I bought two L. longiflorum x L. henryi bulbs back in 2012, planted the small bulbs among my aurelian hybrids and another place in the garden, and didn't think about them anymore. Ended up burying the tags so deep that years later when they bloomed, I couldn't find the tags anymore. So I just assumed they were some henryi hybrid and the name forever lost. It never occurred to me that they could be the longiflorum x henryi cross, because there was no was no real clue of longiflorum genes in the flowers or foliage. I just figured the long./henryi crosses must have died since I couldn't find that tag anywhere, and there was nothing unusual looking growing anywhere.

When I finally got tired of those plain Jane looking henryi hybrids, I dug them up, planning to discard them. THEN I found the tags! So I still have them both, and in 2018 I moved them to a landscape shrub area where the soil is much drier and less rich. They still do almost as well there and I am happy that I don't have to reserve better garden space for them.

Today I checked my 1st box of seedlings. Lilium leucanthum var. centifolium. I found 122 bulbs. They look very nice and healthy and the size is also fantastic for majority of them.

That's a lot of seedlings! Good for you.

This is Pieton under stress

Looks pretty bad... like most of my lilies this year. I didn't get many bulbils forming though. Just from the usual suspects (Momentous etc)

Uh, my hands are swollen from digging today. An amazing day. 522 tetra regale bulbs, 320 dark form regale bulbs and 124 henryi bulbs. With 122 centifolium bulbs yesterday, that's 1088 bulbs.
Some regale bulbs:

It's a common thing for us lily people to grow way more than we have room for, but Luka, I think you win the Grand Prize!

Those bulbs sure are cute though!

Leftwood said:It's a common thing for us lily people to grow way more than we have room for, but Luka, I think you win the Grand Prize!

And I have 6 more boxes.

magnolialover said:Those bulbs sure are cute though!

I am shocked that majority of them are medium or big size because they were overcrowded. The boxes where I grow them are only 50 cm length, 30 cm wide and 10 cm deep. I found 320 bulbs (Dark form regale) in one box.

This past week I have been redoing a raised bed that has become overrun with tree roots from a nearby arborvitae and a Japanese Katsura. Among the rest, I have a few wandering species lilies, so I've had to carefully dig, inspecting each shovel of dirt, because I won't know exactly where the bulbs might be. The presence of tree roots have separated winner from loser lilies: those that tolerate heavy root competition and those that don't. So many bulbs have disappeared over time and many bulbs are quite small. I think though, that I didn't realize how dry this garden had become due to the tree roots. I think some might have done better with more water.

Basically, anything from the martagon section of lilies does fine, like these:
The natural cross of L.tsingtauense and L.distichum or L.medeoloides - cleaned up for shipment overseas.


This is one of my early hybrids, a Super Tsing open pollinated seedling. All the bulbs are from one original seedling planted in the bed in 2012. The white roots are the lilies, the dark brown roots are the trees'. You can really see what is happening in the pic looking at the root mass from below, yet the lily still blooms happily.



Another one of my hybrids planted at the same time, again from a single seedling.


Lilium distichum has continued to bloom since 2010, but in all this time, it has not increased, and has waxed and wained some.


One non-martagon that still does well is in massive tree roots is Lilium lijiangense. These six bulbs grew from one original bulb, planted in 2011, that was have the size of any of these.



Two days out of the soil, and they are already turning color:


It, and also a trumpet were the only ones left still with substantial tops.


Yin (planted in 2017) pooped out in three years, Kushi Maya has hung on since 2013, although the last two seasons it has not flowered and bulbs are small.


However Yang (also planted in 2017) has done much better.


Lilium speciosum, planted in 2014, this is the first season it has not bloomed.


I used two parts compost and one part sand as a medium in this bed. Now I will add some more fresh compost, and it will be good to go.

Very nice and healthy looking bulbs Rick.

