My babies getting ready to bloom. I'm getting excited!

Not quite as exquisite as having a 6 foot 21 bloom "Ma'dame Butterfly" in the house though.

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Though you already knew what Madame Butterfly was going to look like, right? These will have excitement all their own

Excited as long as my wife's cat doesn't eat them

Don't let them get eaten.

Sooooo...you guys aren't sharing this cat? I know you guys, you act like you don't like the kitties, but when nobody is looking you pamper and love them just like we do

O I like cats just not as much as I use to, or I should say not liking some of their behaviors. I like to pick my clothes off the floor without having to de-hair them, and I would prefer not to have a cat claw our custom couch, and not being waken @ 4:30a.m. from a cat chasing my toes.

This is an open pollinated seedling from Lilium 'Super Tsing'. The maiden flower last season:



It's nice, not a lot to crow about, but now that it is sprouting this year, it sure seems to have a lot of vigor! In addition, I have never seen a "collar" of leaves in the fashion shown here as the first set out the ground. I took note if it doing this last year, too, with a single leaf, but I though it was just a one time anomaly. Has anyone ever seen this before on a martagon type lily?

Regarding David Sim's. I e-mailed his wife (Exec. Sec of NALS) and she said he wasn't making crosses right now, he doesn't have the time....

I have been growing lilies for years with mixed success, when I started growing them about 45 yrs ago, I had mostly candidum, which exploded from two bulbs to about 30 over a bout 4 years, then we moved house and I took half of them and lost them and I am still trying to source some bulbs or seed to try them again. I am now growing all my lilies in pots as I have just lost about 15 L. Regale that were planted out, any ideas? This week I have been collecting seed from my lilies so that I can try growing them from seed. I have also just recently bought 6 twice flowering liliums, one is dot.com. they are coming up in bud now. Lilies are my favourite flower and you would think I would be over them by now but I am not. My mother used to have a garden with Tiger lilies, Madonna Lilies (candidum) and to a lesser extent Jillian Wallace and Japanese Sunray lilies growing wild, it was beautiful at that time of year

I just purchased seeds of L. candidum, L. leucanthum, L. pumilum and L. regal from THE LILY GARDEN. Judith website is www.thelilygarden.com and her e-mail is [email protected]

mmmaggee-I grow many species bulbs and seeds here[Australia-then a bit lower] and all i can say is that Ive been lucky,.,and had a good teacher[probably as good as your mum],..,Stories Ive been told of Candidum growing wild in the 60's 70's 80's and now there is nothing,..,I have a backlist of people wanting Candidum, as long as my arm, and i am waiting for more bulk seeds, from B &T to sew on,.,.I too, grow in pots, or thick pine framed wooden boxes, with success..[but i do lose the odd one or two],.and i dont believe i could tell you how to grow Candidum, better than you already know,.with your experience,.,.Anyway, welcome to the 'mad lily train' Its great to have you here!

The diversity of Lilium martagon. All the same age from seed:

A trumpet lily that I started from seed two years ago opened today. From NALS donated by Paul Carter.

When I first started making crosses, I crossed Star Gazer x Expression. I have had over 80 + blooms from those seeds, some red, white, pink, ones that look like Star Gazer, or a mixture of them. Today I went out check for blooms. From the same lot of seeds I got one that is different from the rest so far. I didn't protect the crosses OP but I don't remember any lily in my yard that has this color. Because of my limited space I plant my small bulbs in a box until it blooms. Sometimes there could be 30 bulbs in the same box. But they are from the same seed lot.



Originally planted seeds on 8-26-08 outside in containers. Never been able to use the baggy system.

It reminds me a bit of 'Fairest' from the Lily Garden

Here are some seedlings here blooming now.
This one is from mnorberry 'Pink Perfection x similar



This one is from pard, I think 4n x New Yosemite. The bloom is huge.



One from David Sims lot of seed. A few years old now.


And my seed starting insanity continues:

magnolialover said:Here are some seedlings here blooming now.
And my seed starting insanity continues:

Looks pretty normal to me...

Yeah, I think it looks normal until I realize that each little thing actually turns in to a full fledged bulb and the I wonder where I will put hundreds of bulbs.

I do look here for you folks who feel my pain to help me find myself sane. Thanks Lefty.

Tracey--you ought to see my place!! Me must have very understanding spouses! My wife thinks we're all a little 'nuts'--but she likes it, too. The other day when she got back to the airport (it was 97 F) she called, the first thing she asked was: "how are the lilies doing"---never asked how I was doing. And then, when we got home--she had to take a long 'walk around' first before even going in the house.

Sounds like a match made in heaven, Lorn.

That looks normal to me, too, Mags. I don't have the seedlings, but I sure have the pots.