Wow, Thanks for all the great advice! I will let you know how it goes.

Roosterlorn said:Update on scaled Anaconda and Moonlight bulbs.

Last Fall recap, pics. 1,2,3 dated Oct. 12th, 2013. All scaled bulbs, the control bulbs and 'cut early' test bulbs were planted on Oct. 12, 2013.

Moonlight


Anaconda


Typical scaled bulb, calloused and dusted with Captan


Update may, 27th, 2014

Typical growth as of May 27th, 2014. All test bulbs are growing. The scaled bulbs emerged about 3 weeks later than the control bulbs, even though they were planted 2 inches shallower. The average height of those scaled is about 3 inches. They appear very healthy, but smaller. The average height of the control bulbs is about 12 inches. The also appear healthy. I am running three different tests on three different sets on 6 Moonlight and 5 Anaconda bulbs and have taken many pictures. To make things simpler and less confusing I'll only show two representative pictures. This should give you an idea of what to expect if you ever do a full scale job.

Scaled


Control

UPDATE: August 6th, 2014.
The following pictures were taken today to illustrate the effects of extensive scaling of bulbs performed in October, 2013.. In short, all test bulbs survived, grew and bloomed during the 2014 season. The test plants were notably smaller in all respects, including height which was about 1/3 shorter than the standard unscaled bulbs. Bud count was also about half the number of flowers compared to the standard bulbs. There was no noticeable difference in flower size, however. All test plants should recover fully for the 2015 season. Rather than post a whole series of pictures, they are so similar that viewing one set is like viewing them all. Here are two photos. The scaled is on the right, the standard unscaled is on the left.

L. longiflorum X L. henryi clones getting ready to bloom twice in the same year. Actually, I'm just acclimating or synconizing these crazy mixed up 2012 clones that didn't want to start growing until last November of 2013.

Feb. 27th, 2014 photo (the meltdown)


Sept. 18th, 2014.




These have now been disbudded to allow for about 6 or 7 weeks of bulb building and winterization before planting alongside the mother bulb in early Nov. Everything should be back to normal by next Spring.

Wait Lorn, so these died back in spring and threw up another flowering stem? Do you use this in hybridizing at all?

Joe, I continued to grow them under lights until late March, then I moved them into a backyard greenhouse until mid April. When I felt they'd had enough bulb growing time, I set them outside the greenhouse to freeze and to spend a few days out in the cold. From there they went to my lily fridge for chilling until the week end of July 4th. At which time they were brought back outside for yet another compressed growing season. They've got about another good 50 to 60 gays to grow and prep for winter and they'll be back in sync.

The problem is when clones start shooting up stems in late Fall as these did, it's hard to reverse the forward motion growth pattern without killing them. The easiest way and most successful way around this is to shorten their seasonal cycles by about one third each. The picture below shows their growth on Dec.11th, 2012, exactly 1 month after they shot up their first noses.

I was waiting for someone else to ask the obvious question this time. Thanks, Joe. So same year but different growing seasons. As far as I know, they only reblooming lilies are Lilium xformolongi hybrids, so far. But no doubt other combinations will be (or are being) tried.

Yes. The blooming twice in the same calendar year is only the result of my condensing the seasons to synchronize these clones growing pattern to that of the northern hemisphere. A lot of monkey work for a single pot of clones and a cross that is somewhat of a rag in present form. I'm waiting to see how others use it in hybridizing. I made one pollination with an Aurelian, but it didn't take.

I wold like to ask a question here. I have just been following along here to learn all I can! I received some lily bulbs I had ordered earlier this Summer but they just came a couple of days ago. What should I do with them now? I want use them for scaling. Is it to early to start scaling them now?

Cat, it depends. I find it slightly odd that received your bulbs now. Generally lilies are dug up between now and the end of October (sometimes later). Then they are shipped or put in cold storage till spring. Generally lilies aren't shipped in summer. That said, yours is likely a really freshly dug bulb or possibly a cold stored bulb from last fall. The reason I mention that is because while you can scale these bulbs, it does have an effect on how the bulblets will form. If these bulbs are freshly dug, they will form bulblets but will likely need an 8-12 week cool period to start growing leaves. If these are cold stored bulbs they should also form bulblets but will not need a cold period to produce leaves.

Joe,
How do I know? They are Double Tiger Lily "Flore Pleno" I received them from K.Van Bourgondien & Sons, Inc.

You could try asking the company.

Good luck with that one!

I sent them an email. Let's see what I can find out. Thanks!

They did reply. They are freshly dug.

Ok cat so you can scale them. When they get to the size you want, you should put them in the refrigerator for 8-12 weeks and then they can be planted as you wish and should sprout.

Okay, Great! Thanks Joe!

Edited to add;

Can you tell (usually) by how the bulbs look if they are freshly dug or cold stored? Are they more "fleshy" looking when they are freshly dug?

Ok. I scaled my first bulb today. Mixed a little water in a ball of sphagnum and mixed until integrated...but not terribly wet. Placed about a dozen scales inside a plastic bag with the scales. Placed a little weight on top and on the kitchen counter til I know if the moisture is right. I'll check over the next days.
My question, then is what temp to keep them at after. Is the veggie drawer of the fridge too cold? How long before planting the bulbs in soil? I'm hoping this works we l as it is a yellow bell type Asiatic that I really love. Any additional suggestions are appreciated. I'll be so excited if this works for me.

You should be fine with the veggie bin as long as it's not frozen. Just make sure your moss isn't too wet. It should be just damp.

silverlake said: My question, then is what temp to keep them at after.

Silverlake, you're not very clear with what you mean by "after". After what?
1 - after you think the moisture is right (and you need to incubate the scales to grow the bulblets)? That is what you wrote.
or
2 - after (a month or more later) when the new bulblets have formed.

If it is (1) then the incubation temperature should be around room temp.
If it is (2) then the veggie bin (33-45F) is fine.

Ok. Thanks so much. 1) is what I was asking....but would have been reposting, asking for 2). I'm thankful for this source of knowledge. I'm being pulled forward by this group, gaining information and experiences that I otherwise would not have had.