Rick, your report is fascinating! Thank you so much for the detailed explanations. I just bookmarked this post. Its a compendium of how different species and crosses behave over time; Hardly ever reported question and very difficult to find online. For a newbie like me, it is an eyeopener.
Just as a quick update with my own experiments. Well a few of the fall inside planted Dutch origin hybrids, some did grow into blooming size: 'Sunderland' is showing off its colour just now, early spring. So is 'Litowen' . A group, grew up tall, never had blooms and finally withered. My in ground (outside planted) Asiatic Noids are showing their shoots, about half way grown in height. In my inside group there are about ten that are about that size. I suppose that now placed out they ought to follow more or less the same path and bloom naturally in summer in their pots. If not, at least, they have re-adjusted their internal calendar to the southern hemisphere seasons. I could then plant them in the ground in fall. Just a short question: those that have more or less dried out, would you pull out the bulb and replant them outside somewhere? Would you expect them to grow back again this season?
This coming week all my species seeds are being sown in pots. Still it is quite cold in the mornings with almost freezing temps, but the days are getting long and daytime temps are reaching pleasurable momments (50ºF plus).

Arturo

It's good that you are planting species seed now while it is still that cold, Arturo. Some lily species seeds benefit greatly from fluctuating temperatures, and some want to germinate more at 50-60°F than 65-70°.

Your Dutch hybrids that have died back will need a cold treatment to sprout again. About 40°F for 60 days(minimum) is optimal, temp can be as low as 30°. Otherwise, keep the bulbs warm (55° or more) and plant them outside in mid to late summer. Planting them outside now or in early summer could begin the cold treatment process because the soil has not warmed sufficiently, and you risk them finishing their cold treatment in the fall before winter arrives, and they might sprout in the fall.

If your Dutch origin hybrids that have died back are L. longiflorum or L. formosanum hybrids, they could come up again this season for you without a cold treatment. Let the soil get almost completely dry for a month (or more), and then resume normal watering.

Leftwood said:
Your Dutch hybrids that have died back will need a cold treatment to sprout again. About 40°F for 60 days(minimum) is optimal, temp can be as low as 30°. Otherwise, keep the bulbs warm (55° or more) and plant them outside in mid to late summer. Planting them outside now or in early summer could begin the cold treatment process because the soil has not warmed sufficiently, and you risk them finishing their cold treatment in the fall before winter arrives, and they might sprout in the fall.

Thank you so much for your above explanation.
With you comments I went to look carefully into my experiment. I do have a collection of surprises !!!
1. The Edge, (3 bags) completely dry by now, reached full size but didn't bloom at all. Following your advice, I'll keep it outside in a dry shaded spot and only wait to place the bulbs in the ground until temps drop down in late fall. Would you lift them and keep them inside during the summer? ( to avoid adding cold hours)
2. 'Honesty' is an LA. As I looked carefully at the dead stem just at the base new leaves ( green and healthy looking are emerging). Both bags are now placed outside in a shaded place. Would you now water them as an ordinary summer lily?
3. There are about six lilliput sprouts, just barely 2 inches above the soil level inside the bags, but with swelling flower buds. They seem they got some dwarfing ( virus?) or some other disorder. Any idea what it may be?
4. Then there are fully grown lilies that have full sized buds in the tips. They also went outside. if anything I don't want to get them the excess daytime heat to accelerate the flowering time.

All bulbs were purchased in fall but planted inside to avoid getting frozen, because of pre-treatment in origin. They readily grew as you had anticipated, although I do have a few that never sprouted. What is clear that each hybrid behaves differently. I'm very grateful that you pushed me to try them out off season, although the results are very unexpected I'm getting a feeling of to go about each of them. . My vendor has now a batch of left-overs for sale. I'm considering ordering some of these, next week, since the ground is way too cold and if they start the sprouting in 2/3 weeks then it will more or less follow my already in ground Noids.As each does whatever it wants, I'll try to post pictures here. Although I would prefer to grow many of the wild species, this first experiment with whatever is available down here has become a wealth of exposure to different growth patterns. A dive into lily world for a newbie like me....



