Seeing as I had such miserable luck trying to propagate pels this summer, I decided I needed to buy a few good books on propagation. I picked up Ken Druse's Making More Plants and the AHS book Plant Propagation. Both books discuss a propagation technique that involves taking leaf cuttings from lilies.
One of the books state: "It has been discovered that a few lilies can be grown from leaf cuttings: these include L longiflorum and L lancifolium and their cultivars." Has anyone ever tried this? Does anyone know what other lilies can be propagated in this manner.
I was wondering if the longiflorum crosses would work; like the LAs. Maybe something to try next summer. The instructions say to pull the leaves off close to the stem, so that the leaf contains a little of the stem. They called it a heel. Then pot up. Bulblets should form in 5 to 6 weeks. After that, treat as all new bulblets.
Who else is up for stripping leaves off their Easter Lilies?
Lily Propagation By Leaf Cuttings
I wonder if this takes advantage of the tissue that makes up stem bulbils when the lily is stressed. Are these the lilies that make bulbils?
Haven't a clue as I only have crosses. I've never seen bulbils on any of my LAs. Maybe Moby or Wanda might know seeing as they both have Easter Lilies in their garden. However, if the LAs can be propagated in this method, that would be very exiciting seeing as they don't set seed.
L lancifolium are the Tiger Lilies and I do know they set bulbils.
Bulbs scales are actually modified leaves. And the recommendation of taking a bit of stem with the leaf is analygous to taking a bit of basal plate (a modified stem) with the scale. It would seem there could be truth to this claim.
A most worthy experiment. Now did the lit say anything about age of the leaf? Or position on the stem?
Not that I recall, Rick, but I may have missed it. I'll go back and check. I do believe the instructions indicated early in the season, with 5 to 6 weeks for the bulblets to form.
While reading last night, I did run across a reference that listed the lilies that make stem bulbils, and L longiflorum was not listed. Gives me hope for the LAs.
I have not tried leaf cutting propogation for lilies. We used to grow the 'Casablanca' oriental lilies commercially and another experienced grower told us that a quick way of propogaing newly brought in bulbs was to plant them lying down on their sides. He said this would cause the first shoot to grow horizontally for a little way (before growing upwards) and it would produce little bulblets along the stem.
We did this with a small proportion of these ( being new to the game we were cautious ) and it certainly did produce bulblets so when we lifted the bulbs after a growing season we pulled these bulblets off and they were then replanted. Although we had brought in ust the one variety of oriental liliy, we did find that Asiatics lily and Lilium Longiflorum bulbs had crept into the shipment, so there was a bit of sorting out to do at lifting time.
This laying down method might be one you would also like to try.
I have just been to have a look through my photos as I thought I might have taken a photo showing the bulblets on the stem but could find nothing at all about when we grew lilies. We must have been growing these during the time that my old camera had broken down and I had not gained aonther one.
Ferrymead, this technique was also discussed and pictured in the AHS propagation book. They called it trenching. The pictured stem was loaded with bulbs. Evidently you dig a trench that angles upwards and then bury the bulb end at the lowest point leaving a portion of the stem above ground. Looked like about 1/3 of the stem above ground.
Can you tell me when this would be done? Would it be after flowering or would you remove any flowers before blooming? Do you wait until after a frost before havesting the bulblets and can the mother bulb be planted again for blooming? Would the mother bulb bloom again the following year or would the bulb need to rest for a year?
I hate to show my stupidity on lilies but I have been told not to put daylilies and "ditch" the orange or yellow lilies in the same bed. Is there any truth to that? Does that include Asiatic lilies also? Someone set me straight please.
Well, daylilies (hemerocallis) and lilies (lilium) are 2 different critters. There's no problem planting them together.
However, the daylilies that we call "ditch lilies" http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/201/index.html ~ they have their place in the world and it's far, far away from an organized garden. They tend to spread and become invasive over time by sending shoots some distance from the roots.
I had them for a long time but as my garden filled in with nicer cultivars, the ditch lilies found new homes.
Superbly stated, Moby :0)
Thank you for the explanation. I have both and they are not planted in the same beds and I will keep them that way. In my yard they both have a place that works and fills a spot, that at a later date I can replace.
Hi Beaker.
intersting to read about the trenching method, it sounds as if the bulbs dtailed were would be larger bulbs that the little grow on ones we had. In the initial try out the bulbs were only about an inch or so tall. We covered them with the growing medium ( compost) and they were planted slightly angled upward.
We lifted the bulbs after the leaves had died down, this was in late autumn or early winter, the first frosts always finished off the last few leaves.
We did not cut off any blooms, from memory they probaly did not flower in their first growing season. Ythe mother bulb was replanted the following season and the blooming was not affected.
Because we were growing them commercially, we stored the harvested tubers in a coll store, sent some of the bulbs off to exporters and replanted the rest. I guess in the home garden you would be o.k. replanting them back into your garden, you might choose to plant the bulblets in a deepish tray of polystyrene box so you could keep an eye on them.
Moby, I am just waiting for my first day lily to come into flower, it has lots of flowere buds and I can't wait for it to flower. I am assuming that the got their name because the blooms only last for a day or so? I will have to google this lily and find out some info on them.
Yep, that's just how they got their name ~ because the bloom only lasts one day. Now nice that we can feast our eyes on your garden while we have the winter doldrums!
Moby, Dave's garden warmed me through our winter. Glad you enjoy the posts from me.
Moby, are you dissing my "Victorian Heritage Lilies" again? I keep them blocked into a 4 foot by 2 foot area by plastic , bricks and LOTS of plantkiller! I have other orange "clumped" daylilies elswhere, but these get there very own spot.
Yes, they certainly are 'special' enough to warrent their own space. (dis!!)
I gave some to a friend for a problem area: 6 foot between her garage & the neighbor's garage, pure shade and major path for kids in the area. Pure mud. Couldn't grow grass or even weeds~! The ditch lilies thrive and even bloom there, depsite the abuse.
Another spot---an 18 inch deep gap between a buliding and a sidewalk with a 10 foot overhang facing North on the back side on a middle school gym. Lots of traffic, little sun & NO rain. Weeds and nothing else grew there. The ditch lilies are thriving.
I wish I liked those ditch lilies. Had some around our Lp tank, but got rid of them to some grateful, happy homes. Isn't that what gardening is all about? Sharing..... Wanda is right, they will grow anywhere!