Lilies in waiting....

Just got a new lens for my camera....was checking out tthe REALLY close focus....:)
Caught a glimpse of some lilies that won;t be flowers for a few seasons...pretty cool packaging.
I am not sure if these are going to be immediate or delayed, epigeal or hypogeal...they are from an unlabled batch. Now sown in moistened vermiculite/perlite in a baggy....in the warm/dark....if they haven't done much in a few months, I will put them in the cold for a bit.

I am loving watching the threads on the lilies for next summer and whatnot... am trying to avoid too many bulbs/plants and trying to focus on seeds this year. We shall see if I can resist much longer.

Anyone else planting lily seeds? What zone are you and when do you start yours? Inquiring minds want to know!

Checking in from 2b. My lily seeds were in the warmth from Sept till Jan and then in the fridge, stilll in their baggies. They will stay there in the cold till end of feb or maybe later and then out again into the warmth.

inanda

Great pic! Very clear! So clear in fact, you can tell they are viable seeds.

Yeah, lily seeds are one of those that need 3 months warm followed by three months cold then back to warm. Wouldn't it be nice if they came with directions, fresh off the plant? LOL

Only seed with "delayed" germination (actually delayed emergence) require the warm/cold/warm regime. If you don't know what you have, just be ready for leaf emergence on the first warm treatment.

Most Asian hybrids are immediate, while martagons and the larger portion of other species are delayed.

I subscribe to the "whatever works for you is good" method, so if baggies work for you, that's great. But FYI, the only lilies I propagate in baggies are lily scales. All seed, delayed or immediate, go in stable pots. I just don't see any advantage in the inevitable jostling fragile roots of tiny seedlings. I do use a different medium for scaling (all peat) than for planting, for its anti-fungal properties and regulation of moisture. But I see know need for such a drastic difference in medium for lily seedlings vs. potted lily plants.

Rick

Hi again Inanda! I figured I waited a bit too long to get mine started, or not long enough if I started them closer in spring in the pots/garden, o well.
Hey Badseed, My problem was too many different directions...and some identified seeds and some not....I figure I'll keep an eye on them and pot up any that look like they want to actually sprout.
Good to meet you Leftwood, thanks for your thoughts. Space issues and impatience and curiosity got me started with the baggies....I have some from last year that were direct sown and should maybe begin to bloom this summer (the early birds anyway). I figured it would be interesting to try the baggy method for comparison.....can't remember where I saw the recommendation for perlite/vermiculite - I planted last year's (2004) seeds in pots in a free draining peaty mix and my scales are in either peat or vermiculite and those have worked well so far.

OMG, I just realized I may never figure out what works as I keep trying all these crazy things willy nilly. Good thing they are plants and know better than this gardener anyway. :)

I use the baggie method because of space. Put them in boxes and check every month or so. This way no worry about drying out, worrying about watering etc etc. I treat the seeds and scales the same way, although the scales often start growing a leaf or two, now and then. Most of my seeds are martagons and species, as are the scales. No asiatics, although I do have some OTs.

Strangely enough, it seems the baggies on the bottom of boxes grow better than those nearer the top. I wonder if the pressure is anything to do with it.

I'm away from home this winter but feel all is going well, with everything in the fridge.

In fact, it has been so warm in Manitoba that I worry about my baby martagons in the garden. I hope they have enough snow cover.

Inanda

I agree about the snow cover.....we have been very warm, bare ground almost thawing and now the cold comes again...
A lot of the potted lilies are in insulated boxes in their pots...hopefully they were shaded/insuated enough not to freeze/thaw.
I like the baggies for space too....so far so good. I guess I will find out how much bigger my eyes are than the space available once the potting /planting begins!

Inanda, that's interesting about your bottom of the box vs. top observation. I would think if pressure had anything to do with it, it might be that water is "squeezed" out and more available to plantlets. Or simply that better seed to soil contact is acheived. Or . . . could it have to do with temperature?

esw, I think your key to making sense of what you do is keeping records. If you're really as scattered in methods as you say (doubtful), chances are you are repeating regimes without realizing it. Aaaaahhh . . .but if you kept records . . . .

Believe me, I am far from being organized, and if all else fails I just jot it down on my calendar for future reference.

But you have to remember to look at the calendar! And remember where it is!

Interesting about the bottom bags, I wonder if it is because they get less light at the bottom, even though in a box. The extra moisture is a good suggestion, they know they can't grow without it. Also they could 'think' they have beeen sown in the ground as normally that is what would happen, and the pressure gives this impression. Could also be warmer, or all of the above!

I have a few seed from L. nepalensis, just one pod with 19 seed. My RHS book says to sow in autumn if hardy, spring if not. As this is not fully hardy I thought spring might be best, as ours takes a while to get going, even summer isn't often hot. Any suggestions for this one?