Arturo

1. The Edge – it is still too cold outside now. You will be adding cold hours, even if they are completely dry. If you can, keep them warm (at least 55°F) all the time. The bulbs will need to stay hydrated, and the easiest way is to keep them in barely moist soil.

2. Your Honesty probably has some small stem bulblets growing from the base of the old stem. The mother bulb is still sleeping, as you would see a stalk growing from it (not just leaves). Yes, I would keep the bags outside and grow them as normal summer plants. The stem bulblets will continue to grow, and the mother bulb may or may not emerge this year. The cool weather you are having outside now might be enough of a cold treatment that it needs.

3. Your liliput lilies are dwarf lilies, but I don't think they are supposed to be that short. If the leaves have not grown to their full size before the flower buds swell, this is not normal. But, there is no reason to suspect virus. This problem is usually caused by insufficient root growth before the bulb stem emerges. Because the small amount of roots can't support both leaf/stem growth and flowers, all the energy goes to the flowers and not the leaves and stem. This imbalance is often (but not always) caused by the bulb being held in storage for too long of a time.

Since you have more than one, try this experiment: If all six have flower buds, remove all the flower buds from five of them, and leave one with the flower bud (or buds) still attached. I predict the one with the bud still attached will grow very slowly, and all the others will jump into growth.

4. Slowing the growth by lowering the temperature usually results in larger, more colorful flowers. That's a good thing, but make sure they don't freeze!

I am very happy that you are interested in more than just the flowers of a lily, Arturo. observing how and why they grow the way they do is a continual learning experience that never ends!

Leftwood said:
I am very happy that you are interested in more than just the flowers of a lily, Arturo. observing how and why they grow the way they do is a continual learning experience that never ends!

Thank you so much again for what you have explained me just above.
Well my logic says: If I'm a newbie with lilies, then the first thing I should understand is how they grow. This off-season experiment has shown me a wide diversity of behaviours and sizes.My vendor is based in Buenos Aires that has an almost tropical type of climate. Most of his customers are from around that city. Compared with you up there, it is almost like Florida. I've visited that state and it feels like BA: humid, hot or warm with very brief cold spells in winter. Inside the city it never freezes. So those pre-treated bulbs are very suited to his main market. I'm however faced with adapting those bulbs to a much more temperate condition, starting with the same material. Once I overcome this initial obstacle I suspect that some will do better than others. Then I'll be able to figure out which are worthy of keeping and multiplying, while others are discarded. If my logic is correct, at this stage, the pretty flower (which of course I enjoy) is a bonus. The real harvest is in the wealth of observations that I can make of going through this process.
This is a listing of what is now available to try out directly outside to continue my experiments:
Lilium 'Arosa'
Lilium 'Candy Club'
Lilium 'Siberia'
Lilium 'Conca d'Or'
Lilium 'Red Desire'
Lilium 'Euskadi '
Lilium 'Robina'
Lilium 'Beauty Trend'
Lilium 'The Edge'
Lilium ' Sorbonne'
Lilium 'Hotel California'
Lilium 'Gaucho'
Lilium 'Fusion'
What do you think? Fortunately the cost of these bulbs is quite attractive. Most are for less than a dollar each so it is not a costly experiment.

With the wild species (which I prefer), for the time being my options are restricted to the long process starting from seed. I've got five pots that I sowed early winter ( August 5 ) with seeds I got from @Steve2020 ( ).(L.pardalinumxkellogii; L.canadense;L.pardalinum;L.macklinae (2 sources) Now I'm sowing the remainder of his plus from other sources like the SRGC seedex, Jelitto etc. If time estimates prove right, then I'll probably enjoy the above mentioned hybrids for a few seasons before I get my own wild species bulbs and their hybrids, specially the martagons that are so much better adapted to this cool summers. From my exchange with my local vendor he doesn't seem very attracted to target our local market so I don't expect any of that group of species or hybrids to appear very soon. I was surprised to find Fusion in his recent listing though.( a pardalinum cross) So I can keep hoping for surprises.

