Показват се публикациите с етикет Lilies. Показване на всички публикации
Показват се публикациите с етикет Lilies. Показване на всички публикации
Lilies as cut flowers
When harvesting lilies, a gardener needs to decide whether the plant will be treatedas an annual, in which case the whole length of the stem can be cut to the ground, oras an herbaceous perennial, when only half of the stem length should be taken. Liliesyou expect to return to the garden year after year need the leaves on the stem tocontinue creating food for the bulb even after the flowers have been removed. If youdo not care if the plant reblooms next year, you can be more savage.Once the stem has been cut, only the leaves that would be underwater should beremoved. The upper leaves remaining on the stem will provide nutrients for theunopened flower buds and will help them mature normally as the cut stem ages.In many flower shops you will see all of the leaves below the terminal flower budsremoved, but this is a misguided practice. The remaining buds will not developproper color; if they do open the flower will not approach the typical size; most likelythe buds will drop.Lilies, especially the Asiatic and Oriental hybrids, are quite long lasting; each openblossom should last at least four to five days, and new buds will be opening as theolder flowers fade. The entire stem can last for more than two weeks, as long as thewater is kept fresh. Removing the anthers increases longevity and prevents the pollenfrom staining the flowers or anything else.Last, lily stems can be cut anytime after the lowest bud, which will be the firstto open, is showing its true color. It is better to wait until this first bud is cracking,meaning the tepals are separating along their seams and tips. You can easily tear thetepals if you try to separate the seams by hand. If you need to force lilies open for aspecial event (white lilies of any type are notoriously slow to mature), place the stemsin a solution containing two tablespoons of regular granulated table sugar (sucrose)per quart of warm water. Place the vase or bucket of lilies in a plastic bag so the liliesare completely covered and cinch with a twist-tie to create a warm humidity cloudaround the stubborn lilies. Lilies can be kept in this sweetened solution overnightif necessary, but do not leave them in sugar water for more than twenty-four hours.If the buds are still not open, replace the sweetened water with plain warm water,changing it every few hours until the lilies finally open.
True lilies: It’s all in their bulbs
True lilies are distinct plants with characteristics demonstrably different from other flowers grown from bulbs, such as tulips, narcissus (daffodils and jonquils), and the ornamental onions (Allium). Lilies do not have a protective papery sheath holding and protecting the interior layers (in tulips this is called the tunic). Lily bulbs have overlapping scales exposed to invasion by fine clay particles in unamended soil, particles that can hold water, rotting the bulb. This explains why true lilies love quickdraining sandy loam. They should be planted in beds where gardeners will not tread over them while they are dormant, which would work heavy clay down into the deep soil layer where the bulbs are. True lilies form roots along the buried section of stem that emerges from the bulb and grows up through the soil with the flower buds atop—known as stem roots. There are also roots at the base of the bulb, gleaning water from the earth, and these
lowest roots also adjust the depth of the bulb by contracting to pull the bulb lower if the clumsy gardener has not placed the bulb to its liking. (Don’t you wish all plants were self-correcting?) The stem roots, growing between the bulb and the soil surface, absorb nutrients and brace the heavy flower stem. Thus most lilies have two sets of roots that perform separate functions, with the deepest roots providing water from down where moisture levels are relatively consistent, and the upper stem roots spreading laterally to provide stability. Pretty smart. But the real brains of the operation is the bulb’s basal plate. This is the woody disk at the base of a dormant bulb that generates the contractile roots and holds all of the scales in their upright, overlapping configuration, like an artichoke’s leaves. The flower stem pushes its way up through the scales directly from the basal plate. Also, the basal plate houses the plant’s unique DNA. Whether the lily you grow is a species or a hybrid, the basal plate contains the bulb’s identity, passing it along to the scales, to the baby bulbs (bulblets) that form from the plate, to bulblets that form at the junction of the stem roots and the flower stem, and to the tiny bulbs (called bulbils) that
form above ground at the leaf axils in some species. The basal plate also provides the genetic information in the pollen on the anthers and the eggs (ovules) in the ovary. In short, the basal plate tells every part of the lily how to look and what to do. Thus, when buying lilies, you should know that getting big bulbs is only part of the successful equation. Always examine the basal plate of the bulb you are selecting. In dormant bulbs it should be dry and woody. If it is spongy or has brown pithy areas, it is afflicted by basal rot (usually a botrytis fungus), and the whole bulb should be discarded. The contractile roots that may have been left on the bulb should also be firm and dry. Darkened wet roots on newly purchased bulbs should be pulled off; they are starting to decay and that decay can spread.
lowest roots also adjust the depth of the bulb by contracting to pull the bulb lower if the clumsy gardener has not placed the bulb to its liking. (Don’t you wish all plants were self-correcting?) The stem roots, growing between the bulb and the soil surface, absorb nutrients and brace the heavy flower stem. Thus most lilies have two sets of roots that perform separate functions, with the deepest roots providing water from down where moisture levels are relatively consistent, and the upper stem roots spreading laterally to provide stability. Pretty smart. But the real brains of the operation is the bulb’s basal plate. This is the woody disk at the base of a dormant bulb that generates the contractile roots and holds all of the scales in their upright, overlapping configuration, like an artichoke’s leaves. The flower stem pushes its way up through the scales directly from the basal plate. Also, the basal plate houses the plant’s unique DNA. Whether the lily you grow is a species or a hybrid, the basal plate contains the bulb’s identity, passing it along to the scales, to the baby bulbs (bulblets) that form from the plate, to bulblets that form at the junction of the stem roots and the flower stem, and to the tiny bulbs (called bulbils) that
form above ground at the leaf axils in some species. The basal plate also provides the genetic information in the pollen on the anthers and the eggs (ovules) in the ovary. In short, the basal plate tells every part of the lily how to look and what to do. Thus, when buying lilies, you should know that getting big bulbs is only part of the successful equation. Always examine the basal plate of the bulb you are selecting. In dormant bulbs it should be dry and woody. If it is spongy or has brown pithy areas, it is afflicted by basal rot (usually a botrytis fungus), and the whole bulb should be discarded. The contractile roots that may have been left on the bulb should also be firm and dry. Darkened wet roots on newly purchased bulbs should be pulled off; they are starting to decay and that decay can spread.
