Falling in love with lilies is not uncommon. In addition to their visual appeal, it is their easy-care nature that makes them popular garden plants. Reasons to propagate them yourself But how does it work?
How to propagate lilies?
Lilies can be propagated by dividing or sowing. Dividing involves separating bulbs from the mother plant and planting them, while sowing involves sowing seeds in moist, loose soil. Tiger lilies can also be propagated by bulbils or stem bulbs.
2 methods to choose from
There are two ways to propagate the majority of lilies. These are sowing and sharing. For most types of lilies, it is advisable to divide them over the years. They become lazy to bloom and dividing them rejuvenates them. The results of dividing have the same properties as the mother plant.
It's different when sowing. For one thing, it can take years for a lily grown from seed to bloom for the first time. On the other hand, sowing produces lilies that have different properties than the mother plant. This can be exciting for breeders and hobby breeders because new varieties can emerge that are not yet on the market.
Tiger lilies – the exception
Tiger lilies can also be propagated using other methods or plant parts. They form so-called bulbils in their leaf axils and stem bulbs at the base of the stem. They are white and brown bulblets that fall off, can be picked up and planted. It takes three years for them to bloom.
Share: Step by step procedure
If you decide to divide a lily, you should do the following:
- after flowering or in spring
- Dig up onions
- separate smaller onions from the larger ones
- Fill the planting hole (25 cm deep) halfway with loose soil, compost and sand
- Minimum distance between each other 20 cm
- Onion tip should point upwards when planting
- cover with soil
Wait patiently while sowing
Sowing procedure:
- Sow seeds in January or February
- Cover 0.5 cm with soil (loose, sandy)
- Keep soil moist
- Germination time: up to 1 year
- Do not plant out young plants before mid-May (not yet hardy)
Tips & Tricks
Being able to see the results of sowing can take a good year. Lilies first root themselves in the ground before they let a shoot appear on the surface.
