Reproduction of lilies - three main ways

Probable problems and solutions

Unpretentious plants like lilies also experience developmental problems. They are associated with improper planting or plant care:

1. The yellowing of the leaves is caused by a lack of moisture in the ground.
2. The stem begins to turn brown, dry out in hot summer.
3. Spots on the leaves appear from infection of the bulbs with pathogenic fungi.
4. Lilies do not bloom due to decay of the roots or drying out of the bulbs.

In order for the decorative culture to please with flowering, longevity, it is necessary to moderately water the plantings, feed them in time. Before planting, the seed is treated with a solution of potassium permanganate, fungicides.

Reproduction of lilies by bulbs (buds)

The popularity of this method is due to the low trauma and lack of stress for the plant. This method is suitable for varieties that form a large number of buds in the leaf axils. Asian hybrids are vivid representatives of plants, on the aerial parts of the stem of which many air bulbs are formed every year. Their formation can usually be observed at the end of flowering. The ripening of the bulbs can be determined by the following features:

• the appearance of small roots (although they may not always appear);
• separation of the bulbs from the stem.

Collecting the formed buds should begin in August, until they crumble and germinate on their own.

After collecting, they are planted in the ground 2 cm deep, observing a distance of 15-20 cm between the holes. After planting, the soil must be watered, fertilized, and covered with dry foliage for the winter. The buds, intended for planting in spring, should be stored in a refrigerator at a temperature of +5 ° C, in a container with dry sand.

Plant shoots can be expected next spring. Follow-up care for lilies is standard: weed removal, top dressing and regular watering. The buds appear the next year, but it is better to cut them off. This is necessary so that the plant has time to fully grow stronger and form, and not waste energy on flowering.

Sometimes there are not as many buds on lilies as we would like. Therefore, there are several factors that stimulate their appearance:

Increased soil moisture in summer (without water stagnation).
Removing the first buds from a young plant

It is important to keep in mind that removing flowers that have already blossomed will have no effect.
Regular feeding and loosening of the soil.

It will also be interesting: Lilies have faded - what to do next, plant care in August and September

Planting lilies in open ground (rules and planting scheme)

Before planting seedlings in open ground, carefully choose a place to grow them. It should be sunny (in the worst case, in partial shade) and sheltered from the wind. Dig up the soil and remove any remaining roots from other plants. If necessary, get rid of weeds and too tall, but already faded and old plants. Otherwise, they will create shade that will prevent the lilies from growing.

Algorithm for planting lilies in open ground:

• before planting, immerse each bulb in a 0.2% solution of Maxim Dachnik dressing agent for 20 minutes, and then in a growth stimulator for 45-60 minutes;
• remove dead scales and shorten the roots to 5 cm;
• dig a hole for each plant, the depth of which is equal to three times the diameter of the bulb;
• the planting interval also depends on the variety and amount of planting material. Leave a margin of 15-20 cm between lilies of low-growing varieties, and 25-30 cm between tall ones.

But what happens to the shallow-planted bulbs is that stem roots appear on them.

You can plant lilies according to one of three schemes:

• single-line (ribbon) - keep the distance between the lilies 5-15 cm in one row and 50 cm between the "lines";
• two-line (for medium-sized lilies) - leave 15-25 cm between the bulbs, 25 cm between the lines, and 70 cm between the adjacent ribbons (consisting of two lines);
• three-line (for undersized lilies) - between the bulbs 10-15 cm, between the lines - 25 cm, between the ribbons - 70 cm each.

Reproduction of lilies by stem buds

Bulbs, or buds, are formed in the axils of the leaves of some species and varieties of lilies (they are called bulbous). Most often, bulbous lilies are found among Asian hybrids, although they are also in the Tubular group.

The number and size of bulbs formed on the lily stem is influenced by a number of factors: varietal characteristics, plant age, agricultural technology, the number of flowers, and environmental impacts. Young plants produce more buds than old ones. Correct agrotechnology contributes to an increase in the size of the bulbs and an increase in their number. Sufficient rainfall during the lily growth period also favors the formation of bulbs. And some varieties of lilies form bulbs only if the weather is wet for a long time.

