These are my Toronto lilies, I noticed these streaky blooms when I returned from vacation yesterday. If these plants are infected, they've got to go. What are your thoughts?

It looks suspect for Tulip Breaking Virus. Although, I see exterior damage to the outside of some buds (hail, maybe?); that can cause some localized color change, also. I'm not all that familar with Toronto and if, on occasion brush marks can appear from time to time or from one bulb source to another. Others who have this cultivar can elaborate on that aspect.

If this plant is seperated a good distance from other lilies, I would use the 'go slow' approach and watch and see what happens next year just to be sure it's not environmental. But, if it still has the same condition next year, you might as well destroy it. If it is in close to other lilies now, then I would remove it as a clump now and replant a good distance away for monitoring.

Definitely looks suspect. Lorn gave you good advice.

Thank you both for your response. I've already dug up the plants and I'm going to discard them. I have too many other lilies close by like Shocking and Red Dutch, plus many others in the garden, that I don't want to get infected. I also removed 2 other sets of lilies that also look infected.






Annette

Always better to be safe than sorry. You did the right thing. especially since commercial bulbs can be replaced at modest cost. . Now, since lily viruses are a plant and bulb issue only, and not a soil issue, you can replant another group in the exact same spot this Fall (or even now if you like). Just be sure you have removed all the remnants (loose scales, roots, etc) of the sick plant and you're 'good to go'.

Judging from the appearance of your plant otherwise, your soil appears to be in excellant condition.

Thanks so much for the information. I was concerned about planting other lilies in the same area. The bulbs all came out intact, and I made sure to remove some of the soil from the area that the lilies were removed from.

Thanks again for all of your help

Annette

I think Lorn meant Tulip Breaking virus, although there is no good way of identifying which virus it might be, short of in vitro culture. No matter. With lilies, all viruses are bad (but some worse than others). I do as recommended also: unless I am really attached to a suspect lily, out it goes.

Oops. Thanks!

Cem9165 said:These are my Toronto lilies, I noticed these streaky blooms when I returned from vacation yesterday. If these plants are infected, they've got to go. What are your thoughts?

You did the right thing. The lilies looked definitely infected. Besides color break, TBV also causes mosaic in the leaves, i.e. darker or lighter green irregular sections on the main green background of the leaves. So this is the other way to check if the lilies are infected or not. The lilies infected with TBV not always show color break on the flowers, but leaf mosaic is often there.

Zhirair, thank you for the information about the appearance of leaf changes with infected lilies. Interestingly with these lilies, the leaves grew normally, and looked healthy. I'm glad that I've removed the affected plants, and I'll watching carefully for other plants that may develop the virus next spring.

Here's my dumb question of the day. I do grow tulips like Gudoschnick and La Courtine, that do show the color break on the blooms, and which is desirable for tulips. Could the TBV be transmitted from the tulips by mites or aphids to infect the lilies?

Annette

Cem9165 said:Zhirair, thank you for the information about the appearance of leaf changes with infected lilies. Interestingly with these lilies, the leaves grew normally, and looked healthy. I'm glad that I've removed the affected plants, and I'll watching carefully for other plants that may develop the virus next spring.

Here's my dumb question of the day. I do grow tulips like Gudoschnick and La Courtine, that do show the color break on the blooms, and which is desirable for tulips. Could the TBV be transmitted from the tulips by mites or aphids to infect the lilies?

Annette

Striped tulips, depending on the variety, behave diferently. 'Gudoshnik' doesn't show colour break, when infected. The infected plants are diagnosed according to the leaf mosaic, the symptoms of which can be observed only on the young leaves at the beginning of vegetation before the buds appear. On old leaves the symptoms cannot be seen. Exception are the plants, which are infected for several year. You should bare in mind, that the color of 'Gudoshnik' is variable within the variety, i.e. you can see darker or lighter samples when growing it. It doesn't have to do with the virus. In case of 'La Courtine', the pattren symmertry is broken, or the infected plants bloom totally yellow.

As to the transmission of TBV from tulips to lilies, theorically it is possible, but it is not that common, as tulips and lilies doen't have that much common pests. The aphyds which attack tulips prefer to feed on tulips, the lily aphyds, in their turn, have different preferances. In many cases, virus from the tulips are transferred mechanically by the gardeners.

I study and experiment virus problems on bulbs over 20 years. Now I am very keen in identifying viruses on bulbous plants. I grow tulips together with lilies without any problems. The most important is to mantain virus free collection. If the plants are healthy, everything goes O.K. each newly obtained plant goes to uarantine for a year or two, and then it joins to the main collection.

Zhirair, thank you for answering my question. It is good to know that it is not likely for the TBV to be transferred from tulips to lilies.

I maintain a small quarantine garden in the back for things (lilies) people bring me. But not for newly purchased bulbs from our best sources--those I plant directly in the garden. Although, I must admit, the few virused plants I have experienced in my time, have been from my most trusted sources.