How to propagate lilies?

Lily has always been considered a symbol of purity. Its flowers are white in color and have a pleasant fragrance, making them of great ornamental value. It is a common and precious potted flower and is also one of the top ten famous cut flowers in the world. So how do lilies reproduce? Let’s learn more about it below.

Lily breeding time

Lily is suitable for breeding in autumn, preferably from September to October. The climate at this time is more suitable and the survival rate of breeding is higher.

Lily propagation method

Lily reproduction methods can be divided into sexual reproduction and asexual reproduction. The breeding points are as follows:

1. Sexual reproduction

Propagated by sowing during the sexual reproduction season. The mature seeds are collected in autumn and sown in the seedbed, and small bulbs will be produced in the autumn of the following year. However, this method takes a long time, the species is prone to change, and is relatively rarely used in production.

2. Asexual reproduction

(1) Scale propagation: Dig up the lily bulbs in autumn, remove the dry scales on the outside, and peel off the second and third layers of scales. It is best if the scales are thick and have some disc base. Such scales store more nutrients and are easier to germinate bulbs. Clean the peeled scales, then plant them in the culture soil, leaving half of them exposed outside the soil. Keep the soil moist, control the temperature at around 20℃, and wait for 15-20 minutes, then you will see small bulbs emerging.

(2) Bulb propagation: Bulb propagation refers to the growth of multiple new small bulbs on the stem axis of the old lily bulb. These small bulbs can be collected, disinfected, and sown according to the row spacing. After one year of cultivation, some of them can reach the bulb standard (50 grams), and the smaller ones need to continue to be cultivated for another year before being used as seeds.

(3) Propagation by bulbils: Bulbils are small corms or bulblets that grow in the leaf axils or inflorescences of plants. When they grow and mature, they will fall off naturally, usually in summer. Therefore, harvest mature lily bulbils in summer (mature lily bulbils are purple-black), and then sow the bulbils from late September to early October, and cover them with about 3 cm of soil after sowing. It grows very fast. For example, Fritillaria lily can grow into small bulbs with a diameter of 2-3 cm by autumn, and can bloom after another year of cultivation.

In general, there are many methods for breeding lilies, each of which has its own advantages and disadvantages. Different methods are suitable for different lily varieties and breeding purposes. In actual operation, it is recommended that everyone should choose the appropriate breeding method according to the specific situation.