mouldy lily bulbs! will they grow?

Hi all

Just purchased some discount lily bulbs online. They came this morning and some of them are mouldy. A few of them are quite bad. I broke some of the mouldy bits off. Do you think they will still grow? Have I damaged them by breaking off the (?) Don't know what those bits called :confused:

Also I have planted them in pots, do you think they will be safe outside with all these frosts?

many thanks

 

They are called scales. You can propagate lilies by taking off scales, so it won't hurt to remove a few. I would clean off the mould [wash] and maybe dust with fungicide if you have any before planting the bulbs. I don't know what kind of lilies these are, mine have survived in large pots outside, but small pots might freeze right through and damage the bulbs. If you can, keep them somewhere frost free over winter.

 

Thanks Liz

Never knew that's how you propagate lilies, well now I know!

I didn't think of washing the mould off. duh!!I was kind of in a rush this morning and it had been a day since the bulbs arrived hence I wanted them to be planted asap so ended up planting them with a little bit of mould on (broke off the badly infected scales though). Oh well, hope they are ok. I hope the mould won't be able to grow as the bulbs are burried in the compost and hopefully the cold temperature will kill it off!

 

Hm! Neither did I!

 

Lilies are one of my favourite things- I really like this site:-
http://www.pwk.resteddoginn.ca/produce.php

 

To grow lilies from scales.
Remove the scales carefully from the bulb, so as not to damage the point where they were attached to the mother bulb.
Take a sealable plastic bag and put in a handful of either peat or vermiculite, whichever you prefer. This should be damp but not sodden. The best way to tell is to squeeze the material hard, until no water comes out.
Place the scales in the bag and shake it so they are covered in the material. Put in a warm dark place. Somewhere like an airing cupboard is fine. Leave for a few weeks, then examine through the plastic. Baby bulbs will eventually form on the bottom of the scales. When they are big enough to handle, remove the bulb carefully from the scale and pot up in standard potting compost and grow on. You can put the scale back in the bag and often get another bulb on it.
It takes about 3 to 5 years for the bulb to reach flowering size.