How to Grow Edible Lilies: Planting Methods and Cultivation Techniques

In our lives, lilies include not only the lily flowers seen everywhere but also the edible lilies often seen in our meals. Lilies have a great many varieties and variants, and edible lilies have effects such as moistening the lungs and stopping coughs, calming the nerves and soothing the spirit, relieving constipation and fighting cancer. Below is an introduction to the planting methods for edible lilies.

I. Edible Lily Cultivation Techniques

1. Site Selection and Land Preparation

For edible lilies, choose a plot with higher terrain, good sun exposure, good drainage and irrigation conditions, deep soil, and medium-to-upper fertility for planting. Edible lilies cannot be planted in successive cropping, nor can they be rotated with crops such as onions and garlic; the previous crop should preferably be a legume or a grass-family crop. Before planting, apply 2500 to 3000 kg of decomposed organic fertilizer and 25 kg of superphosphate per mu as base fertilizer, and at the same time plow in 0.6 kg of 50% diazinon to disinfect the soil. Then deep-plow 25 to 30 cm. Land preparation should fully mix the base fertilizer with the soil, so as to fully improve the soil's physical and chemical properties and create good conditions for edible lily root development and bulb expansion.

2. Selection of Seed Bulbs

Edible lilies have a low propagation coefficient and require a large amount of seed. For planting edible lilies, Longya lily has the best quality; this variety has large, plump scales shaped like dragon teeth, is white and tender, and has no bitter taste, commanding a high price and selling well. When introducing edible lily seed, be sure to choose seed bulbs that are white in color, have large scales, no pitting, and no bitter taste. Generally, choosing medium bulbs of 50 to 60 g for planting gives the best economic returns. About 150 to 200 kg of seed bulbs are needed per mu.

3. Timely Sowing and Pinching Out the Growing Tip

Edible lilies are generally best sown from late September to early October. After sowing, they do not begin to emerge until early March of the following year. In hilly and mountainous areas, the usual sowing spacing is 40 cm × 30 cm between rows and plants, ensuring a population density of more than 6000 plants per mu. After sowing, the plot must be covered with rice straw or leaves to retain moisture, keeping the plot dry; there must be no standing water in the field.

For edible lilies, when the plant has grown more than 60 leaves and the daily average temperature has not exceeded 23°C, the growing tip should be pinched out. Pinching out the growing tip increases yield compared with not pinching; pinching at the right time increases yield compared with pinching late; and the more leaves retained when pinching at the right time, the greater the yield increase. When the seedlings are 30-35 cm tall, topping and tip removal should be done promptly to concentrate nutrients toward the bulbs.

4. Field Management and Fertilization

After sowing, edible lilies should be covered with plastic film. Trials show that covering edible lilies with film for 30 to 40 days in early spring can shorten the emergence period of edible lilies by 7 to 15 days and increase yield by 12%. To prevent the later green leaves of edible lilies from withering early and to prolong the life of the functional leaves of edible lilies, in late June, when the edible lily bulbs begin to expand more slowly, apply a foliar fertilizer once using a mixture of 0.2% potassium dihydrogen phosphate plus 0.3% to 0.5% urea. In early July, apply 10 kg of high-grade compound fertilizer per mu mixed with 50 kg of water as a foliar spray to prevent premature senescence.

5. Pest and Disease Control and Harvest

Within 1 to 2 days after sowing edible lilies, spray 50 to 80 g of acetochlor per mu to prevent weeds from growing thickly. During the growth period of edible lilies, the main pests and diseases are cutworms, aphids, and viral diseases. In the early stage of viral disease, spray 1000-fold dilution of 1.5% Zhibingling emulsion, or 300-fold dilution of Antiviral Agent No. 1, once every 10 days, for 2 to 3 consecutive sprays. For aphids after emergence, use 40% omethoate for control. In late April, apply 0.5 kg of phoxim per mu as poisoned soil to kill underground insects. In the later growth stage of edible lilies, the more green leaves per plant, the larger the bulbs and the higher the yield.

For edible lilies, after the Beginning of Autumn, when the stems have turned yellow and died and the flowers have fallen, harvest at the right time on a sunny day; at this time the bulbs are fully developed, the yield is high, and they store well. When harvesting, dig out the bulbs, cut off the aboveground parts, immediately transport them indoors and bury them, and store them in clean river sand to prevent discoloration and shriveling, which would affect economic returns.

