It's a soggy soggy mess. Barely enough time to dry a blade of grass before it pours again.

Sure is. Looks like Saturday will be my best bet for getting things done outside.

Yeah, not convenient when you're getting ready to do fall planting. You guys have really been getting soaked. Not much here. I picked up just under half inch early this morning which helps, especially with the weed pulling because they come out so nice and clean as a carrot. My most troublesome late season weeds this year were Purslane and Oxalis.

News just said we have had 8 inches of rain for the month of September already. With more to come. Wish I could send some your way Lorn

Crazy how it just misses you Lorn.

We've had 1.96 inches since the 1st. of the month but the whole summer was very dry. So things are getting back to normal on the soil surface, grass has greened back up with a few dead spots on southern exposure and so on. Still an 8 inch deficit for the year, though.

Just got an email that Descant, FF88, FF2000, and Morden Butterfly from Valley K are on the way! Now I have something to look forward to for next week I hope!!

A nice selection. Lynnette has a story about Descant. Have you heard it? It seems several years ago, Lynnette had this strange lily appear during spring blooming. For sure, it wasn't anything she had ordered and she had no idea where it came from, but it was nice. The following years brought more flowers and the lily prospered over time. The mystery continued on for quite a few years. Then, more recently, Lynnette had the opportunity to discuss some things with Judith Freeman and the topic of this mystery lily came up. Upon viewing the flowers and bulb, Judith was able to confirm that it was indeed that of Descant, apparently the result of a single bulb finding its way to Canada within a shipment of other cultivars. Judith Freeman explained that she never marketed this hybrid because she wasn't happy with its field performance at her place but after seeing how well it grew in Canada, it is now available from both growers.

Descant is a hybrid from Ariedne. It is slow to propagate. I've got a couple of these that just went through their second blooming season. They're struggling to adjust here in zone 5b/6a, S.E. Wisconsin.

I read that on their website. It's quite a story. The one lone bulb that grew and prospered. A total accidental lily. I'm hoping that Descant does good here. I only ordered one bulb though. The couple interactions I have had with Lynette, she seems like a nice generous lady. She mentioned that she included a bulb of their 'Striptease' lily into my order as an extra because I commented on Facebook that I liked it.

Also, speaking of Judith Freeman. That little yellow Henryi bulb I got from her this summer, I sent her pictures in an email. She confirmed it was L. Henryi var. Citrinum. She said they were missing one from their cold storage bin.

Found these in a seed pod. Is this just deformed seed?

Just two of them, and among normal ones?
Don't think I've ever seen anything like that....

Yeah. I didn't know if this was not fully formed seed, or what. This picture is the contents of the seed pod.

I have seen seed like that, mostly in OTs . Seemed I dropped them
Into a bag just in case they would germinate as it was difficult to tell if the seed was good due to the shape and thickness. Don't think I've ever successfully germinated ine like that though, but I'd always try... just in case...

vanozzi said:Thanks for all the thumbs-up.Managed to plant all the henryi bulbs in the new bed,never done a spring planting before, usually a lot more organised than that!.Thanks for the consideration of asking about my back problem Josh.It's fairly stable at the moment, thanks to the regular physio treatment, new exercises to do several times a day and no walking Mischa on lead--she is just too powerful and HIGHLY strung and despite all the training I did with her, at 10 months she is almost too much for me and I'm a pretty strong guy, but unfortunately now an old fart.Did some damage to my knee trying to squat down in a narrow space between poly boxes to take a picture of a new miniature daffodil seedling, just 10 cms tall.Now this is giving me more grief than my back.
The martagon seedling is very early, it's growing in the shade house.I had placed some large lids of polystyrene on the west end of the shade house last summer, in an effort to cool that butt end from the hot afternoon sun, but never thought of how it may affect any winter/spring early growers.This flowering martagon stem was laying across the boxes, hence the weak stem.I've removed those lids for now.It is a first year flowering stem, seed sown in 2011, so its ok with floret number.
Here is a picture of 85% martagon seedlings, the rest mostly Lilium Japonicum and/or its hybrids,Some of these have had no cold treatment, just exposed to light when bagged (Joe Hoell system).Others have had conventional treatment, but 4 warm-cold periods.
Della, Tallboy is above ground, #81isn't yet.I'll be wrapped to see #81 flower and have many pollinations planned.
25 Aug 2016
miniature daffodil trumpet

Catching up. Haven't had the willpower lately to process pics or post, but here goes. I like the look of spring in Victoria, Josh and Paul. Paul, that's an awfully cute trumpet!

