beginner’s corner
Top: Lily flower bud just prior to bloom opening. Bottom: Bold and bright flowers are characteristic of lilies.
“If provided with
sufficient warmth and
light, most lilies will
rapidly produce flower
buds; time to flowering
in many hybrids is just
95-120 days.”
will rapidly produce flower buds; time
to flowering in many hybrids is just
95-120 days. Lilies grown for cut flowers
can be harvested as soon as the most
advanced bud has developed color.
Blooms should be placed into a solution
of flower preservative to maintain vase
life as long as possible.
Take note that some varieties of
lilies have a tendency to stretch and
produce overly long stems during the
growth and flowering phase. This is
often aggravated by low light, high
density, and shaded conditions with
warm temperatures and long days.
Ensuring each plant has sufficient
space and good light levels is
required, and selecting dwarf cultivars
is often preferable where excessively
tall plants need to be avoided.
Lily Propagation
While lilies can be propagated from
seed, seed-raised plants won’t have the
same characteristics as their parents
since many of the cultivars grown
hydroponically are hybrids. Plants
raised from seed can also take many
years to flower, meaning this method is
generally only used by plant breeders.
Lilies are best propagated vegetatively,
106
grow cycle
which is relatively easy to carry out. As
the plant matures, the lily bulb starts
to produce “offsets,” or small bulbs that
can be divided away from the main
bulb and used as future planting mate-
rial. Another method is to propagate
from bulb “scales,” fleshy sections of the
main bulb. The scales are snapped off
as close to the base of the main bulb as
possible, then the lower half is placed
into a free-draining substrate such as
sharp sand. After a few weeks under
warm conditions, small bulblets begin
to form on the scales. When these have
developed roots, they can be gently
removed and potted up for growing on.
Lilies are a familiar cut flower or potted
plant with a long history of cultivation
and appreciation by many cultures.
No matter if they are being grown as a
crop of cut blooms for a special occa-
sion or just an attractive dwarf potted
plant, they are versatile, colorful, and
often highly perfumed additions to an
indoor garden. Selecting some of the
latest hybrid bulbs, which are widely
available in an ever-increasing range
of colors and sizes, allows hydroponic
growers to experience an amazing
indoor-grown floral display.