Lilies seed germination is classified as either

epigeal Epigeal, epigean, epigeic and epigeous are biological terms describing an organism's activity above the soil surface. In botany, a seed is described as showing epigeal germination when the cotyledons of the germinating seed expand, throw off th ...

hypogeal Hypogeal, hypogean, hypogeic and hypogeous (; ) are biological terms describing an organism's activity below the soil surface. In botany, a seed is described as showing hypogeal germination when the cotyledons of the germinating seed remain no ...

. These classifications may be further refined as immediate or delayed. Whether a lily is epigeal or hypogeal may be related to survival strategies developed according to the

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologica ...

where the lily originated. Epigeal lilies evolved in moderate climates. Hypogeal lilies evolved in harsher habitats where it would be advantageous to store food in a bulb, and later send up leaves in the spring. Lily propagation.

Epigeal Lilies

Asiatic lilies include species of ''Lilium lancifolium'' (syn.tigrinum), ''L. cernuum'', ''L. davidii'', ''L. maximowiczii'', ''L. macultum'', ''L. hollandicum'', ''L. amabile'', ''L. pumilum'', ''L. concolor'', and ''L. bulbiferum''. Epigeal trumpet lily species are ''L. leucanthum'', ''L. regale'', ''L. sargentiae'', ''L. sulphureum'', ''L. rosthornii'' and ''L. henryi''. Many interdivisional hybrids also fall into the epigeal category. Epigeal lilies

germinate Germination is the process by which an organism grows from a seed or spore. The term is applied to the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an angiosperm or gymnosperm, the growth of a sporeling from a spore, such as the spores of fungi, fer ...

under moist, warm conditions (approximately 70°F) in one stage, taking about 14 days. One stage means that they send up a leaf right away.

Hypogeal Lilies

Oriental lily species, such as ''L. auratum'', ''L. speciosum'', ''L. nobilissimum'', ''L. rubellum'', ''L. alexandrae'', and ''L. japonicum'' and Martagon species ''L. martagon'', ''L. hansonii'', ''L. medeoloides'', and ''L. tsingtauense'', are all hypogeal. Hypogeal lilies require two or more stages with variations of temperature particular to each stage. For hypogeal lilies, the first stage of germination takes place entirely underground where the bulb is created. Hypogeals require a warm period of 3 months at 70°F, followed by a 3-month period at 40°F. A juvenile leaf appears in the second stage. The tiny bulbs are then planted in a warm area, usually outdoors.

Double Hypogeal Lilies

Double hypogeal lilies are the hardest to germinate and need multiple alternating periods of warm and cold. The exact sequence varies by species. Lilies that require these special conditions are often adapted to very specific conditions, and may be rare.

References

Sources

*Halinar, J.C. “Growing Lilies from Seeds,” Pacific Northwest Lily Society Bulletin, vol. 16, no.2 (1997). *https://web.archive.org/web/20100507211032/http://www.lilies.org/growingfromseed.html *https://web.archive.org/web/20060129212914/http://www.lilies.org.uk/html/propagation.html *https://web.archive.org/web/20060416081129/http://www.lilies.org/types.html

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20060410054425/http://www.lilies.org/culture.html *https://web.archive.org/web/20060503184218/http://www.pnwls.org/id4.html *https://web.archive.org/web/20050205181611/http://lilyseed.com/growing_species.html *https://web.archive.org/web/20050205180435/http://lilyseed.com/growing_martagon.html *http://www.bulbsociety.org/GALLERY_OF_THE_WORLDS_BULBS/GRAPHICS/Lilium/Growinglilium.html *http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/LilyGerminationBySpecies * {{Horticulture-stub