a closed container on top of moist paper towel. But I would only do that as an experiment just to see it. Sow them in moist but excellently draining soil from a cm deep to just covering with soil. They aren't picky at all.

mine sprouted at room temp in a few days . i soaked them for a day, dont know if that helped or not. they arnt picky i used old dirt from a dead plant in the garage lol

I have germinated them indoors under shop lights. Formosanum is so rewarding because it germinates very quickly. I do this every year. If, when you say "winter sow" you mean outside, then it will not work. But if you can provide an indoor environment under, say, shop light, it works. I agree with Leftwood about temperature and Grapus about depth. I get my best results in terms of depth by sowing them a bit sideways so that the embryo in the center is buried but the outer transparent sections are partially exposed.

I used seed starting mix (which has no nutrients, which is consistent with Iris' experience) indoors in January and barely covered them. Here is what they looked like the following July. My only concern is that you may not be starting them early enough for outdoor bloom before frost. But then you are in South Carolina.This is a formosanum/longiflorum cross.

Thanks everyone. I will sow them indoors as recommended. I can't believe that they can grow and bloom so quickly.

hi,i have some tree lily seeds fromlast year that i would like to sow how long before they bloom from seed and do they need the cold to germinate first and then sow them

Martini, what are tree lilies?

With tree lily, do you talk about orienpets? I got some orienpet seeds this winter and after asking around i soak the seeds in water a few days. Gave new water every day. Then placing the seeds on top of the peat/soil and covered the seeds with perlite. And put the pot in a plastic bag, placed under light. Now i have a forrest of lilies.

Øystein

tree lilys grow up to 15 foot tall and have large flowers and a lot of flowers on each stem , i grew them for the first time last year i got them from qvc shoping channel and some from tompson and morgan ,they will reach that height in two to three years time but they were lovely last year , the best i have grown yet and have just brought the double orentail lilys that are new out this year .they as oriental lilys the tree lilys so that might be them thanks

Would this be what you mean? These LAs were about 3 feet the first year with minimal bloom and were more than 5 feet last year full of blooms. I'm guessing they will be a little higher this year.

hi, yes i think so they are the ot lilies yes, they were about 4foot this year and had lots of flowers i have 5 differant colours of them in pots , i have saved the seeds to sow in some vermiculite

The Thompson & Morgan "tree lilies" being sold by QVC (and other companies) are a gimmick. Most are OTs and while it's true that some lilies can easily reach 6' and a bit more, but very unlikely that they'd be anywhere near 15'.

http://www.thompson-morgan.com/flowers/flower-bulbs/lilies/tree-lily-collection/p92145TM

For example, of the so-called 'tree lilies' that they sell, one is Sartre which according to the Lily Register is about 5'. Notice the pictures of Nymph and Starburst are the same ~ Starburst is actually a red w/ black lily Tango lily that is only about 4' tall. http://www.bluestoneperennials.com/b/bp/BLISB.html

It's unfortunate that some companies feel the need to 'over-sell' lilies ~ they're lovely no matter their height. Besides, isn't it nicer to have them closer to nose level? :)

I'm with you, Moby. You can never have too many lilies.