Marianne's Response
Lily Seeds
Hi Marianne! im glad i found your website as im an advid gardener but have plenty of questions. The one the plagues me the most is, i have a 3 tiger lily plants that have seeds ready to pick, however when i pluck the seeds from the stalk itself i notice that the majority of the seeds have already started germinating, having 1/4″ – 1/2″ long roots on them! so the question is, is it too late to start drying them out and saving for a later date or do i need to get them in soil asap and let them grow?
Posted by Ruben Lopez on August 21, 2021
Marianne's Response
First congrats on your new arrivals! You are going to have lots of new lily plants if you simply place the sprouting seeds on top of moist soil then keep them protected with a damp cloth until the roots head for the soil. Then I would cover the new sprout with a few inches of top soil to protect then over the winter. After one or two summer in a pot you can transplant the young bulblet into the ground and it takes 3 to 4 years to grow a seeded lily to blooming size. Growing bulbs from seed is a great adventure so enjoy. Keep growing, Marianne Binetti
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