Paul, I hope all those plans come to fruition. #81 not up yet here either, but I have lots of lovely Joy Hawley seedling noses, thanks to you. I'm really looking forward to seeing these yearling babies and all their siblings flower:



Also, my first ever Tallboy seedlings will (if all goes well), bloom. (I love the henryi thing markings on the leaf underside):



Hmm... what else is in the seedling boxes?

Connie, these are your babies. They had a slow start (crappy batch of potting mix) but look set to make up for it with their first few flowers this summer:



And Rick, your babies have made it through the same tough start as Connie's; looking good now. A few days ago one of them just had to be teased out of searching for China:



Joe, these are a Summer Palace cross you sent me, planted late last summer/early autumn (so about 6 months old). I think I should have waited till spring, they seem stressed - I'll have to pamper them a bit!



Oh, and Ursula! Look at your little candidums!

So I found one stem with several very plump seed pods. I have never tried to germinate lilies from seeds. Just the little bulbils (?) that grow at the nexis of leaf and stem. I skimmed over the intro sticky on growing from seeds and I guess I could try the damp paper towel in a zip lock thing. To confirm, they need cool then warm then cool? We are round 65 in the house, 55-60 in the crawl space, and 38-58 out of doors (all F of course.)

So perhaps finding a place out of doors would be best. Our first snowfall was Sept 30 last year but we are having a wonderful (though soggy) fall.

I am also working on germinating peony seed. They are planted outside in a small area where I cut the bottom from a 10 gallons pot to make a little area that I don't step all over. Each type of seed has its own little 'headstone' (1/2" plastic nursery marker) so I can tell who made it and who didn't. Hopefully some will.

What do you think? Until/if they germinate then I can fret about proper soil, light etc.

Mary Stella, germination procedure for lilies depends on what type of lily you have. If it is Oriental lily, then warm for 3 months (like your ambient indoor temperature), then cool for 3 months (fridge crisper drawer works for me), then remove to warm ambient temperature where they will show a first true leaf in a week or two.

If it is of Asiatic or trumpet heritage, then wait till late winter to start indoors. They usually readily germinate in 2-3 weeks. If you are not sure which type then gives us the cultivar name if you know it then we can tell you which it is.

If it is neither, Oriental, Asiatic or trumpet then let us know what it is. Instructions will likely be different.

I would skip the paper towel thing and use a good seed starting mix in a ziplock sandwich or storage bag with little slits cut in the bottom (but not so big the starting mix drops out) to allow bottom watering after germination.

Or post a picture of your lily for identification if you have one. Also, Asiatic lily seed would be an easy one for beginners and that would perform well in your area. If you would like to try some Asiatic seed along with the one you have, I'm sure there are several of us who would love to send some. It's really a lot of enjoyment.

I believe it is Salmon Star.



So it is an oriental hybrid. Since I just got the seeds from the plant would that qualify for 4 months warm. Hmmmm. Guess not. Seeds haven't been around four months. So four months in the house @ 68-70F

Start the seeds now in a baggie. Move to fridge around mid to late January. Check on them occasionally to make sure they don't dry out. Your mix should be only very slightly damp. Remove from fridge mid May.

It looks like there is a fair amount of chaff there. You can plant it all (just in case) or pick out and plant the heavier seeds.

Don't be shy about asking for seed here. Some of us have mailed seed to far reaches of the world. Asiatic and trumpet seeds are the easiest to start for beginners. And I have yet to manage to bloom an Oriental seedling, hopefully next year!

Feel free to ask questions during the process .

Thanks a lot Connie. It should be interesting. Have you grown lilies from the bubils that form on the stems of lilies?