What the?!

I was looking at these oriental lilies(?) this am and noticed these roots. What the heck is going on? What the heck do I do now? Ive never seen this before. I got them last year as a single plant in bloom. This is the origonal and one new one.

A bit closer.

When I first saw this I thought " EW what are all those worms doing?! I took a stick and poked it, LOL. Ive never seen these this happen before except on vinse and other plants that are already known to do this.
Should I leave it alone or cut it off and plant it? I have no clue here. Maybe wait for it to bloom and then cut it off and plant it. hhmmmm

hmmm, I'm no expert, but I know that lilies will make roots along the stem if you pile more dirt around them. So I wouldn't think that roots growing on the stem is a problem. But I wonder what caused it . . .

Cheri'

Dravencat; I may be able to find out for you if I have your premission to use your photo to show to our local nursery here.
Do you mind if I print your picture?

I just sent the link instead for the person to look at so hopefully she will come up with an answer for you.

This message was edited May 21, 2004 10:12 AM

Go for it CoCo.
You have my permission to print and show my photogragh

LOL makes me feel like royalty. heehee. I think my dingyness level is going up. LOL Makes me want to say "Hear ye Hear ye. (see its getting worse)

How deep did you plant these? These are (as Sundry said) stem rooting lilies and need to be planted at least 6" deep. The stem roots often appear at bud set time and are there to stabalise the plant. i'm not sure why they are quite so far up the stem though, perhaps Coco's friend will fill us in on that :)

I hope so. When I planted them last year(no roots on stem) I know I put them about an inch at the most below the soil from the origonal soil line the pot they came in plus there is about 3-4 inchs of mulch on top of that. Maybe because of the mulch I had them planted too deep? They do have small buds on them, the stems are strong and it did multiply from one plant to three(one is only about 2 inches tall).

Thanks CoCo, maybe with the added info here it will help her figure out what I did to get this.

This message was edited May 21, 2004 12:46 PM

I don't think you can plant lilies too deep (except Madonna lilies, no stem roots on those) . . . not in good soil, anyway

Mine are planted at least 6 inches deep, with at least 2 inches of mulch on top. And if need be, I'll pile dirt up around the stems for stability (as in, remove the mulch, pile up dirt, replace the mulch). Same with gladiolus. So they could end up under 10 - 12 inches of 'stuff'.

How big a pot was it in before you planted in the garden?

Cheri'

I believe it was in an 8inch pot. Not bigger than that I know. I bought this at a famers market last year along with a B-fly bush thats planted next to it but not in the picture. I have fertilized that bed. In the origonal pot it had potting soil and I mixed some compost in with my soil when I planted it as I have alot of sand in my soil being near the water. Those roots grew in pretty fast as I was out there a couple of days ago and I didnt see/notice this at all. Im constantly out there checking for flower buds, weeds and planting other stuff so most things I can notice pretty quickly.

I've gotten little nubs on nodes on other plants if they are overly humid or whatever. i.e. if they think they might be in contact with dirt or water. *shrug*

There is a much deeper problem. The boat trailer is empty, so the boat is in the water somewhere, and you are taking pictures of lily roots. Actually, have you considered cutting one off just under the roots and sticking it in a pot? Frank

LOL Frankay, I was wondering who was gona bring that one up.
I have thought about doing that but have been thinking to wait until after they bloom then cut em off and pot em up. That way I still have mine, will have pics by then and then see who whants em.
The boat is in the water patiently waiting for us but this weekend we are going to Ocean City to enjoy the Hot Rod car show going on there this weekend. WOOHOO!

I would try air-layering them so you could have two healthy plants from each. That way you could enjoy the blooms but the roots wouldn't dry out enough to harm them. I will be interested in what you end up doing with them. Wish mine would multiply like that.

Ponditis, as soon as I figure out what Im going to do Ill definatly let you know. I was thinking of wrapping damp paper towels around them and then covering that with saran wrap to keep it damp. I havnt checked it yet this am as Im still too exhausted from the weekend but as soon as my coffee kicks in Ill be there.

Still waiting to hear something on this end. My nursery friend didn't have any idea, but she is trying to find out for me.

Great, Thank you CoCo for keeping me updated, I was wondering if you had heard anything yet.

I did check them this morning and there are even more roots growing and longer. Go figure. Maybe Im watering too much. I dont know but they are still healthy and strong.

I would really be tempted to wrap them in potting mix and saran wrap tied top and bottom with rubberbands and let them give you more plants. Keep that potting mix moist until after you cut off the blooms then remove your new plants.

Good luck!

Any luck CoCo?

Lilies are big on producing bubils at just the spot where the leaf meets the stem. Perhaps did some bulbils not shake free and have now rooted? I often collect the bulbils and share them or scatter them to get new plants a few years down the road.

No I havnt seen anything but roots growing staight from the stem.

Can I jump in here for just a moment for related info?

I noticed "bulbils"? when I got back from Tn Wednesday. Is this what you mean? These are tiger lilies. It happens on 1 tall one and on one really short seedling.

Also, since we're looking, the drying leaves you see, are they caused from not enough water? Thanks for letting the barge in, errr I mean, thanks for letting me barge in.

Honey your barge ing in is always welcome, especialy if it helps me learn more about whats going on. I dont have anything bulb like coming up on the stems and dont have an answer for you so Ill wait right here for an answer too.

Molly--yes those are bulbils. You can let them disperse natually or collect them to share or scatter at whim.

I've not ever seen leaves yellow in that way, but would suspect the plant is stressed in some way if you haven't yet had blooms this year. Your zone is so much different than mine that I don't know when you would normally see blooms and then die back of the foliage but I would think it's too early for that!

If you read the American Lily Societies Culture info they state about 10 times to make sure your lilies are in a well drained site. They hate sitting water and constantly moist soil. Could this be the situation where you are? They do need to receive regular water but should drain quickly to prevent rot.

Also, lilies LOVE full sun so I don't think it's a case of leaf scorch. Another thought....could you be watering from overhead in the evening and water is sitting on the leaves overnight causing some type of blight or fungus?

Hope this helps somewhat.
Brenda

Hi Brenda,

These lilies were given to me and they are not yet mature enough to bloom. Drainage is very good, no watering at night, only during the day and they get about 1/2 day sun.
Down here I have to put my "full sun" plants into a 1/2 day spot. Summer is way too hot for them.

I think my only other cause would be lack of water. We have a raised sprinkler head which is intended to water this spot plus what's over the sidewalk. It probably doesn't get enough water directly below the sprinkler head. I'll fix that.

Thanks for your advise. And I think I will just let those bulbets fall and plant themselves.

:^)
Molly