It is possible to provoke the appearance of buds in some non-bulbous varieties of lilies, as well as to increase the size of bulbs and their number in bulbous varieties by removing the buds (decapitation). The maximum effect is achieved if the buds are removed at the beginning of their formation. Later decapitation - in the phase of a colored bud or during blooming - affects the formation of bulbs to a lesser extent (or does not affect at all).

With proper agricultural technology, in the first half of August, bulbs of lilies from the Asian hybrids group develop air roots and leaf rudiments.

I prepare boxes 70x20 cm in size and 12 cm high for planting lily bulbs. At the bottom of the boxes I drill several holes for water drainage and better aeration. The boxes are filled with a slightly acidic soil mixture of clay garden soil, sand, peat, humus and fresh pine sawdust (in equal parts) with the addition of wood ash.

Having collected the ripe bulbs from the stems of lilies, I immediately plant them according to varieties in grooves 2-3 cm deep, at a distance of 4 cm from each other (with this arrangement, 70 buds are left on the box). I dig the box into the ground in a semi-shady dry place in the garden. After 3-4 weeks of planting, I feed the plants with an infusion of fermented weeds in combination with an ash extract and a weak solution of potassium permanganate. In late autumn I cover the box with a dry sheet in case of a snowy winter and plastic wrap. Here, young lilies remain until mid-September next year, when I plant them in their permanent place.

Collected bulbs can be planted in open ground ridges. But in the open field, care is worse than in boxes, and it is a little more difficult to cover more rare plantings.

Before sowing, it is advisable to stratify the lily bulbs in a refrigerator (at a temperature of 3-4 ° C) for 3-4 weeks.

In the open field, the depth of planting the bulbs is 2-3 cm, the distance between the bulbs in a row is 5-6 cm, between the rows is 20-25 cm. After planting the bulbs, I water the ridge. In case of prolonged warm weather, lily shoots may appear in the same autumn.

How to dilute with bulbs?

At the base of the leaves on the stems of lilies, babies are formed - bulbs or air bulbs. In their natural environment, they themselves fall to the ground at the end of flowering and then form new plants. On a bush, there can be up to 100 pieces of such bulbs, which are excellent material for planting. The bred plants retain all the characteristics of the parent bushes. Among all methods, this one is the least expensive.

It is worth noting that plants begin to bloom only in the third season, but abundant flowering begins only in the fourth year. Not all types of lilies are adapted to the formation of bulbs. Basically, tubular lilies and Asian hybrids have such abilities. Some species form bulbs on peduncles after cutting the buds, you just need to bend them slightly and spud them with soil.

Mainly, pruning of inflorescences activates the formation of air bulbs in the depressions of the leaves, in addition, such an operation stimulates their growth.

Bulb propagation is distinguished by its simplicity. They fall off themselves 2-3 weeks after the lilies have faded, so you need to have time to collect the bulbs before this time. They should be easy to separate from the peduncle and have small roots - this indicates their ability to root. The size of mature bulbs is 3-8 mm, there can be 2-3 of them on one sheet. The future planting material is soaked in Fundazole for about 2 hours and then planted in holes 5-10 mm deep with a distance of 8-10 cm.

In addition, the planting area should be well loosened and weed-free. The planted bulbs are moistened, and before the onset of cold weather they are well covered with mulch. In the spring, when the threat of frost has passed, the shelter is removed, the plants are watered and weeded. During the first year, only leaves appear in the flower, they can grow up to 20 cm, the bulb also grows and has already 10-12 mm. In the fall, such sprouts are already completely ready for transplanting to a flower bed.

In the second year, the plant has a stem with leaves, on which new bulbs begin to form. A lily blooms, grown in this way in the third season, the bulb grows to 25-30 mm, and the stem can already reach 50 cm. In the fourth year, the lily becomes a fully mature flower with all species characteristics.

Reproduction of lilies

Lilies are propagated by the seed method, by dividing the nests (we have already described this method), by bulbs, scales, as well as stem and leaf cuttings.

Seed breeding method of lilies

A lot of healthy planting material can be obtained from the seeds of lilies, however, with this method of propagation, only a few lilies retain varietal qualities, including some specially treated American varieties. Basically, seedlings do not inherit the characteristics of the parent plant.

