Lilium is a large genus in the Liliaceae family. This page is devoted to lilium bulbs and seeds. Photographs by David Pilling when not otherwise credited, the grid where visible is 10mm and often a UK £1 coin which is around an inch in diameter is shown.
For growing from seed see Lily Germination and Lily Germination By Species.
American Section A-M - American Section N-Z - Asiatic Section A-C - Asiatic Section D-K - Asiatic Section L-O - Asiatic Section P-Z - Candidum Section - Dauricum Section - Martagon Section - Oriental Section - Trumpet Section - Lilium Hybrids - Lilium Index
Lilium bulbs. A rule of thumb, asiatic species have white bulbs, trumpet lilies have purple tinged bulbs and martagon and oriental bulbs are yellow. Tall lilies tend to have large bulbs, as years go by the stems get taller and the bulbs get bigger. The first photo shows the purple coloring in a Lilium regale bulb. The second Lilium candidum bulbs. Third photo Lilium davidii with offset bulb growing from base. Fourth photo Lilium 'Scheherazade'. Fifth photo Lilium 'Leslie Woodriff'. Last photo Lilium martagon.
More bulbs, Lilium 'Brunello', Lilium 'Eudoxia' both with stems appearing, Lilium 'Anastasia', a yellow trumpet lily bulb in the process of splitting itself into two bulbs and Lilium formosanum which has small bulbs.
Lilium seed. In viable seed an embryo is visible. This observation has led to the technique of "candling" seed, holding it up to a bright light to sort out the good from the bad. Very rarely seed can have more than one embryo. In some related species (Cardiocrinum) the embryo only develops after a cold/warm cycle.
An alternative technique is 'winnowing', blowing over the seeds, the viable seeds are heavier because the endosperm around the embryo is thicker, the chaff is lighter and easily blown away.
The following pictures were produced with a transparency scanner. In the first of Lilium regale seed, the seeds are oriented so that if they germinated the root would emerge downwards. This means it is possible to sow seed the right way up. Three seeds without embryos are visible. The remaining pictures are of Lilium davidii and Lilium formosanum seed. There is species variation in seed but it is small and there is variation dependent on how good a growing season has produced the seed.
Lilium seed pods. Successfully pollinated flowers will form seed pods and they will begin to swell. It is important they are left to ripen. This can be a problem because some species take a long time, and ripening pods can be attacked by caterpillars. When the pods turn brown and slight pressure causes them to start to split they can be picked. A lily seed pod contains three compartments each with two rows of seeds in. Typically there are one or two hundred seeds per pod. The first set of photos show a yellow trumpet lily seed pod.
The second set of photos show a Lilium regale seed pod and resulting seed.
The third set of photos show Lilium candidum seed pods dry in September from May blooms, grown by M. Gastil-Buhl.
Lilium germination
Germination is categorised as hypogeal (under-ground) where a bulb is produced by the seed and a leaf subsequently comes from the bulb or epigeal (above-ground) where a root and leaf emerges from the seed, the root eventually forming a bulb. The way to remember the difference is to think of "hypothermia" (below normal temperature) or "hypodermic" (under the skin).
These photographs show the hypogeal germination of a Lilium martagon seed on a 5mm grid. There were eight days between the first two photos and the third, and a further twenty days between the third photo and the last one. Notice in the final photo the connection to the seed has withered away. A period of cold will often be needed before a leaf emerges.
Lilium bulb production
Many species are 'stem rooting', a stem grows upwards from the bulb and roots radiate from it until it reaches the surface. Often offset bulbs are produced in this zone. These can be snapped off the old stem at the end of the season and planted. The example in the photographs is an Asiatic lily, other types are not so productive. The small bulbs can continue above the surface and may provide a trail for predators to follow. At the bottom of the first photograph there is the single large bulb that was originally planted, above it are the many small bulbs produced in one growing season, and then a section of stem. The second photo is a close up of the top area. The final photograph shows that left alone in the ground prodigious offset bulbs will produce a clump of flowers.
Lilium bulbils Often small black bulbs known as 'bulbils' are produced in the aerial leaf axils. These will fall to earth at the end of the season and 'self sow', for propagation they should be allowed to become large and planted as soon as possible when detached from the stem. They can have roots and even leaves whilst attached to the mother plant. Final photo by M. Gastil-Buhl shows bulbils growing on a flower stem of Lilium candidum.
Lilium bulb scales
A lily bulb (in many species) consists of scales joined at the bottom (this area is called the 'basal plate'). When the bulb is correctly oriented in the ground the scales point upwards, easy to remember because the scales look like pointers. Bulbs can be propagated by 'scaling' a process of detaching a scale and keeping it moist, eventually small bulbs will form on the scale and can be detached and planted. The photographs show a Lilium 'Leslie Woodriff' bulb. The first one is of the basal plate, the second shows a 'widger' inserted under a scale, the next the resulting broken off scale. The following pictures are of detached scales, finally being put in a bag of moist vermiculite. Although it is sometimes said a piece of basal plate is needed for bulbs to be produced on the scale, this is not the case see here.
American Section A-M - American Section N-Z - Asiatic Section A-C - Asiatic Section D-K - Asiatic Section L-O - Asiatic Section P-Z - Candidum Section - Dauricum Section - Martagon Section - Oriental Section - Trumpet Section - Lilium Hybrids - Lilium Index