Eremurus x Isabellinus (Foxtail Lilies)

I've received seeds for these today and propagation looks complicated and long winded.

Sowing temperature 25-30C for 4-5 weeks followed by 2C for 11-12 weeks in darkness. Is it really this difficult to germinate them please?

 

Dunno if "difficult" is the word I would use, they have built in dormancy that looks for a Summer followed by a Winter - so Warm and then Cold. You need to simulate that somehow - sowing them in the Autumn and leaving them in cold greenhouse over winter would do. More surefire would be to mix with some damp vermiculite and put in a bag at the required warm temperature ... and then move it to the fridge ... and then sow it (seed plus vermiculite) on the surface of a pot or seed tray, like you normally would.

 

As Kristen says, simple enough.
But I am led to believe that it's three to four years for blooming.

 

Mine gave up the ghost before they got that far. Might try again but they need lots of space, light and air, which my garden does not have enough of.

 

Thanks all! It doesn't look promising does it? If they do take that long to bloom I wish the seed producers would put that in the info. Oh well, in for a penny in for a pound, I'll give them a go and keep my fingers crossed.

 

Look at it this way;

The tubers (around here at least) are about £5 or £6 a pop, and they can take a season to settle in as well. It is also notoriously fickle about site and soil (as in MUST be free draining - I was told to plant atop a mound of sand). You've spent £3 (?) on 10 (?) seeds. So assuming that they germinate at 50% you'll have five times the chance of succeeding!

I never take the seed sellers growing/culture notes at face value either. Even when my research is less than encouraging my heart tends to rule my head though.

 

I bought some Foxtail Lily plants last year, planted them out all going well, then the slugs found them, so I put in a pot to recover, as they had not had too long in the ground, they died right off, so I am hoping they will reappear this year.

 

Well, the mound of sand isn't going to be an issue, I garden on sand only being 200 yards from the beach. For your info, 12 seeds at £2.

Thanks for the encouragement, tomorrow they'll be under way albeit slowly.