The peculiarity of the propagation of lilies by seeds is that some species germinate on the soil surface, while others begin to form bulbs from the seed directly underground. Species with an aboveground germination type are sown in February or March, and those that grow underground - immediately after seed collection. Contain crops at a temperature of -1-2 ºC. When dense shoots appear, they dive

Watering the seedlings should be done carefully so that the seedlings do not die. In the middle of spring, boxes with crops are taken out to greenhouses, and in the second half of May, seedlings are planted in open ground.

Propagation of lilies by bulbs

In some types of lilies (red, tiger, Sargent, countless-leaved and their hybrids), so-called bulbs, or air bulbs, form in the leaf axils at the end of flowering. After they crumble, they are collected, planted in open ground in grooves 2-3 cm deep, located at a distance of 20-25 cm from each other. The distance between the bulbs in a row is 5-6 cm. If the autumn is warm and long, then seedlings may appear in the current year. In the third year after planting, the lilies from the bulbs already form rather large bulbs that can be planted in a permanent place.

Reproduction of lilies by scales

Some lilies can reproduce with bulbous scales, which makes it possible to get from 20 to 50 plants from one bulb. However, this method has not yet received widespread acceptance.

Scales are harvested in spring, summer or autumn, but reproduction is preferable in autumn. The onion extracted from the ground is taken apart into scales.Since there can be pathogens on the scales, they are placed for a while in a plastic bag with a powder fungicide or washed in a pink solution of potassium permanganate, dried, and then buried in a nutritious soil mixture laid in a box 2/3 of the height, and sprinkled with sand on top. Seedlings can be expected in 6-8 weeks. Over time, small bulbs develop on the scales, and then the scales are separated, and the bulbs are grown to the desired size.

Propagation of lilies by cuttings

Lilies such as white, tiger and royal, due to the too slow development of their bulbs, are best propagated by cuttings. To do this, you will need a box filled with a mixture of humus, sand and peat chips, in which you plant a lily leaf, torn off or cut with a heel, or a piece of stem with a dormant bud, at an angle. When used as a cutting of a whole stem separated from the bulb, it is laid horizontally in a groove up to 15 cm deep, leaving the top above the surface, and the groove is filled up. After planting, the substrate is moistened. After a month, bulbs will form in the axils, and roots will appear at the stem. After ripening, the bulbs are separated and planted for growing. Keep the box of cuttings in a warm, bright place.

Features of growing lilies from seeds

After flowering, seeds are formed in capsules, which, as can be seen in the photo, burst after ripening. Seed propagation of lilies is the most laborious process. It will take longer than usual to wait for the lilies bred in this way to bloom. Before sowing seeds, you need to know the type of lily in order to determine which method of germination is characteristic of the flower: aboveground or underground. This will simplify further plant care.

Lily seeds quickly lose their germination, so they must be sown no later than two years after harvest. Before planting, it is recommended to treat the seeds with 1% hydrogen peroxide solution, and then soak them in water for 10-15 hours.

This procedure has a positive effect on the rate of seed germination and reduces the risk of future diseases.

Sowing seeds is carried out in late February or early March. To do this, use soil, which includes sand and leafy earth. The substrate for growing lilies can also include components such as:

• peat;
• humus;
• mineral fertilizers - nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus.

In order to grow a flower from seeds, you will need a wooden box or other container, the depth of which is at least 10 cm. You need to sow seeds into the soil to a depth of 0.5-1 cm, and then sprinkle with sand. After that, the container is covered with glass or polyethylene. The soil must be regularly moistened using a spray bottle with warm soft water, preventing the soil from drying out.

The container in which the seeds are located must be covered constantly, until the first shoots appear.

After that, you can remove the film for 2-4 hours a day, and when 3-4 sheets appear, remove it completely. During germination, the seedlings should be in a place with bright but diffused sunlight at a temperature of 15-20˚C. When the first leaves appear on the seedlings, they need to be planted in separate small pots with light soil. Maintenance should remain the same, but the soil should be loosened periodically.

Planting young plants in open ground takes place in late spring or early summer. When seating, you should maintain a distance of 30 cm between the holes. The planting site should be well lit, and the soil should be rich in trace elements. Frequent watering may be needed during summer.

