Benefits of propagating lilies in autumn
Propagating lilies, planting them and caring for flowers in the fall has a lot of positive aspects.
- Availability of planting material. It is by autumn that seeds and bulbs ripen and babies appear.
- The bulbs go into a dormant state, which means you can work with them without fear of damaging the root system.
- Tubers accumulate the maximum amount of nutrients in the fall, which significantly increases the viability and immunity of plants.
- Favorable conditions with plenty of moisture and cool weather contribute to the rapid rooting of flowers.
- When planting lilies in the fall, in most cases, flowering occurs the following summer.
- Gardeners have more free time than in the spring.
With the arrival of spring and the beginning of active work on the site, it is difficult to find time for thorough preparation for the propagation of lilies. The dormant period of the bulbs is short. And if you miss the right moment, the sprouts that have sprouted may die during return frosts.
Reproduction methods
There are several ways to propagate lilies in the fall. Among them it is worth noting.
- Dividing bulb nests. A reliable, but unproductive method that allows you to obtain ready-made planting material. Young plants will delight you with flowering next year. However, propagation of lilies by bulbs in the fall is only possible 3-5 years after planting. The period depends on the variety.
- Propagation by trunk pups is also popular among flower growers. The number of bulbs is greater than in the first case; they can be selected 2 years after planting. It may be necessary to grow the bulbs in a separate bed over the next summer.
- Propagation by scales involves growing bulbs on the scales of a tuber. The good thing about this method is that you get a lot of seed material at once.
- Propagating lilies in the fall from bulbs formed in the axils of the leaves is quite labor-intensive and is not suitable for all varieties.
- Planting seeds involves their separate cultivation for 3-5 years. During this time, the plants will not bloom. But you can get a large number of tubers at once.
Some tips from experienced flower growers
It is difficult to find an amateur gardener who would not grow a beautiful lily on his plot. But if a gardener is a beginner, then he often has a question about how to preserve lily bulbs before planting. In this case, the recommendations from experienced flower growers are as follows.
- Before winter, the bulbs should be dug up and washed thoroughly in warm water. Then let it dip into a weak solution of potassium permanganate and hold for about an hour. When all the necessary manipulations have been completed, each bulb is dried in the shade and sent to prepared boxes with wet sand, which are then lowered into the cellar for wintering.
- The second, important issue is lily care and reproduction. As for propagation methods, they were all given above, but for care, experienced gardeners give the following recommendations.
Lily, despite its royal appearance, is actually not whimsical; the main thing for it is moderate watering and protection from direct sunlight. In such conditions, the flower will grow well and delight the grower with lush flowering. As for fertilizing, it should be applied twice a season, in the spring when planting, and before flowering. For these purposes, use humus or purchase the appropriate product at flower shops.
To learn how to grow a lily, read Growing lilies in open ground
Lily is an incredibly beautiful plant, which also does not require special care. Such a flower is absolutely unpretentious to living conditions, but at the same time it is able to please the eye of every garden flower lover. Therefore, if a person has a desire to increase the number of garden queens, especially since out of the many ways to propagate lilies, you will definitely find yours, go for it and you will succeed.
Lilies are luxuriously flowering perennials that have many fans. The easiest way to grow a lily is to buy a bulb at a store or garden center and plant it in the ground in spring or fall. But prices for lily bulbs, especially new beautiful varieties, can be so high that not everyone can afford to buy them in sufficient quantities. But what a pleasant surprise it will be to learn that lilies are not only unpretentious flowers, they also reproduce very easily, and there are so many methods of reproduction that everyone can find the most suitable one for their conditions.
How to propagate lilies in autumn using scales
The lily bulb is covered with a large number of peculiar fleshy petals, the number of which increases every year. It is them that gardeners call scales. To plant scales in the fall, you need to do the following:
- Using a fork, dig up the tubers, being careful not to damage them.
- Carefully separate healthy, undamaged scales. Experienced gardeners do not recommend removing more than a third of the petals. This threatens the death of the uterine bulb.
- The scales are washed in running water.
- Soak for 30-40 minutes in a weak solution of potassium manganese, and then for another half hour in a solution of a growth stimulator. It is advisable to use one that affects the development of the root system, “Kornevin” or “Zircon”.
- The planting material is placed in layers in a bag filled with wet peat, moss or sawdust, and placed in the refrigerator for 2-3 weeks.
- With the appearance of the roots, the scales with the rudiments of small bulbs are planted in the ground in a separate bed, deepening them by 2-3 cm. The lilies will be ready for transplanting to a permanent place in a year.
Attention!
Scales should be planted in the fall no later than 3-4 weeks before the onset of cold weather.
Be sure to cover the plantings with spruce branches or mulch with a mixture of peat and sawdust. If frosts set in earlier or winters in the region are cold, then the planting material is stored in the refrigerator until spring, periodically moistening.
The author of the video will tell you about the propagation of lilies by scales in the fall.
Selection and preparation of planting material
It is not difficult to propagate lilies by scales at home, but you need to do it correctly. An important point is the preparation of planting material. The scales must be carefully separated from the bulb, making sure that a piece of the bottom remains. This method is also valuable because the bulbs are often damaged by rodents, and in this form they cannot be used, but they are excellent for obtaining scales, despite their size.
