Lilies are not difficult to grow from seed. Gillian Vine gives tips on creating your own hybrids.
Big blooms in an unusual salmon-pink and with a sweet perfume draw the visitor to a clump of lilies in Esther Borrie's Dunedin garden.
The standout variety doesn't have a name, as Esther bred it herself by crossing apricot-coloured Copper King with white Snow Queen.
Producing new varieties is not difficult, she says, but does require patience, as it generally takes four years from seed to flowering.
What makes it exciting is that, as her salmon-pink one shows, the offspring can be very different from either parent, so the wait is well worth it.
This is the time to start, when lilies are in flower. If you know one of your lilies tends to produce fat seed pods, it will make an ideal seed parent, but otherwise, just choose one which has strong stems or big flowers, as these characteristics will, hopefully, appear in the offspring.
The other parent provides the pollen.
Look for one with lots of pollen and on a calm, dry day gather the anthers (the bits with orange-brown pollen) from the ends of the stamens of a bud that is just opening. Put the anthers on clean paper and leave to dry for three or four days. (If the weather is very dry, you can use the pollen straight away without drying.) When the pollen is dry, it can be used at once or kept in an airtight jar in the fridge until the seed parent has a suitable bud. Some American growers say pollen will keep in the freezer for up to a year.
To apply pollen to the seed parent, choose a bud just about to open, so it will not already have been pollinated by bees or other insects. Leave the bud on the plant and carefully push back the petals.
Don't panic if the odd petal breaks, as they are not vital to the operation. With fine scissors, nip off the anthers but take care not to damage the stigma (the knob at the end of the central stem, or pistil).
Using a cotton bud or very fine artist's brush - or even your finger - apply pollen to the stigma. Be generous to ensure pollination. To keep the cross pure, cover the stigma with a piece of aluminium foil. This is a bit fiddly and needs to be done gently so the stigma is not damaged. An easier alternative is to cover the whole flower with a paper bag. Tie a label on the stem to record the cross.
Remove the foil or bag after two or three days. If it worked and fertilisation has occurred, the pod will fatten and be ripe within a few weeks.
Keep a close eye on the pods and gather them on a dry day when they turn brownish but before they are ready to open naturally. Leave the pods to dry completely, remove the seed and store until ready to sow.
Because germination can be slow and the tiny lilies are best left to develop little bulbs before planting them in the garden, two-litre ice cream pottles are better than seed trays. Stab holes in the bottom for drainage and two-thirds fill with potting mix (one grower suggests using tomato mix, as lilies like similar soil to tomatoes). Put a layer of seed-raising mix on top, water well, then sow the lily seed, covering with more seed mix.
Esther recommends sowing lily seed straight away, as she thinks it germinates more quickly but it can be kept for up to a year.
And, who knows, you may be as successful as she has been in breeding a new variety.
Learn more
• At its show this weekend, the Otago Lily Society will give tips on lily cultivation, so be there at 2pm on Sunday to find out more.
The society welcomes new exhibitors and to enter the show, you don't need to know what your lily is called or what type it is: just take your flowering stems or individual blooms (florets) along to the St James' Church hall, Prince Albert Rd, St Kilda, today between noon and 7pm, or tomorrow morning between 8am and 10am.
Society members will be on hand to tell you all you need to enter your blooms and you could be like one of last year's first-time exhibitors, whose magnificent stem took top honours at the show.
The show is open to the public from 1pm to 5pm tomorrow and 10am to 4pm on Sunday. Admission is $3.
