How many years does it take to harvest edible lilies? The planting time and methods are all here

Lily is a perennial herbaceous bulbous plant with diverse varieties, which can be used for ornamental, edible and medicinal purposes, and its planting range is also very wide. So how many years does it take to harvest edible lilies? Are you clear about the planting time and methods?

I. Basic information about lilies

1. Distribution of lilies

Lily is also known as Qiangshu, Fanjiu, Shandan, Daoxian, Chongmai, Zhongting, Moluo, Chongxiang, Zhongfenghua, Baihe garlic, Master garlic, garlic-brained potato, night-closing flower, etc. It is a herbaceous plant native to China, mainly distributed in the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere such as eastern Asia, Europe, and North America. In China, it is mainly produced in Hunan, Sichuan, Henan, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang, and is planted throughout the country, with a small portion being wild resources.

2. Value of lilies

Lily contains rich protein, wealth, vitamins, etc., and can be eaten either fresh or dried. Edible lilies have a good nutritional and tonic effect, and have a certain preventive and therapeutic effect on various seasonal diseases caused by the dry autumn climate. In addition, fragrant lilies also have effects such as calming the heart and soothing the nerves, and moistening the lungs to stop cough.

3. Flower language of lilies

The flower language of lilies is a hundred years of harmony, great love, deep blessings, etc. In feng shui terms, lilies also have the effect of enhancing romantic luck for single people, and lilies symbolize happiness and fulfillment, and are often used as wedding flowers.

II. How many years does it take to harvest edible lilies?

1. Lilies are generally harvested in the autumn of the second year after planting, when the aboveground part has completely withered and the underground part has fully matured. Lilies are generally dug on a sunny day around the Dashu solar term (late July). After harvest, the aboveground part is cut off, and the fibrous roots and seed roots are stored in a ventilated place.

2. The underground bulbs of edible lilies can be harvested throughout the year. However, the eating flavor, commercial value, etc. vary with different harvest times. Generally, in October, after the stems wither, and after a period of cooling, harvesting around the Start of Winter, the sugar content of lily bulbs increases rapidly, which is also a physiological response of the plant body preparing for overwintering.

III. Planting time and methods of edible lilies

1. Planting time of edible lilies

Lily propagation can choose asexual propagation (scale propagation, bulbil propagation and bulblet propagation) or sexual propagation. Among them, scale propagation should be carried out in autumn each year, while bulbil propagation is harvested after maturity in summer, mixed with moist fine sand after harvesting, stored in a cool and ventilated place, and then planted in September-October of that year; if sexual propagation is used, the mature seeds are collected in autumn and then sown in a seedbed.

2. Planting methods of edible lilies

(1) For planting edible lilies, sandy loam soil with fertile soil, high and dry terrain, good drainage, and loose texture should be selected for cultivation. Before planting, organic fertilizer or compound fertilizer should be applied as base fertilizer, and at the same time high beds should be made and drainage ditches dug.

(2) Select disease-free and robust large bulbs, cut off the base, peel off the scales, insert the scales into the prepared seedling bed at a row spacing of 10 cm X 5 cm, compact them, water thoroughly, and cover the bed surface with rice straw to keep warm and moist; in the spring of the following year, new plants will develop, and then they can be transplanted to the field.

(3) After the lily seedlings emerge, remember to weed in time. Before May, shallow hoeing is suitable to avoid damaging the bulbs. When growth reaches the stage of closing rows, no longer carry out intertillage and weeding, and pull out large weeds by hand; when there is a lot of rain, drain it in time. After flowering, apply 28-32 kg of superphosphate, 20-25 kg of ammonium phosphate, and 0.2-0.4 kg of zinc sulfate per mu, then cover with soil and water after application.

(4) Common diseases and pests of lilies include cottony soft rot, damping-off, viruses, leaf blight, black stem disease, aphids, chafer larvae, mites, etc. Everyone must take good control measures when planting.

The above is the full introduction about edible lilies. I hope it can help you.