How to propagate lilies

Lilies are luxuriously flowering perennials that have many admirers. The easiest way to grow a lily is to buy a bulb from a store or garden center and plant it in the ground in spring or autumn. But the prices for lily bulbs, especially new beautiful varieties, are so high that not everyone can afford to buy them in sufficient quantities. But what a pleasant surprise it will be to learn that lilies are not only unpretentious flowers, they also reproduce very easily, and there are so many breeding methods that everyone can find the most suitable for their conditions.

Reproduction of lilies by dividing the bush

This method is rightly considered the easiest and most accessible even for those who have never dealt with lilies before. Lilies, like most perennials, grow over time and if they are not replanted, then in a few years several bulbs may form in the nest. Their number is quite easily determined by the number of stems that grow out of the ground in spring.

Therefore, once every 3-4 years in late summer or autumn, a lily bush is dug up with a pitchfork, carefully divided into separate bulbs and planted each in a separate new place. If you act carefully, then the plants are practically not disturbed, and next season they will already bloom actively and profusely.

This method is good for everyone, except that you will not get many lilies at once in this way. In addition, not all varieties of lilies form replacement bulbs. Propagation of some species, for example, tubular and oriental hybrids, is difficult in this way, because they form few and rare bulbs.

How to propagate lilies with children

The method may somewhat resemble the previous one, since it is also necessary to dig up a bush in the fall and inspect it in search of small bulbs that can and should be used for propagation. The main difference is that these small daughter bulbs are formed on the underground part of the stem; in some varieties of lilies (for example, Asian hybrids), a lot of them can form in one season – up to several dozen.

But at the same time, they are still not large enough to fully bloom next year. Baby bulbs are separated from the mother stem and planted on a separate bed, to a depth of about 3 cm, thoroughly cleaned of weeds, and well covered for the winter with fallen leaves or straw. All next year they will be recruited to grow and gain strength.

It should be noted that the mother lily bulb can be left in its original place or transplanted to another flower bed – its development and flowering next year will not be affected in any way.

In autumn, already well-formed bulbs can be planted in specially planned places for them, in flower beds and in mixborders, so that next summer they would delight you with their flowering.

Easily form baby bulbs such types of lilies as: Canadian, golden, beautiful, long-flowered, tiger, leopard.

Reproduction of lilies by bulbs

The variety of lilies and, accordingly, the methods of their reproduction is impressive: some, as mentioned above, form after flowering and seed formation, replacing the bulbs, others do not form them. For some, a whole family of children is formed every year at the underground base of the stem, and there are those in which children are formed directly in the axils of the leaves of the outer stems. They are usually called bulbs or air bulbs. Under natural conditions, after the flowering of the lily, they simply fall to the ground, take root and germinate in the form of new plants. There can be up to 100 of them on one plant.

Of course, for a gardener, bulbs are an excellent planting material, allowing you to get a lot of lilies that retain all the properties of the mother plant. In addition, among the many ways to propagate lilies, this is one of the most cost-effective. True, flowers are usually formed only in the third year, and full-fledged abundant flowering can be expected only in the fourth season.

But not all lilies are able to form them. Typically, this ability is distinguished by Tubular and Asian hybrids, as well as species such as: tiger, Sargent, bulbous, sulphurous.

Some types of lilies (Long-flowered, saffron, Thunberg, Formosan, snow-white, umbrella) will be able to form bulbs on the stems if they cut off their buds, and the stems are slightly bent to the ground and sprinkled with earth.

In general, simply removing the buds stimulates the formation of air bulbs in the axils of the stem, in addition, from this procedure they grow larger.

The process of propagating lilies with bulbs is very simple. Usually, 2-3 weeks after the end of the flowering of lilies, they themselves crumble, so it is important to have time to collect them before this moment. The ease of separation of the bulbs from the stem and the formation of small roots on them serves as a signal of their maturity. Their sizes can vary from 3 to 8 mm in diameter. There are usually 2-3 bulbs at the base of each leaf. First, they are collected in a separate container. Special beds are prepared in advance for growing, so that it is easier to care for them, and they would not be lost among the weeds.

