Lilies, do you want more ?

supplying the lily with all the nutrients that the plant and bulb needs for the season. For this reason, Lilies respond very favorably to a fresh layer of aged compost every year and good moisture retentive organic mulch.

After the lily has bloomed, bulblets will develop in this root mass and within a few years a dense clumps of lilies can form. The bulblets can also be harvested and replanted.

Planting the offsets
After the flower stem wither and turn brown in late fall, you can dig down about 4-6" below soil level and cut the flower stem above the bulb but below the stem roots. Upon inspection of the root mass, you may find several pea-sized white or pink miniature bulbs ("bulblets"). Separate them and plant shallowly in pots or nursery beds. Another way would be to plant the entire flower stem horizontally just below the soil surface without disturbing the bulblets and the root mass.

The next year, the lily bulblets or bulbils will send up either a single leaf, called a cotyledon or seed leaf, or even a small wining thin flower stem. Some varieties will develop a single bud and flower, but most varieties take at least 2-3 years to flower from bulblets. The procedure is still faster than scaling since the bulblets are about 1 year ahead in size compared to the tiny scaled bulblets.

Each year after planting, the flower stem of the miniature bulblets grow stronger, taller and sturdier. Once the bulb reaches walnut-size they will flower. Another year and two and the bud count will improve further.

Encouraging more offsets
The asexual propagation is an automatic process by most lilies, but Asiatic Lilies tend to develop more vigorously, and in general, offsets are increased if the lilies are deadheaded after flowering.

As the blooms fade and the petals start to fall, cut the spent flower by severing the small extension which held the flower to the stem. Make sure you also remove the small puffy green buds (seed pods) which may develop where the flower used to be as it encourages more offsets. It is theorized that some stress imposed on the lily, such as an interruption of its normal productive seed cycle, tends to improve the yield of its asexual production. A similar energetic offset production has been noted in potted lilies which have become root bound or exposed to mild draught stress. It is likely

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