Baby Lily

At the risk of looking like a total idiot, I have these things growing all over some of my lily plants. Are they babies?

Tiger lily and it's hybrids and some other lilies form bulblets where the leaves meet the stem. Yes, they are "babies".

Thank you. I am assuming they will resemble the mother plant, rather than be a cross as if they originated from a seed?

Yes, you are right on that.

Sometimes I pick them all off the mother an plant them around the base of the mother stem. Helps the increase of a clump.
inanda

Good idea. Thanks.

When my parents were on vacation in July, I did just that to their tiger lilies. Planted all the little bulbets and you should see them now. Next year they should have quite a few more.
Is this the way tigers multiply? By dropping these? Or do they also do it under ground?

All lilies that produce bulblets(technically bulbils) in the axils of leaves where the leaf meets the stem do multiply in this way. But said lilies, as far as I know, do not have stoloniferous bulbs that would spread underground. However they do typically produce multiple nose bulbs that will produce multiple lily stems, and can be broken apart to produce more plants.

Of course, all lily species (including tigers) also reproduce by seed.

Don't forget our Garden Terms section http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/133.html
All of my tiger lilies produced bulbils this year and I have dutifully collected them.
Texas Ag Extension has the following on their website

Can you overwinter these seedlings in a container?

Guess I forgot to include that caveat about tigers, as it is often a general term. My "including tigers" was a mistake of mine. I knew what was being discussed.

Species must possess the ability to produce seed. It is part of the definition of being a species. Of course, that does not mean seed production must be yearly, or even every decade. Think of century plants, or bamboo.

Greenjay (IS there a greenjay)?

Your bulbils would be much happier in the ground. Could you plant them in a pot and then sink the pot in the ground -well marked- for the wnter? I've never kept bulbils over the wnter in the house. Another idea is that you could plant them in a ziplock baggie with good growing material (peat moss would do) and then put the baggie in your fridge for the winter. That way they should be quite happy. When you bring the bag out in the spring they should start growing fairly soon. When you see growth, you could pot them up or plant out an area when they wont need to be moved for a couple of years. They would be hapier in the shade for at least the first year when they are such babies.

I do save daylily seeds in a ziplock baggie in the fridge till January, when I start them off in pots. Maybe I'll collect some bulbils and see how they fare in the fridge for a few months.
inanda

Well I'm not imaginary, so I guess there IS a greenjay.

Yes, inanda, there is a Green Jay http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i4830id.html
In fact, there appear to be more than one. ;-}

I never knew! Quite pretty.

in re: Mexican Green Jay

I got my nickname after a long collecting trip with some ornithologists from the Field Museum. Someone thought my laugh sounded like La urraca verde, and it stuck. "Urraca " has another meaning in spanish, which made it more amusing. I have had the same online name since 1987.

Hmmm. I only come up with "magpie" in google and my own spanish dictionary.

What could it possibly be . . .

Urraca is slang for an unpleasant woman. The english correlate is not permitted on DG.

Well, I guess that closes this chapter of: Fun With Language

Tune in next time when . . . .

When the tiger lily bulbets are planted, will the produce blooms the 1st year? If not how long will it take?

I'm so glad to see this post with the pictures. I've got bunches of these on 2 lilies and thought they were buds til the leaf emerged.

What do I do with them? Should I wait til the host plant starts to go dormant and cut off the top and plant the entire top or separate the individuals and plant them separately?

Also would like to know what you folks recommend about whether or not to cut the stems to ground at some times or let them die down naturally. This is my first season ever to have lilies and I have enjoyed them tremendously.

I cut mine to within 4 inches of the ground at this time of year.
The lily bulbs have been storing food for the next season , since they stopped blooming in July-August.
We have the Red Lily Beetle here, and while they are probably in the ground already, I dont like to see the lily stems left to spread the voraceous eaters.
I will drench bulbs in spring, when they emerge about April here in the northeast.

Lilies should always be left to die back naturally. I still have a few that are green but they've done their job for the year so they'll be cut soon. As mentioned above, I leave about 4" so I know where to expect lilies next year.

I'm so glad you've enjoyed your new lilies. :)

This message was edited Oct 29, 2010 7:51 AM

Thanks Moby.
My green ones were cut last week along with the pretty ones that turn yellow.
I also leave a spike so I can tell where to expect them in the spring.
A word of caution tho, last spring I was cleaning dead spikes and snapped off a lily that was emerging up thru the center of the dead spike.
I am an amature as you can tell ,just mentioned this so others dont make the same mistake.

I'm sorry Boopsie and SS2D, your first question wasn't answered...

What you have growing along the above-ground stem are called bulbils. They can be pulled off gently and planted shallowly, with a bit of the leaf above the soil. Next year they should produce a spindly stem and maybe a bloom or two at the top. The following year should give you a decent sized stem.

Thanks everyone. It sure is nice to be able to count on some folks for quick solutions.

Have had problems with those 'lily' beatles and put down some systemic insecticide that lasts all season and it has worked great, also use this Bayer systemic insecticide on my perennial hibiscus and now have healthy leaves all season!