The collected bulbs are soaked for 2 hours in a 0,2% solution of foundationazole and planted to a depth of 5-10 mm at a distance of 8-10 cm from each other. You can leave 20 cm between rows. Plantings are shed and mulched with straw, dry leaves or peat before the onset of cold weather. In the spring, the mulch is removed and watered, and young lily plants are weeded as needed. In the first year, lilies grow only leaves without a pronounced stem up to 20 cm high, the bulb reaches a size of 10-12 mm. In autumn, they can already be planted in a permanent place, in a flower bed.

In the second season, the lilies already form a stem with leaves up to 25-30 cm high, on which bulbs may already begin to appear. Flowers are formed, as a rule, in the third year after planting, when the bulbs reach a size of 25-30 mm, and the stem grows up to 50 cm in height. From the fourth season, lilies reach the state of fully developed, adult plants with large bulbs.

How to propagate lilies from stem cuttings

If you want to quickly propagate lilies and are thinking about how to do it, then take note of the following method.

In the spring, a young flower shoot is carefully separated from the lily. It is desirable that it be no more than 10-15 cm in height. The shoot is treated with root and immediately planted in a spacious pot with drained and nutritious soil, or, if weather conditions allow, immediately into the ground, pouring a little sand into the hole.

After abundant watering, the shoot is covered on top with a plastic bottle with a cut off bottom and without a lid. It will serve as a mini-greenhouse for better rooting of the lily stem. If the soil is not allowed to dry out, then the rooting of the shoot will occur in 1,5-2 weeks, and after a few more weeks, bulbs will begin to form near its base. Then the bottle can be removed, and the shoot itself can be sprinkled with light earth to increase the number of bulbs formed.

In August, the formed bulbs can be separated and planted separately for growing. Flowers with this method of reproduction may appear as early as the next, or the second year after planting.

Obtaining new lily plants from a flower shoot

The most interesting thing is that lilies can also be propagated by cuttings after flowering. Moreover, you can try to use this method to propagate lilies from a bouquet that was presented to you for some kind of celebration.

After the lily blooms in your garden, completely cut off its peduncle along with the leaves (stump, 15-20 cm in size, it is better to leave it so as not to forget about the place of planting the bulb) or take a flower shoot from a wilted bouquet.

In a shady place of the site, pull out a small groove, about 2 cm deep, and equal to the length of the cut shoot. The earth should be loose, light, but quite nutritious. Lay the flower shoot of the lily horizontally in this groove and fall asleep on top with a light, loose earth mixture. After that, spill everything abundantly with a solution of a stimulant (Epin, HB-101, Zircon, succinic acid). It is better if it is possible to cover the landing site with a film or lutrasil on small arcs. After two months, small onions should form on the stem, which are best not touched until next spring. For the winter, the landing site is plentifully mulched with peat, humus or sawdust.

The next spring, the bulbs can already be planted in a permanent place in the garden or in growing containers in the greenhouse or on the balcony.

How to propagate lilies with leaves

Lilies can be propagated even by leaves. And it is best to apply this method to lilies: Snow-white, tiger, Regal, Maksimovich, Thunberg, long-flowered and sulfur-flowered.

If your friends or neighbors grow lilies of the varieties listed above, then ask them to carefully pick a few leaves with a base from the top of the stem during the formation of buds and plant them, deepening half the length in an inclined position. It is better to plant them in a container with drainage holes, into which pour 5-6 cm of loose soil, and 3-4 cm of wet river sand on top.

The container must be covered with a bag, which must be removed and turned over every day, removing accumulated moisture.

After about a month, small bulbs form at the base of the leaves, then the package can be removed. For the winter, the container is placed in a frost-free room or buried in the garden with insulation from fallen leaves on top.

The following year, in spring or autumn, the bulbs can already be planted in the garden in a flower bed.

Reproduction of lilies with scales

This method of reproduction of lilies is the most popular among flower growers, primarily because it can be used all year round, even in winter.

