I've been busy lately...

and not posting much. I had around 200 lily seed pods from the summer's crossings and OPs to candle and clean the chaf away. A lot of the seed look quite abnormal and I attribute it to the heat. Many of the seeds looked like the endosperm boiled right in the seed and collected along one side. Weird!! I'm guestimating maybe several thousand seeds altogether and out of all of those, here is one with twin embryos! I wonder if it will make two bulbs of identical lilies?! Still have a number of oriental pods to go through when they are sufficiently dry.

I'm doing a germination test on all the seeds from the pink picotee yellow trumpet lilies. I marked off a 3 X 6 grid to test seed from 18 pods with 6-9 seeds in each section. I hope to have a good idea about their viability in a few weeks.

Gosh that's a lot of pods, it's such a lengthy job doing just a few!

You must have a very sore neck after all that candling. I sowed 9 lots of lily seed a couple of days ago, finally, that also takes time, organisation and space.

Several thousand seeds, whew, what do you plan to do with all of those?? It sounds like your winter will be busy whatever!

Interesting twin embryo, until you mentioned there was a 'line' in the middle I wasn't aware there was this embryo, I thought the hard part was it. I have learnt a lot, thanks to you. it would be interesting to grow it out and find out if does make two, identical or not, and then to see if they make twin seeds themselves.

Waiting to see the germinaton results, how long do you anticipate?

Pard, you do have a lot of seeds there. That's after a dry summer? Imagine if it was wetter... Will be awaiting the results of the double. Will there be twins in lily land?

Recently there was a couple of posts w/pictures on the yahoo lily list of twin embryos that formed twin bulblets so I know that it could happen.

Many pods were full of chaf (McRae seedlings crosses produced ONE seed with an embryo!). Yes, this is all quite time consuming. My next germination tests will be of the "Tropical Isle" crosses I made-- most was with pollen from the other pink p. trumpets. See the bulb forum for my pic of gladiolus seeds! I'm also going through all the other miscellaneous seeds I collected over the summer. One that I am interested in is Dianthus "Siskin Clock". I collected seed last year and started earlier this spring-- they should bloom next year and I am interested in whether they will bloom true as there are other dianthus in the area.

Pard, you are the seed goddess & the pollen queen. The McRae seedlings sound wonderful.... Keep us posted. I love to hear of your adventures in seed-land.

Pardalium - that twin is so amazing. You must be very busy going through all of your seeds. Thanks for posting the pic for us to see.
Maureen

Here is a pic of some weird looking oriental seeds. In fact, all of my oriental seeds looked more or less like this. Notice that the embryos are quite visible and look healthy. The black looking seeds are simply little seed stacks that hadn't separated yet.

Question, What is weird looking?

The very dark edges and very light centers and the dark shading from the edges toward the centers of some of the seeds. I don't know if it means anything but this is the year to experiment and keep better records as to what a bad seed may look like. Maybe it is caused by the many high temperature days we had this past summer. Of course I hope they are OK!

I know my Asiatics looked quite pitiful, small embryos and small endosperm, and quite a few germinated. I really didn't think they had much of a chance but... :*)

I had 4 seed pods with a few good seed in from my yellow Asiatic lilies. They are next to L. lancifolium flaviflorum and their flowering did cross over with the last of the Asiatics at the same time as the beginning of the other.

I wonder if they can have cross pollinated, the seed varies in shape. Some centres are quite round looking, they are fairly dark brown so I tried to lighten them a little. I can see the lines in the middles, but unfortunately this pic doesn't show it up.

This is the Asiatic lily, it is such a vivid solid colour with a hint of green in the centre, I also noticed for the first time this year it has a light scent

Can you scale bulbs in the spring or is the natural cycle thrown off balance? Curious....

Yes! My first scaling experience was with a spring purchased Schez. that had sprouted (shipped that way from the Lily Garden). The sprout broke off during shipping and I didn't know at that time if that meant the bulb would be a gonner so I did what I had read about-- scaling! And planted the remaining bulb but of course it didn't come up and half way through summer I dug it up only to find it was just sleeping so I put it back. A few months later I had all these scale bulblets that I passed around at a garden meeting. I planted them out in a seedling bed that fall and they have thrived ever since. I also scaled bulbs this past spring from garden show purchases and most made bulblets.

Oh! That is good news for me here. Thanks for the tip.
Would you just do it the same way, with the soiless mix or would you put them in dirt outside in a safe place? My Bravura that I scaled two off of has done well. I'm amazed that it worked.....so far, so good anyway. This is fun!

One more thing.... I just looked at my Bravura Scale and it has a leaf coming out 2 inches on one of them and the other has just begun the leafing process. Is this the time I put it in a pot/transplant? How deep? Just under the surface? I'm just nervous & don't want to wreck anything ;0) I can't believe that it actually worked, the bags, the books and the scales. Now crossing my fingers for the seeds.....
Pard, you've opened my eyes to a new world. Thank you!

