you mean of napelense??
it is tiny

Yes pat, pictures always help in this forum

not sure how to post a pic on here but will look into that
and get a pic of the tiny bulbs I have
apparently according to the another lily breeder last night they are normally tiny
and resemble more of an acorn..

look very similar to some small spring bulbs that you would plant

Lilium dauricum, this one grown from seed collected on Sakhalin Island in the Russian far east. This one is a small bulb, just over an inch in diameter grown in a small pot, but it did produce its first bloom this past summer.


I was a little puzzled when examining this bulb because two of the scales seemed to be segmented (shown with orange arrows in the pic below). I had thought that was a trait reserved only for a couple species in the martagon section (see post #30 in this thread here.) So I did some researching and the Flora of China indeed states that L. dauricum bulbs may or may not have segmented scales.

That's a beautiful little bulb. Wonder if there is a closer genetic affiliation between this asiatic, rather than other asiatics, and those martagon species with segmented scales?

Lilium leichtlinii var. maximowiczii from wild seed: Toyama Prefecture, Japan.



This species may or may not wander underground before emerging in the spring.

It appears the orientation of the bulb has an influence on how far the stem will travel. I'm kind of surprised that more stem bulblets didn't form on the grand example at the lower right. This picture is an excellent illustration of the individual feeder root character variations from bulb to bulb within the species. Edit added: Individual variation within the species, etc. I'll bet the heavy ground feeder on the left was a fine example of the plant. Important photo.

I believe you are correct in every aspect, Lorn. There were a few more little stem bulblets here and there, but distributed pretty equally among them among the parent bulbs. Any thoughts on why a bulb would not orient itself upright? Even the bulb roots on the lower right plant are displayed correctly.

Nice pictures Rick. I just got a few gold band auratum bulbs and kushi maya bulbs yesterday. Along with a monster L. Henryi "select" from the lily nook. Hoping to get them planted soon!

Rick, no thoughts on that one in particular, really. I haven't seen enough of those totally horizontal to make an association. But I have seen the same kinds of variations in underground character that you show ( and more) with both L. henryi and var. citrinum. I go through quite few young stock of both types here and only save the very best and dispose of the rest. So I've never done any tracking on the varients. But based on the limited digging and moving of offspring derived from my selected good stock, the root structure has been much like the parents--heavy ground feeders, so it can be selected out, But if left alone to nature like in my henryi patch, I've more or less concluded that this underground variation is typical and normal within the species. And that can be a good thing.

It would be interesting to tag the horizontal one and replant it vertical to see if it resumes horizontal orientation.

Today was very lucky , to purchase bulbs of lilium longiflorum from a lily show exhibitor , who has nothing to prove in exhibiting these excellent examples of longiflorum.. (He & his wife have won in this category for about 20 yrs) Siegmund & Wendy Werner are very proud of their blooms as Della Cooper would agree...After reading various articles on Longiflorum breeding, I think I should extrude into experimentation this Summer Dec-Feb..in Australia..

Go for it Anthony! Trying something new is a good thing!

Lilium nepalense
non-blooming size bulbs
-- -- Sorry, these did not turn out to be L. nepalense.

So healthy! Nice to see clear examples of the little wanderers.

Not a true species lily, but a naturally occurring wild hybrid:
Lilium tsingtauense crossed with either L. distichum or L. medeoloides

Not my own, but expertly grown by a couple NALS members in Wisconsin:

Lilium tsingtauense

This is one species I even have good luck with Rick. It seems to multiply well here and it's quite nice. Haven't killed it yet.

That's very promising, Tracey. Those L. tsingtauense bulbs grew in soil derived from the native sandstone bedrock. Their garden was so sandy that the rain would wash the soil surface and expose the sand granules. Before I realized this, I had asked the growers if they had recently amended the soil with sand! L. tsingtauense must be quite adaptable, as I don't remember your garden being sandy.

Lilium nepalense.
-- -- Sorry, these did not turn out to be L. nepalense.

I should also add these photos here. Gigantic lilium candidum bulb: