Hello, again newbie to lilies so just found out about the seed exchange, its late in the spring season, bulbs are now generally "out of season" and I'd assume they would align somewhat with seed sowing also. So question is if I bought seeds today and they arrive in (x? amount, anyone with experience that) of time, would it be safe to sow the seeds now given that Autumn here (sydney) doesn't really get that cold so the growing season may be quite long compared with most on here. Or should they just be freezer until next year or should I just wait til next year's seed exhange? Access to tetraploid cultivars seems pretty limited here and trumpets don't really seem available.....but there's a lot of both on the seed exchange so trying to figure it all out.

Thank you.

Are you planning to grow the seedlings outdoors or indoors? If you plan on growing them indoors you can probably start them under lighting any time of the year. I started a batch of seeds indoors 14 months ago (late summer/autumn) under fluorescent lights, and moved them outdoors 6 months ago (spring/early summer). Most of the seedlings have 1+ cm diameter bulbs.

Hi Protoavis, I'm no expert but I do grow lilies from seed, in Tasmania. I've finished planting now, except for any stray pods in lost envelopes I find stuffed away on a shelf somewhere. (Organisation is not my strong point.) It's still a great time to plant. I've planted odd bits of seed all through summer and they do fine. Our winters aren't really cold enough to harm small baby bulbs.

I often get seed from both the NALS and RHS Lily Group exchanges. From experience, it could take 5-6 weeks for a NALS order to arrive in Australia, but I always order during the rush - maybe it doesn't take as long to process in the quiet season.

dellac said:From experience, it could take 5-6 weeks for a NALS order to arrive in Australia, but I always order during the rush - maybe it doesn't take as long to process in the quiet season.

Just an updated on this.

Nope, still the same. Ordered 22nd Oct, arrived last week. Although to be fair I'm not sure it was posted until mid Nov, USPS stamp is 18 Nov. So actual post time less than 2 weeks it seems and given it has "ATTN. QUARANTINE SERVICE" and "Seed" all over the envelope, is super quick through Australian customs.