Do Lily Bulbs Reproduce?

Types

• Some species of lily enlarge their bulbs underground during summer and cause individual bulb scales to swell and become separate side bulb masses ("offsets") in a cluster. Others, such as some Asian native lilies and Longiflorum-Asiatic (L.A.) hybrid types develop tiny bulblets on their roots.

Significance

• Lily bulbs that develop contain the exact same genetic material as the original bulb. Thus, nurturing these young bulbs yields plants with flowers exactly like the original lily plant. Seed reproduction yields plants with widely different characteristics.

Propagation

• Lily bulbs comprised of scales may be carefully broken apart to harvest the plumpest, outermost scales ("bulbils") for replanting. These bulbils grow quickly in fertile soil to form a larger bulb that creates more scales and produces a large stem with flowers.