You need to loosen the ground carefully so as not to hurt the roots of the plant. It is possible to plant seedlings in open ground in late autumn, but in this case, the soil must be covered with needles or leaves, carefully warmed for the winter

Selection and preparation of planting material

It is not difficult to propagate lilies with scales at home, but you need to do it right.An important point is the preparation of planting material.

The scales must be carefully separated from the bulb, while making sure that a piece of the bottom remains. This method is also valuable in that the bulbs are often damaged by rodents, and in this form they cannot be used, but they are excellent for obtaining scales, despite their size.

Sometimes on sale you can find discounted bulbs, which visually literally fall apart. It should be noted that this is the most convenient for separating the flakes, and discounts often at more than half the cost are an excellent bonus. This planting material is very profitable.

However, the bulb will need to be protected, otherwise it may suffer from the separation of the scales. For this, you can use a fungicidal agent. Furacilin solution is perfect. You can also use coal or ash, if we are talking about private property, which has a furnace. In this case, the cooled coal will need to be finely crushed, and then sprinkled on top of the wounds of the bulbs that formed after removing the scales. It should be noted that such planting material will be perfectly preserved if it is placed in a moist substrate before planting can be carried out.

Further, the question arises of processing the scales themselves. It is required to carry it out as quickly as possible in order to avoid the occurrence of various diseases. In this case, the same fungicidal agent is used. The damaged areas must be removed, and the flake itself must be carefully disinfected.

In order for the scales to germinate, they need a certain substrate. You can use, for example, coconut fiber or sawdust. Some people prefer to use special moss or coarse peat. If sphagnum moss cannot be purchased, the usual one, which can be found in the forest, will do. However, the flakes will need a loose substrate, so this moss needs to be divided into small particles. If everything is done correctly, babies will appear soon.

When the preparations are finished, the substrate is placed in a cellophane bag. Next, it will need to be slightly moistened, after which the scales are placed inside. They need to be laid so as to exclude contact with each other. You can make several layers that will be covered with some material. When the procedure is over, the bag is closed and put into a box, which will protect the onions from damage. There they will be in a comfortable position during the inspection.

Lilies can be propagated with scales both in the spring and in the autumn. When it was decided to carry out the procedure in the spring, the bag should be kept in a warm place. You can place it in the kitchen. In the second case, a refrigerator or some cool room will do. If you leave the material at home warm, the scales will germinate too quickly, and you will have to arrange additional lighting for them.

Features of cuttings of lilies with scales

From the school course of botany, you can recall that the scales of bulbous plants are modified leaves with a large supply of nutrients and water. That is, a separate scale is the same leaf at the base of which a small bulb can form - as at the base of a tiger lily leaf. And, unlike a green leaf, the flake will not dry out when the humidity decreases and will not be eaten by pests. Observations have established that a bulb at the base of a scale placed in the soil can form even under conditions of periodic decrease in moisture and drying out of the soil. Therefore, this method of propagation is the best option for obtaining new lily bulbs.

The technique of reproduction of lilies with scales

It is best to separate the lily scales from the bulbs at the beginning of the growing season, before the stem begins to grow. Then they contain the largest supply of nutrients and a lot of moisture. This applies to cases where lily bulbs are not dug up for the winter and hibernate in the ground, as well as bulbs purchased for planting in the spring.If the bulb is dug out, then it is not at all difficult to separate several scales from it, you just need to break off several large scales closer to their base. They usually shrink slightly and are loosely located, acquiring sufficient mobility and are easy to break off at the very base. It is necessary to choose intact scales without drying out the tips and without signs of decay.

How to separate lily scales from a bulb

It is more difficult to separate the scales from the overwintered bulb. Firstly, you first need to carefully dig it out without damaging the roots and the scales themselves. This is easier to do if you work not only with a shovel, but with a water jet - water from a hose under a slight pressure will help you quickly get to the scales and wash out the soil accumulated between them. There is a lot of water in the lily bulb overwintered in the ground, so the scales are very dense and become very fragile. Therefore, it is very difficult to break them off at the base. Often half or even the tip breaks off. Therefore, you do not need to try to immediately break off the largest ones from the middle, but separate the lower bulbs. You can safely separate a dozen scales.