In this case, you can get a large amount of planting material and save the mother bulb for flowering.

Its meaning lies in the fact that external scales are used for reproduction, which make up the lily bulb. Without harm to the health of the mother bulb, up to 1/3 of its scales can be used. The outermost layers turn out to be the most productive – on each such scale, under favorable conditions, up to 5-7 bulbs can form.

Lilies from scales can be obtained in one year, however, they will most likely bloom in the second or even third year.

Already in early spring or even at the end of winter, you can buy lily bulbs of various varieties in garden stores. And from each of the most valuable varieties, you can get about a dozen or more scales.

How can you germinate lily scales? First, carefully separate the required number of scales from the bulb, starting from the outermost ones. They are strongly deviated from the mother bulb, and it is not difficult to separate them. Then prepare a tight plastic bag or other plastic container in which you do not mind making holes so that future young plants can breathe. Any loose substance can serve as a filler – it is ideal to use sphagnum moss, coconut substrate, vermiculite and even peat for germination. Sometimes they use the usual peat mixture for growing seedlings.

The container or bag is filled with the filler of your choice, separated lily scales are placed in it and slightly covered with a moist substrate. The package is tied, holes are made in it, and it is placed for about a month in a warm room with a temperature of about +22°+24°C.  

The video below shows in detail how to propagate lilies with scales.

After about a month, you can already observe how the first bulbs begin to appear on the scales. They grow intensively and they have tiny roots. After 1,5-2 months they can be seated in separate pots.

True, the first flowering will have to wait at least another one or even two years.

In the video below for beginner flower growers, you can see the process of reproduction of lilies with scales in the form of a continuation of planting them in the spring.

For many gardeners and summer residents, it is convenient to start breeding lilies with scales in the fall, when lily bushes are dug up for transplanting, seating or keeping at home (for non-hardy varieties).

The whole process is repeated with only one feature that a month after the appearance of the bulbs on the scales, it is advisable to place them in a cooler room with a temperature of about + 17 ° C.

Reproduction of lilies by seeds at home

The seed method is suitable only for species lilies, the seedlings of which are able to repeat the main parental characteristics. Hybrid varieties of lilies are useless to propagate using seeds.

Of course, propagating lilies from seeds is a long and troublesome process that breeders usually use when breeding new varieties, but if you want to get a large number of strong and healthy seedlings that are most adapted to your conditions, then why not try. Just keep in mind that some types of lilies (long-flowered, snow-white, Canadian, luxurious, special, Hanson) will require artificial pollination from you in order to get viable seeds. Henry, Tibetan, Uiolmott, saffron, Martagon, Dahurian, Regal, drooping, Maksimovich, monochromatic lilies give many valuable seeds.

All lily seeds are divided into two groups according to the method of germination:

• elevated – when the cotyledon leaf immediately comes to the surface and turns green
• underground – when the cotyledons germinate and remain in the soil, and the first true leaf appears on the surface of the soil.

If there are a lot of seeds, then it is better to sow them immediately in open ground on prepared beds. In the case of a small amount of seeds, they are sown in boxes and then dive into pots, like ordinary flower seedlings. It should be remembered that from the moment of seed germination to flowering, five to seven years can pass. Care for growing seedlings is traditional: watering, fertilizing, weeding.

Propagation of lilies in the spring by preparing the bottom of the bulb

There is another rather exotic way of breeding lilies. In the spring, the bottom of a large bulb is carefully cut out, and then it is planted in the ground with the crown down, and the lower part without the bottom should be at the top. In summer, the bulb will only need watering; when winter sets in, the planting must be well insulated.

In the spring, all the bulbs formed by this time should be planted in a bed for growing. True, the mother bulb dies as a result. But the number of children obtained is several times higher than the number that can be obtained from reproduction by scales.

Conclusion

A variety of lily propagation methods makes it possible for even the most inexperienced grower to soon decorate his garden with many luxurious flowers, and without much financial investment.

The most comprehensive article on lily propagation, detailing 9 methods with instructions and descriptions of the advantages and disadvantages of each method.