A friend gave me several bulbs of this 4 ft tall lily, but she doesn't know the name. They form black seed looking things along the stem after the blooms are done. Would those grow if I planted them? Would I just pick them off the plant after frost and plant them, or should I do something else?
That is a Tiger lily (Lilium lancifolium).
http://plantsdatabase.com/go/1025/index.html
I don't know if the seeds would come true or not.
The black seed looking things are bulbils and yes they will grow, some may even develop leaves while they are still on the plant.
Thank you. Paulwhwest, you're saying that the bulbils might produce some thing new, or maybe old?
The bulbils will produce the same plant as the parent. If seeds were formed in a pod on the flower stalk they could be different if pollinated by another kind of lily. I have never seen a pod on these lilies and we have a whole fence-line full of them where I work.
llilyfan is right, I was thinking of the seeds.
All I have seen is a pea size black thing growing on the stalk right above where the leaf comes out, no leaves that I've noticed. The old stalks might be completely buried in snowdrifts. If there are any of those bulbils left maybe I could start them in a pot. How deep should they be planted? Oh, fun!