Processing lily scales before planting

The next desirable, but not required, step is the treatment of lily scales in a solution of heteroauxin. This is a root formation stimulant, which is available in the form of a solution, powder and tablets, depending on the form of release, the recommendations for choosing the concentration of the solution and the duration of treatment may differ.

1 Reproduction by scales

Lily bulbs consist of several thick and juicy scales attached to a common bottom with roots. They can be used to grow bulbs. This type of lily reproduction is the most versatile and is applicable in cases where lily varieties do not form stem bulbs or give few babies on the bulb.

The advantage of reproduction by scales is that they can be planted all year round.

But it is best to do this at the beginning of spring, during the period of the greatest biological activity of plants. Lilies can be propagated in this way if the planting of the bulbs could not be done in the fall or the planting material was purchased too early. As a result, you can get a very large number of bulbs, since on each scale of them 2-3 pieces are formed, and sometimes up to 6 pieces.

The procedure for preparing the scales is as follows:

1. 1. Dig out the mother bulb in the spring.
2. 2. Inspect it for rot and other diseases. It is necessary to select the largest and healthiest bulbs and clean them from the soil by rinsing in water.
3. 3. Press lightly on the base of the flake to detach it. Usually, for reproduction of lilies in this way, no more than 6 scales are taken from the bulb. But if it is urgently necessary to multiply a variety of plants in large quantities, then it is allowed to separate up to 50% of all scales.
4. 4. The resulting flakes must be inspected and washed again.
5. 5. The place of breaking off should be sprinkled with charcoal, and it is better to keep them in a strong solution of potassium permanganate (bright pink) for 6 hours for the prevention of diseases.
6. 6. In order to accelerate the formation of bulbs, the scales are placed for 12 hours in a solution of Heteroauxin (1 tablet per 1 liter of water), 0.01% solution of Krezacin or powdered with Kornevin. The use of growth stimulants allows you to increase the number of formed bulbs up to 3 times.
7. 7. Next, the flakes are placed in a plastic bag in a substrate capable of retaining moisture for a long time - sphagnum moss, peat, sand. For these purposes, you can use perlite sold in gardening stores. It is one of the best natural hydroponic substrates and is characterized by good capillary water permeability and sterility. First, you need to moisten it a little with water.
8. 8. The package is removed in a dark place until the formation of bulbs on the scales. During storage, care must be taken that the planting material does not dry out.It is recommended to periodically spray the scales with a solution of potassium permanganate and Heteroauxin.

After 4-12 weeks, very small bulbs appear on the scales. The scales, along with the bulbs, are planted in pots or boxes with soil, and if the work was carried out at the end of winter and the soil outside has already warmed up, the spring frosts have passed, then you can plant them in the garden. The planting depth should be one and a half the length of the flake. They need to be planted in places protected from wind and sun, because they do not have a dense skin that protects them from drying out. After planting, the ground is watered.

Since the bulbs have a very weak root system, they cannot be loosened; instead, the planted sprouts are mulched with fine peat chips or humus. The soil for planting the scales must be light and permeable, otherwise stagnant water can lead to their deterioration. Next, the usual care of the lilies is carried out: regular watering, fertilizing with fertilizers and treatment from diseases and pests.

If the scales are well preserved during germination, then the bulbs are carefully separated, and they can be reused. It is recommended to periodically feed scales planted in pots with weak solutions of nitrogen-containing fertilizers. Potted flower seedlings are planted in the ground in a similar way

Potted flower seedlings are planted in the ground in a similar way

It is recommended to periodically feed scales planted in pots with weak solutions of nitrogen-containing fertilizers. Potted flower seedlings are planted in the ground in a similar way.

By autumn, the bulbs reach a diameter of 1-2 cm.If they germinated in boxes, then they are transplanted into beds with a mixture of moss and sand, the embedding depth is 5-6 cm.For the winter, they are protected by spruce branches, a layer of humus of at least 5 cm or others insulating materials.

A year after planting in open ground, the plant can already give the first small flowers, but it is better to break them off so that the root system develops. By the third year of life, a lily planted with scales forms a full-fledged large bulb and the plants bloom profusely.