Arturo

Be careful with 'Robina'. It's beautiful OT but very prone to virus and sometimes come already virused. Plant it away from others and see if everything is alright 1st season.

Lucius93 said:Be careful with 'Robina'. It's beautiful OT but very prone to virus and sometimes come already virused. Plant it away from others and see if everything is alright 1st season.

for the advice! I'll do that from the start. Since I will try out 3 bulbs, I'll keep them each far away from the other, 20 meters from the other in different beds. If one comes virused then I'll discard right away and the others could keep growing without danger of infection. Of course I will keep them away from the rest of the liliums too.

Arturo

Fushion bulbs has come way down in price. They are cheap here in America, too. I bought three bulbs in three separate years. I don't have any wet or constantly moist soil, so the first two years I planted them (in the fall) where I thought they would like it - good, rich soil in the most moist spot I had and in part shade. Neither made through the first winters. So the third one I put in full sun. Planted in fall in a bed I had just redone. Drainage was very good, and a much, much drier location. It has been growing and blooming for three years now, although it does die back early, in mid to late summer.

I don't grow a lot of hybrids, except my own. Not enough room in the gardens. I have one other on your list, Conca d'Or that I received by accident. As everyone will say here, it is a strong grower, sturdy, carefree and very resilient with large flowers. But I would think all of those lilies listed would be good performers, and if you search the Lily forum threads and data base, you will find info on many of them.

Plant your pardalium and pardalinum x kelloggii seed as early as you can, or you might miss the window of opportunity for growing this season. The seeds are termed immediate hypogeal, which means they don't need a separate cold treatment to emerge above the soil, but that doesn't mean they come up right away. They will germinate 2 weeks to a month (and produce their tiny bulb), and then it will be anywhere from 2 weeks to a month or more before they send up a leaf. They do want the 50-55°F temps to germinate and grow a leaves. Although, once the tiny bulb starts sending up a leaf, they will tolerate warmer temps. In my experience, some seed might germinated and come up in a month, but most will take 2-3 months. I really don't have good conditions for these western American lilies. I don't have any problem starting the seed because I can give them the right temp in the dark in a root cellar like condition, but my outside climate just doesn't work. You will likely do better. If you get any more or different info from Steve, believe him.

Leftwood said:
Plant your pardalium and pardalinum x kelloggii seed as early as you can, or you might miss the window of opportunity for growing this season. The seeds are termed immediate hypogeal, which means they don't need a separate cold treatment to emerge above the soil, but that doesn't mean they come up right away. They will germinate 2 weeks to a month (and produce their tiny bulb), and then it will be anywhere from 2 weeks to a month or more before they send up a leaf. They do want the 50-55°F temps to germinate and grow a leaves. Although, once the tiny bulb starts sending up a leaf, they will tolerate warmer temps. In my experience, some seed might germinated and come up in a month, but most will take 2-3 months. I really don't have good conditions for these western American lilies. I don't have any problem starting the seed because I can give them the right temp in the dark in a root cellar like condition, but my outside climate just doesn't work. You will likely do better. If you get any more or different info from Steve, believe him.

I trust both of you guys! Yes you do have very different conditions, but both combined, you've come a long way already!
Perhaps I've not been clear enough, the pardalinums have been winterized outside for 7 weeks already. Would that mean that I should now bring them inside to a 55ºF condition for leaves to emerge? Daytime temps inside the warm greenhouse may rise closer to the 70º but will drop to 50-54 ºF nightime. The other group that I'm about to sow outside in pots right now are:
Lilium martagon (cream) Lilium martagon Bronze Medallion (ex SRGC Seedex); Lilium formosanum var pricei; Lilium martagon 'Painted Ladies' (ex Jelitto); Lilium martagon; (ex Jelitto); Lilium bulbiferum ssp.croceum (Ex Jelitto). I have at least 5 weeks of oscilating cold temps outside, which should account for the time they need. Later I'll sow the final batch that doesn't need chilling. Its too cold just now. Please let me know if I'm missing out something.TYiA.

Arturo