North American Lily Society Seedlist is open

If you are interested in growing lilies from seed, and obtaining it cheaply, this is the place to go. Their wonderful members collect and prepare seeds for a dollar a pack. I have had great success growing longiflorum/formosanum seeds that I started in January and then bloomed the same September. Some of the seeds are hybridized by the members themselves, so you can get something totally unique.

For those of you who are new to this as I once was, seeds that are immediate epigeal will make it clear to you when they have germinated, and are much more likely to bloom the first year.

http://lilies.org/2011seeds/seedindex.html

Here is a picture of a longiflorum/formosanum I grew from their seeds. I bring the pots in at first frost and keep them lightly watered over the winter. You can also put your bulbs in a refrigerator (away from apples and the like!) I also have some lilium candidum - aka madonna lilies - that I started in January 2009 that are in the process of blooming. Madonna lilies are fiercely expensive, but I got a whole packet of seeds for $1.00.

Do give it a try. It's wonderful.

Donna

And make sure you look at last year's seed list. The seed is fresh because it's packaged beautifully. The list is extensive, and it's dirt cheap.

Why do you bring the lilies inside for winter? Don't they overwinter well in Illinois? Or is it that they are still fairly young? Do they have tubers the first year when grown from seeds?

Oh, Mstella, sorry for the lack of information. Lilies normally overwinter beautifully here, but formosanum is often grown in the tropics, and is one of the few lilies that is not zone 5 hardy.

The first year, they form little tiny bulbs - much smaller than the ones you normally see, and quite cute. But they produce flowers on stems at least one foot tall in year one, and then more stems with more flowers in successive year.

I understand. I should have just looked them up. that would have answered the question. But thanks for all the info.