I got some seed from America last year on ebay of L philippinense, sown in spring in a cold greenhouse which gets shade too, I got 13/20. Seed was supposed to be from their own, so possibly fresh. Also got some interesting ones from Chiltern seeds, L auratum var. rubro-vittatum, I was very excited at this, but got 0/12, still in their pot but don't hold your breath! They don't have it this year, so if they have it again next year I could hope for it to be fresh and grow.

Leftwood, nice lily! Share a bigger pic? What is it called? I have only been doing this now for 2 years so not too many records yet....my problem last year was labels bleaching out in the sun....I have a bunch of lilies that are going to have to wait until they bloom for some semblance of identification (scales) and a handful of seed batches.
I can relate to the finding of the calendar....I am pretty careful about keeping a record of what I have purchased/planted and am trying to translate that into keeping track of seeds planted as well.....it falls apart a bit in the middle of the really busy time at work/in the garden.
Funny, I noticed that the baggies on the bottom seemed happier too.. I think they get better compression and contact with the medium - I keep mine almost on the dry side and the top ones seem to be more dry than the bottom ones. I try to rotate the bags when I check them every 2 weeks or so...

esw, I used to write on the plastic plants labels with either the pencil that came with it, a thick builders type pencil, or a biro. They always fade, so now I use an indelible black ink pen, that takes a long time to fade, even if pushed into the ground.

I also used to think I could remember the odd pot without a label, I was growing quite a bit for a start but now it has got all out of memory's help! I also take off some seed, and used to remember what it was, I put them in little foil dishes. Now I can take seed off and a week later I look at it and can't think where it came from! Too much going on, or age, or both! I have started to write out the name and when collected on a bit of paper to put with them. But I don't always, still thinking I will remember, ORGANISATION is what we need! I know what you mean about falling apart in the middle though, there just isn't enough time to do everything, and things just get dumped and left. I like to do the fun bits.

Holey Moley Batman!
Just checked and found this:
Lilium dauricum...sown 1/21/6 - immediate hypogeal......I'm not sure why I thought that it would take longer for these to get going, but here they are!
any suggestions?
Leave them as they are for ?time
Pot them up now
wait for first leaf to pot up....(I am leaning towards this)

edited to correct the germination type

This message was edited Feb 9, 2006 8:38 PM

duh.

Obviously I have some immediate epigeal lilies too....here is one! (5/15 of the unknowns...)

My sense is that these will do better in pots under lights...any other suggestions?

"the inevitable jostling fragile roots of tiny seedlings".....hmmm, now I think you know what was meant by that! The first leaf may not be long coming, but it depends on how stable your bag of germinating mix is, I think you will be the best judge of that.

Well done and good luck!

What pretty babies you have there!

Hopefully I can jostle gently when the time comes....it will be sooner rather than later for some I think....I am going to get the lights set up and keep them in their baggies under lights while they get bigger....and pray for a very early spring!

Excellent photos, esw, and most educational. I share your enthusiasm. I don't think I have any more usable advice right now. Good Luck!

The yellow streaked and dashed lilies are, well, 'Dots and Dashs' (Dashs spelled correctly). It was bred by my friends Ruth and Hugh Cocker in Rocester, MN. Hugh had a job that had something to do with Morse code when he was in the service, and this lily reminded him of it. It's a real honey in my book, and most anyone who sees it oggles. I'm new to picture posting, so we'll see what happens with this:

Well marked lilies! I bet they look spectacular in real life, I have never seen any with that much marking on them, do you know which were the parents?

Thanks Leftwood, that pic turned out great. Those lilies are strikingly beautiful. Thanks for sharing....I'll post more pics as the little ones grow up....The baggies are good for showing the root/bulb system if nothing else....
esw

I am reminded of a quote that is used at work..."Better lucky than good'
and another..."The enemy of good is better"

esw, those quotes are silly at one level, interesting at another, and yet enigmatic on another plane.

Returning to terra firma, I can't say I remember what the parentage of Dots and Dashs is, but Hugh told me he had pollinated the mother plant wiith a mix of pollen from several fathers. Something he rarely does. It is interesting to note another half-sibling that resulted from the same cross: this is Kathy Jan. It is named after one of his daughters. The color is a bit off as it is should be a deep Halloween orange.

Thanks Leftwood, that is interesting, it goes to show that anything tried can have interesting results! I wonder what 'mixture' of father lilies he has? Kathy Jan is another stunner!

Perhaps he ought to call them 'Moggie lilies'?

lovely...guess I'm going to have to try some crosses this year.

Wow leftwood you have some very unusual lilies - I have never seen any like that before!

I love those dark pink ones, esw - very nice

Well, we do have more than our share of lily hybridizers in Minnesota. Take a look:

http://www.northstarlilysociety.com/minnesotalilies.htm

the dark pink is Eurydice - got it from The Lily Garden....
Wow, Leftwood, lots of inspiration there!