Lilium 2017

[fermi de Sousa]

Lilium leichtlinii is now in flower in our garden. This is its second year to flower though we did have it previously in another part of the garden.
In our climate we can only grow liliums with supplementary watering during the summer,
cheers
fermi

[Cfred72]

Fermi, if you knew how I rejoice to be able to water again in the sun. As I rejoice to see my Lilium leichtlini bloom again. With us it is the snow that falls this morning. It is almost eight in the morning. It's still dark. It is -5 ° C. Freezing rain is expected this afternoon.
Your Lilium is beautiful.

[barnclos]

This is my first post, so apologies if I'm repeating an old question or posting in the wrong place.
I planted seed of some delayed hypogeal lilies (martagon, canadense & kesselringianum) in September. I planted half the seed in pots, half in ziplock bags with perlite and I can see that those in the bags have all produced bulbils (martagon after 10 days, canadense 71 days & kesselringianum 24 days). I don't have space in my fridge for all of them, but I do have two other possibilities for their cold phase:
- in a cold frame, where the temperature will very occasionally go below zero (0 to -2 °C is typical outside night temperature, so the cold frame temperature is just above freezing, although it was -8 °C last night)
- a frost-free greenhouse, which is insulated and has a small gas heater to keep it above zero, but which occasionally gets up to 18 °C if it is a bright sunny day and I am not around to open doors and vent.

So my question is: is it preferable to put the seeds in the cold frame (risk of freezing) or greenhouse (risk of 18 °C day temperatures)? Too cold, or too hot? Or should I buy a new fridge? 

Many thanks in advance for any advice you can give me.

Keith


p.s. as this is my first post, a quick introduction. Originally from the east coast of Scotland, I now live in Switzerland. I have the progeny of L. regale bulbs which left the UK with me 25 years ago, as well as a small number of martagons, candidum, longiflorum and some commercial hybrids. I'm trying to grow a number of lilium species from seed, which is proving challenging and satisfying in equal amounts. The main difficulty I've had with lily growing is the summer, which can be very dry and sunny. Lily beetle was terrible two years ago, but there were almost none last year, so who knows this year.

[Gail]

Welcome to the forum Keith.
I'm not an expert and recent lily sowing has been confined to L. candidum but personally I'd go for the cold frame. I think I've killed more plants by overcooking than freezing (apart from the pelargonium species, brugmansias etc obviously...).

[Cfred72]

Welcome Keith. I would also say cold frame with thick cover to prevent freezing.

[Maggi Young]

Hi Keith, welcome!
 I agree - cold frame - with a fleece cover over  pots and possibly overall cover for the frame if it gets really cold.

[Rick R.]

Yes, the cold frame is definitely better.  Coming from a place where freezing is inevitable, I found that freezing Ll. martagon and canadense bulbs is of no consequence, even with tiny seed bulbs and even down to -5°C (air temp around the pots).  however, they had been acclimated to the cold, not just plunked into that temperature from the warm.  With L. kesselringianum, I don't know.  Certainly, an extra "blanket" would be safe.

A martagon section hybrid seed bulbs

[barnclos]

Many thanks for your welcome, and for your replies. I have moved pots into cold frame (they have been in the greenhouse which has on average been about 4 °C, so the shock won't be enormous) and covered them with a few layers of fleece. We shall see what we shall see.

[fermi de Sousa]

Your Lilium is beautiful.

Thanks, Cfred,
here are a few others:
1) Asiatic Lilium Sweet Surrender;
2) Aisatic Lilium Red Life;
3) Asiatic Lilium Pearl Jennifer;
4) Oriental-Asiatic hybrids (mixed);
cheers
fermi

[David Nicholson]

Hello David,
Just had this message asking for help. Replies would be good.

""I'm just starting to use the Forum, and am not yet adept in any way.  For example, I haven't yet learned how to post, or to search effectively.

I am trying to get help with germinating Lilium xanthellum.  Do you have any information or tips. Hypogeal  ... epigeal etc.?

Thank you,

Ann in BC""

[ArnoldT]

Welcome Ann.
Here's a link to the PBS site:

http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/LiliumSeeds

[fermi de Sousa]

A couple of hybrids in flower at the height of summer:
1-3) O-T Lilium 'Gluhwein';
4-5) Aurelian Lilium 'Mimosa Star';
cheers
fermi

[fermi de Sousa]

Another Aurelian  Lilium 'Gold Class';
O-T Lilium 'Robert Swanson' x2
cheers
fermi

[Cfred72]

Hello,

I received seeds of Lilium lijiangense from the seed exchange SRGC 2017.
By teaching me how to sow them, I noted delayed hyppogae. Same principle as Lilium martagon. I sowed them in a room heated to form a bulbill that will move to the refrigerator about two months later.
Here is a month that the seeds are sown and I see germination as an immediate epige.
I know that some Lilium sometimes adopts several styles of germination that sometimes differ from the writings.
On the other hand, if I write 'Lilium lijiangense', there is little information. The internet search engines try to direct me to the name 'Lilium lichiangense'.
Is it a synomyme or I keep the first name?

[Rick R.]

 Lilium lijiangense always displays epigeal germination.  There can be variations within the lily epigeal group and within the hypogeal group.  For instance, a species that is known to be immediate epigeal, might occasionally comes up delayed epigeal. Martagons are known to be delayed hypogeal, but occasionally come up immediate hypogeal. But I don't think(?) it has ever been documented where an epigeal germinating species changes to hypogeal, or vice versa.

Here is my list of Lilium germination modes.  I know some of the taxonomy isn't necessarily up to date.  Those of you that recognize such incongruences will also be able to interpret the information accordingly.
 Zaa Germination & Some Footnotes Feb2017.pdf (152.41 kB - downloaded 229 times.)