I always use the soilless mix-- it cuts the risk of fungus infection. I suppose everyone who does this has their way-- if I get a leaf sooner rather than later I just keep the scale in the mix rather than disturb the fragile roots at this point. The bulb will feed off the scale. Sometimes when the bulblet separates from the scale you can reuse the scale for more bulblets. Now what more could you ask for! I really don't know what to advise for your zone as to when to actually plant them outside. I usually plant out the following fall but our winters are much milder here so maybe someone in your area can respond... I think I should get some pictures of my germination tests... be back in a bit!

I always use the soilless mix for seeds & now scales too. This Bravura is one I scaled the second week of October. Not sure if this is long or short for such development, either way it is exciting. I just put some Stargazer Scales (the result of a bulb "accident") in the fridge. I'll be really lucky if that works.
If I do have the bulblet fall off, I transplant then? For example, in a safe pot on my deck, away from the deer and bunnies?
I hope somebody in a colder zone will chime in. I tend to think that those little bulblets coming from a mama bulb do fine, so maybe they would. But then again, when you get that far, you don't really want anything to get messed up by taking a chance.
Can't wait for your pix Pard. Thanks for your help.

I doubt if a bulblet will fall off; they seem to be pretty well stuck on the scale. But yes, if it falls off then pot it up but I would keep it inside in a cooler place to promote root growth. OK, this first pic is of the tray I showed above in my second post, 18 days on. The vigourous little buggers in the top right corner are Tropical Isle x yellow with pink picotee trumpets. There is plenty of time to expect more to germinate.

This is the second tray, mostly Tropical Isle crosses; day 16. The ones in front (bottom) of picture and slightly to the right of center is a cross with a yellow tetraploid trumpet. I noticed even at this stage the cotyledon seems sturdier than the others!

I start scales any time I have one. From what I read, time of year has no difference. Their time clock is reset by going through a minimum 12 week cold period. I've had some growing since last spring that I just stuck in the frig for a 3 month cool down. While I plan to pot come spring, I don't think I'll plant in the garden for another year. I suppose the asiatics could go in next spring, but the majority are more tender orienpets and orientals and they require added protection in the winter here. So, I want them to be fairly good sized before I permanently plant out.

Pard, they look great. Do you usually use the big tub for your seeds? I bet after you've done a few different sets of seeds, you start to see differences in seed structures. How exciting, those crosses sound wonderful. I love Tropical Isle. It's a favorite.
Beak, thanks for the tips on a colder climate. After you are successful to a certain point, it would be tough to take a chance on the cold weather getting the best of it. Isn't it fun watching all of this stuff grow? In the winter?!

No big tubs here. These are plastic drawer divider thingies and only abut 1/4 inch grow mix. I'm just interested in the germination rates and will throw them all out when I get the information I want. Well, maybe I'll prick out the 4n crosses lol! Most of my seed starts that I intend to keep are done in large zip-lock baggies. I'm in the process of refurbishing my light setups now. Had to purchase a new shop light and a case of tubes. As soon as I get the area cleaned up and new light fixtures installed I'll be good to go! I can just taste those tomatoes now.... Oh.. this is the lily forum isn't it! But tomatoes ARE very important, right? I start a hundred or so under my lights every year...

Oh yummy tomatoes! My two favorites are Red Zebra & Green Zebra. You could say I am an heirloom tomato junkie. Weaning myself from that flavor is tough. Just had that conversation Saturday with my favorite grower at The Dane County Farmers Market. The store stuff, for the most part, stinks. Wow, a hundred tomato plants? You put me to shame ;0)
Pard, How do you do all that work and then toss them??

What work? I just sprinkle some mix in the tray, spritz it, then lay the seeds out in a grid. Sprinkle more mix over them, spritz, cover and wait. I have lots more seeds so I can waste a few. I really need the information on germination before sharing seeds, I'd hate to send duds out... As far as the tomatoes are concerned, I have room for just 2 plants, the rest will go to a friend with acreage. These are mostly Brandywines-- they take up space! We'll share what we need but most will go to St. Vincent de Paul. Sometimes I sell them at work to make a bit of money for our employee group activities.

Now I see your process. I remember now that you give some to NALS for the seed exchange. It would be handy to have that info.
Brandywines are great, but I never have that great of luck with them in my garden. Sounds like your little seedlings find great homes. You do good work, Pard.

Magnolia, setting ANY bulb(and most perennials) outside in an exposed pot with our winter temps, like would be on your deck, is not a good idea. Pots above ground get MUCH colder in winter than ground temperature, and the temp fluctuates wildly too. Both not good things. Beaker's use of the frig is good advice.

Lefty, maybe I am not being as clear as I would like to be. The pots would be for the summertime outside, to better be able to see it, rather than planting in the ground and lose track of what is going on. I was just curious on how long to summer in a pot on my deck and winter underlights in the basement, fridge etc (or a garage in a pot for the winter?)
How big do these bulbs have to be to be on their own, outside, mulched in the elements of zone 5a?
Sorry if I wasn't clearer before.