Alright. Thank you Joe

Finally managed to get a decent photo of my L. martagon seedlings:



This one's even manged to lift the seed husk (there's a second one that has germinated to the left, if you look closely, but the cotelydon is nowhere as near as thick):

They look really healthy and robust, and they're doing exactly what they are supposed to do! Bravo!

It's good to have the feedback.

Leftwood said:Oops! I'm too late to influence you, Della, but useful information, anyway:



If you're afraid the imbibed seed will internally "explode" from freezing water, there should be no worries there. Many seeds in the wild, including Lilium, must absorb water before cold and freezing in the winter. (Think DE germination and normal cold stratification in cold climates.) The problem I see is that it's way too cold to keep them in the freezer, and may be too warm to keep them in the fridge. It's very satisfying growing things in the winter, but if you want less hassle and space allows, I would opt for the fridge. You will need to periodically check for growth through the winter; depending on parentage, some may sprout in the fridge (but much later), at which time you will have to grow them inside with light until spring.

I am thinking more about how broadly I can apply this recommendation to the Lilium genus. I wondered how many examples I have of Lilium spp. seed normally from warmer (than me - zone 4) climates corroborate. To do this exemplifies how good record keeping is necessary, and comes in handily.

So not to mention the dozens of closely related Fritillaria, Cardiocrinum and Nomocharis spp., these are the imbibed Lilium spp. seed I personally have had go through at least one zone 4 winter and then sprout:
lancifolium (diploid)
leichtlinii
lijiangense
mackliniae
maculatum
oxypetalum
philadelphicum
pomponium
pyrenaicum
taliense
xanthellum

except for leichtlinii, pomponium and pyrenaicum, all of these emerged in both the first and second year.

Incidentally, from the beginning with my record keeping, when seed comes up the following year or later, the record is highlighted in red. That made the above list very simple to compile. Believe me, anything you can do now to make things more easily searchable later, will really pay off!

Great information!

So I could have kept these guys in the fridge in damp peat with a good chance of holding off their germination till spring? And they might even be fine subjected to freezing conditions as long as it isn't too cold. (Such as the deep freeze might be...). Basically I need to keep their seed box as cold as possible now (but not frozen solid) to hold off germination until growing conditions are warming again.

Unfortunately our winters don't get that cold, so I'm can't think of anywhere that would have been as good as the fridge! Oh well... definitely filed for next time. Or experimentation, because it's intriguing and hopefully I won't be dropping seed pods too often!

Della, I should think that frozen solid soil would be fine for imbibed seeds, too, as long as they haven't actually germinated. (I mean the real germination of the seed, not the emergence above ground.) All of the previously mentioned species' seed were frozen in soil in pots before they were covered for the winter. But I wouldn't do it with more "tropical" species, like neilgherrense, poilanei, nobilissimum and alexandrae, and I don't have any experience with trumpets.

It's a tough call for you, because with me the imbibed seeds that went through a winter were planted the previous spring, and for whatever reason decided not to germinate until after a cold period. You will likely have some seed that act the same way, but more that will want to get going right away, and what would happen to them? I'm not sure.

This experiment will definitely be one for your diary of lily culture, whatever the results.

keithp2012 said:My hybrid lily seedlings are getting bulbils which im very happy about! Guess they take after the seed parent! One has whitish leaves on top, what causes this?

Keith, I think there was just some temporary severe adverse conditions at the critical time of growth of those whitish leaves. Perhaps a period of very dry or very hot or both? At any rate, the plant seems to be fine now.

Keith, who are the parents? Just wondering if it they are from something I sent you...

pardalinum said:Keith, who are the parents? Just wondering if it they are from something I sent you...

These are ones I crossed from my yard.

An interesting experiment indeed, Rick! These are Division VI seeds. Left to nature the seeds will repeatedly get frozen and defrosted over winter - we just don't get cold enough for even soil temps. I suspect that some will germinate sooner and some later when spring warms up. When germination starts I'll have to keep the frost off. That's if they don't all rot - we're getting substantial rains now and everything is saturated. The landscape is spouting excess water everywhere!

Della, I suspect the corflute will keep the rain out? As you know, seeds need enough water to germinate with, and will just sit and wait until they get it. If only there were a way to keep the soil at that critical stage - enough moisture to prevent dehydration and not enough to stimulate germination. Maybe Lorn has some insight, whether this is even possible or advisable for division VI. Trust your instincts, and you'll be surprised how things seem to work out, as planned(usually) or not!

I bought several simple minimum/maximum thermometers to record temps in boxes, etc. just like this, or in the garage, in the shed, etc. Sometimes they support my expectations, and sometimes not! Concrete data is so useful: at least there is one less variable in your guesswork.

The corflute was blown off in the fierce winds that brought the rain! I thought I had it weighted down but obviously not enough. 'Soggy' would be a good description of the situation now.

Leftwood said:Regarding the L. japonicum seed: try lowering the temperature to 60°F(16°C). If the seed turns from cloudy-translucent to clear-translucent, that's a good sign.

Well, sometime in the last week the L. japonicum seed germinated! Checked today and found that two had germinated. Can't see three of the six in the bag, so not sure about them. The last one I assume died some time ago, as it has been dark-coloured for weeks and hasn't germinated.

I'm going to try doing some lilies from seed during the winter. NALS sent me some seeds when I signed up, and i ordered some seeds from them as well. Including some Griesbach tetras and a few from Jim Ault

Is it good to sow lilies now?

It was nice to meet you the other day Lily. I would say no for the seeds.
If they are epigeal, (asiatics, trumpets, OT's) I would say to plant them Jan to Feb next year. If you are talking about hypogeal seeds (martagons, orientals and others) I would wait til August or September to put in baggies for 3 months and then you could put them in the fridge for another three which would let you plant them in potting soil just when you'd be starting your epigeal seeds.

It was nice to meet you too Joe. Thank you for your advice. I am getting back to the grove of growing lilies from a few years hiatus.

Anyone ever use liquid kelp for seedling foliar feeding?

Yes.but a very weak mix..