Sometimes on sale you can find discounted bulbs that visually literally fall apart. It should be noted that this is the most convenient for separating flakes, and discounts of often more than half the price are an excellent bonus. Such planting material turns out to be very profitable.
However, the bulb will need to be protected, otherwise it may be damaged when the scales separate . For this you can use a fungicidal agent. A solution of furatsilin is ideal. You can also use coal or ash if we are talking about private property that has a stove. In this case, the cooled coal will need to be finely crushed, and then poured on top of the onion wounds that formed after removing the scales. It should be noted that such planting material will be perfectly preserved if placed in a moist substrate before planting can be done.
Next comes the question of processing the scales themselves. It needs to be done as quickly as possible to avoid the occurrence of various diseases. The same fungicidal agent is used. Damaged areas must be removed, and the scale itself must be carefully disinfected.
After this, treatment should be carried out with such compounds as a growth stimulator and a root former.
In order for the scales to germinate, they will need a certain substrate. You can use, for example, coconut fiber or sawdust. Some people prefer to use special moss or coarse-fiber peat. If you can’t purchase sphagnum moss, regular moss, which can be found in the forest, will do. However, the scales will need a loose substrate, so this moss needs to be divided into small particles. If everything is done correctly, children will appear soon.
When preparations are completed, the substrate is placed in a cellophane bag . Next, it will need to be slightly moistened, after which the scales are placed inside. They need to be laid in such a way as to prevent contact with each other. You can make several layers that will be covered with some material. When the procedure is completed, the bag is closed and put into a box, which will protect the onions from damage. There they will be in a comfortable position during the examination.
Lilies can be propagated by scales both in spring and autumn. When it was decided to carry out the procedure in the spring, the package should be kept in a warm place. You can place it in the kitchen. In the second case, a refrigerator or some cool room will do. If you leave the material at home in a warm place, the scales will grow too quickly, and additional lighting will have to be provided for them.
Experts advise avoiding waterlogging, as it can negatively affect planting material. You should also inspect the packages periodically. When fungus and mold appear in them, the affected area is removed and the substrate is treated with disinfectants.
Reproduction of lilies by bulbs in autumn
Airy bulbs are not formed in all varieties. This most often occurs in Asiatic, tiger and trumpet lily species. Modern hybrids will most likely not be propagated in this way. A bulb is a small pea or bean of brown or brown color. It appears on the aboveground part of the plant at the end of summer. It's practically the same baby. It ripens in early autumn. At this point, the seeds are easily separated from the stem. If you look closely at them, you will notice small roots, and even puckering leaves.
How to dilute bulbs?
At the base of the leaves on the stems of lilies, children are formed - bulbs or aerial bulbs. In the natural environment, they themselves fall to the ground after flowering and then form new plants. There can be up to 100 of these bulbs on a bush, which are excellent material for planting. The bred plants retain all the characteristics of the parent bushes. Among all the methods, this requires the least cost.
It is worth noting that plants begin to bloom only in the third season, but abundant flowering begins only in the fourth year. Not all types of lilies are adapted to form bulbs. Mostly trumpet lilies and Asian hybrids have such abilities. Some species form bulbs on peduncles after cutting the buds; you just need to bend them slightly and cover them with soil.
Mainly, cutting off the inflorescences activates the formation of airy bulbs in the recesses of the leaves; in addition, this operation stimulates their growth.
Reproduction by bulblets is distinguished by its simplicity. They fall off on their own 2-3 weeks after the lilies have finished blooming, so you need to have time to collect the bulbs before this time. They should be easily separated from the peduncle and have small roots - this indicates their ability to take root. The size of mature bulbs is 3-8 mm; there can be 2-3 of them on one sheet. The future planting material is soaked in “Fundazol” for about 2 hours and then planted in holes 5-10 mm deep with a distance of 8-10 cm.
In addition, the planting area must be well loosened and cleared of weeds. The planted bulbs are moistened and well covered with mulch before the onset of cold weather. In the spring, when the threat of frost has passed, the shelter is removed, the plants are watered and weeded. During the first year, only leaves appear on the flower, they can grow up to 20 cm, the bulb also grows and is already 10-12 mm. In the fall, such sprouts are completely ready for transplanting into the flowerbed.
In the second year, the plant develops a stem with leaves, on which new bulbs begin to form. A lily grown in this way blooms in the third season, the bulb increases to 25-30 mm, and the stem can already reach up to 50 cm. In the fourth year, the lily becomes a fully mature flower with all the characteristics of the species.
How to properly plant baby lilies in the fall
Reproduction of lilies by children in the fall is generally similar to their planting. Children are formed above the uterine bulb on the underground part of the stem.
A site for planting large specimens in a permanent place and a small bed for small tubers are first prepared. The soil is dug up, compost and potassium-phosphorus fertilizers are added.
- The bulbs are either carefully dug out with a pitchfork, or the stems are dug up to gain access to the babies. The second method is less traumatic, but is not always available, as lilies may become buried or move to the side during the growth process.
