How to Crossbreed Lilies to Make New Ones

Use different colored thread, labels, or some other easy method to mark both the plant you will collect pollen from and the plant you will pollinate.

Look at an open lily flower and identify the essential organs for producing seeds. The lily flower contains both male and female organs. The female organ, or pistil, is in the center of the flower. Its tip, called the stigma, will look shiny and sticky when it is ready for pollination. The male organs, called stamens, are arranged around the pistil. Each stamen is a delicate filament topped by an anther, which produces pollen. For pollination to succeed, pollen grains must get from an anther of one flower to the stigma of another. Like many flowering plants, lilies cannot reproduce from self-pollination.

Remove the anthers from the blooms you wish to pollinate just before the blooms open, so that the pollen these anthers will produce does not get on the stigmas. Pull petals back gently to find the anthers, and remove them with tweezers or scissors.

Enclose the unopened lily flowers you wish to pollinate inside plastic bags to prevent unwanted pollination. Alternatively, close the lily's petals around the stigma and tie it shut with thread.

Use tweezers to remove an anther of a lily flower you selected as the pollinator from its filament. Choose an anther with visible, loose pollen grains that brush off onto your fingertip with contact. If the flower you intend to pollinate is not yet ready, you can refrigerate the selected anther in an airtight container until the stigma of the selected flower appears receptive. It's best to use the stored pollen within about two weeks; the longer it is stored, the more viability is lost.

Remove the bag or thread from around the flower to be pollinated. Touch the pollen-covered anther to the receptive stigma. If you can see pollen grains on the stigma, the pollen transfer was successful. Keep the pollinated flower covered until its petals drop or the seed pod begins to swell.

Monitor the developing seed pod, which will take six to eight weeks to mature. Collect the pod once it turns brown and begins to split, but before it releases its seeds. While it finishes ripening, hang the pod inside a fine mesh bag or above a paper that will catch any released seeds. When the pod is fully dry, rub it between your fingers to release any remaining seeds, then spread the seeds out to dry in a well-ventilated place.

Plant the dried seeds immediately, or place them in an airtight container and refrigerate them until you are ready to plant them. To store the seeds for more than a few months, place the airtight container in the freezer.