- The separated bulbs are examined. Damaged or showing signs of disease are discarded.
- Soak in a fungicide solution. You can use Fitosporin or Topaz.
- I plant large tubers in prepared holes to a depth of 15-20 cm. It is advisable to plant them on sand or sawdust. Cover with soil, water and mulch.
- If desired, small bulbs can be planted in a separate bed for one year. They are buried to 4-6 cm. The plantings are also watered and mulched.
Large bulbs will most likely produce flower stalks the following year. Perhaps the little ones too. But it is better to remove them so that the tuber itself gains strength.
You can learn more about the propagation of lilies by children in the fall from the video
Features of cutting lilies with scales
From a school botany course you may recall that the scales of bulbous plants are modified leaves with a large supply of nutrients and water. That is, a separate scale is the same leaf, at the base of which a small bulb can form - like at the base of a tiger lily leaf. And, unlike a green leaf, the scales will not dry out when the humidity decreases and will not be eaten by pests. Observations have established that a bulb at the base of a scale placed in the soil can form even under conditions of periodic decrease in humidity and drying out of the soil. Therefore, this method of propagation is the best option for obtaining new lily bulbs.
Technique for propagating lilies by scales
It is best to separate lily scales from the bulbs at the beginning of the growing season, before the stem begins to grow. Then they contain the largest supply of nutrients and a lot of moisture. This applies to cases where lily bulbs are not dug up for the winter and overwinter in the ground, as well as bulbs purchased for planting in the spring. If the bulb is dug up, then separating several scales from it is not at all difficult; you just need to break off a few large scales closer to their base. Usually they shrink slightly and are located loosely, acquiring sufficient mobility and being easy to break off at the very base. You need to choose intact scales without drying out the tips and without signs of rotting.
How to separate lily scales from bulbs
It is more difficult to separate the scales from an overwintered bulb. Firstly, you first need to carefully dig it out without damaging the roots and the scales themselves. This is easier to do if you work not only with a shovel, but with a water jet - water from a hose under low pressure will help you quickly get to the scales and wash away the soil that has accumulated between them. There is a lot of water in a lily bulb that has overwintered in the ground, so the scales are very dense and become very fragile. Therefore, it is very difficult to break them off at the base. Often half or even the tip breaks off. Therefore, there is no need to try to immediately break off the largest ones from the middle, but separate the lower bulbs. You can easily separate a dozen scales.
Treatment of lily scales before planting
The next desirable, but not mandatory, step will be the treatment of lily scales in a heteroauxin solution. This is a root formation stimulator, which is available in the form of a solution, powder and tablets; depending on the form of release, recommendations for choosing the concentration of the solution and the duration of treatment may differ.
Propagation of lilies by seeds in autumn
Propagating lilies by seeds is a troublesome task that is not suitable for every gardener. It is mainly used for the selection of new varieties or propagation of rare varietal lilies.
In autumn, browned seed pods are collected from plants. Seeds are planted in containers filled with nutrient soil. In spring, sprouted plants dive onto the ridges.
The main disadvantage of this method is that at least 5 years pass from the emergence of seedlings to the first flowering.
Planting care
Caring for transplanted flowers in the fall is quite easy. Most often they need watering and shelter for the winter. Lilies propagated by separating children do not need watering.
For the winter, the ridges are covered with a layer of mulch made from sawdust or pine needles, or covered with spruce branches. In regions with cold but little snow winters, you can additionally cover the plantings with agrofibre.
Planting lily scales in the ground
There are different recommendations for preparing and choosing soil in which lily scales will be placed, but the optimal option would be to add sand to the soil from the place where new bulbs will be planted in the future, a ratio of 1:2 - 1:1. The scales can be placed in a box or tray with soil, or they can be immediately placed in the soil in a well-shaded area. In the case of planting them in a box, the main concern will be watering; on the ground, the main problem will be pest control. On the ground, the scales are placed in a hole, which will be covered with glass.
Lily scales are buried two-thirds into the ground; they need to be placed at an angle, with the concave surface facing upward. The tip of the scale should initially stick out at least a quarter of the ground. The soil is watered abundantly; if it sags, then the scales need to be slightly deepened. Then the box also needs to be covered with glass.
Further care over the next couple of months consists of maintaining soil moisture.
How to care for planted lily scales
After one and a half to two months, new lily bulbs begin to form at the base of the scales, when 3-4 small scales appear on them, and their size reaches almost a centimeter - the first root appears. After the root, the growth of the first leaf may begin, of which there may be several - now you need to pay maximum attention to protecting the leaf from pests: rattle beetles, slugs and snails. If scales are planted in the ground, you cannot do without chemicals. And you still need to monitor the soil moisture and gradually accustom the leaves to less humidity, first by opening the edge of the glass by lifting it a few millimeters, and after a few days - by a couple of centimeters. After a week the glass is removed. New plants grow in a normal environment. You can gradually start feeding them with fertilizers.
By the end of the season, one or two bulbs up to one and a half centimeters in size will be formed at the base of most scales. During the second year, the new plants will gain strength and the bulbs may grow up to 3-4 centimeters, and some plants from the new bulbs will even flower the following year.