II. Classification of Main Lily Varieties

1. Tiger Lily (Lilium lancifolium)

Tiger lily, also known as Juandan, Tiandai lily, Daochuilian, Tiger-skin lily, Zhenzhu flower, and Yellow lily. Because the flowers are orange-red and the petals curve backward, it is named “Juandan”.

Because the petals have purplish-black markings much like the pattern on a tiger's back, it also has the elegant name tiger-skin lily. It is native to China, Japan, Korea, and other places, and is now grown in many areas. The plant is 70-100 cm tall, with some reaching 1.5 m, and can be called the crown of lilies. The bulb is plump and white, edible and medicinal, with a slightly bitter taste. The stems bear dark purple spots, making the stalks appear dark brown. The plant grows robustly, and bulbils form in the leaf axils, which can be used for propagation. Triploid tiger lilies pollinated with many Asian lily species all show interspecific compatibility and can produce interspecific hybrids.

2. Beautiful Lily (Lilium speciosum)

The beautiful lily, also known as deer-fawn lily and brilliant red lily. The deer-fawn lily is native to Jiangxi Province, Zhejiang Province, and Taiwan, China, as well as the coastal areas of Kyushu and southwestern Shikoku in Japan. The plant is 60-100 cm tall. The leaves are opposite, broad, and sparse, hence the name large-leaf lily. Several flowers bloom on the upper part of the stem; the petals curve outward and the stamens extend beyond the petals; the flowers are white and pale red, with rose-colored markings and spots on the petals like the markings on a deer, hence the beautiful name deer-fawn lily. Those with white flowers are called white deer-fawn lily, and those with red or purple flowers are called red deer-fawn lily. The rare variety brilliant red deer-fawn lily of Taiwan, China, is called “the most beautiful lily in East Asia”.

3. Shandan Lily (Lilium pumilum)

The Shandan lily, also known as Shandan flower, Shandandan, coral lily, linear-leaf lily, and slender-leaf lily. It gets its name because its leaves are fine and numerous and its corolla resembles coral. The stalk is 30-40 cm tall, and the leaves on the stem grow to 50-80 cm, small and delicate, long and narrow like pine needles. The flowers open in late spring and early summer, hang downward, and the petals curve outward; the color is bright red and glossy. The bulb is ovate or conical, and the scales are oblong or long-ovate. The capsule is oblong. The flowering period is July to August, and the fruit ripening period is September to October.

4. Easter Lily (Lilium longiflorum)

The Easter lily, also known as the trumpet lily and Easter lily, is a representative variety of ornamental lily; the flowers are pure white, trumpet-shaped, and open horizontally. It is native to Taiwan, China.

III. Lily Propagation Methods

1. Seed Bulb Propagation

Use secondary small seed bulbs for propagation. This method takes effect quickly and has fewer diseases. The aboveground stem portion of the lily at the soil surface will produce seed bulbs 1 cm-2 cm in size; keep these when harvesting lilies, bury them in sand, and use them as seed when sowing in autumn.

2. Bulbil Propagation

The Easter lily does not produce bulbils; other lilies can produce bulbils (that is, aerial small bulbs) the size of broad bean grains in their leaf axils in summer, and each plant can produce more than 40. As summer temperatures keep rising, the bulbils will fall off, so they should be harvested before they fall, kept for seed, and sown in September-October of that year.

3. Scale Propagation

This method has a high propagation coefficient and is relatively commonly used. After the bulbs are fully mature, dig them up, select plump ones free of pests and diseases, cut the scales off from the base with a sharp knife, and immediately plant them in a seedbed covered with sandy loam. For scale propagation, choose healthy, disease-free plants; they must first undergo over-summer treatment at above 35°C for 7 days before they will sprout quickly and uniformly.

IV. How to Select Lilies

When selecting fresh lilies, choose ones that are large, white in color, evenly scaled, thick-fleshed, and with little soil in the recessed base. If the lily is yellowing and the soil in the recess is moist, it may have rotted at the core. For dried lilies, those that are dry, free of impurities, thick-fleshed, and crystal clear are best.

For edible lilies, cultivated ones with a non-bitter taste and broad, thin scales are superior. For medicinal lilies, wild ones with a more bitter taste and small, thick scales are best.

Because market demand for edible lilies is growing larger and larger, while domestic planting area is too small, and there are fewer varieties, this has caused a shortage of supply in the past two years, making prices soar. Stimulated by this situation, many friends want to grow lilies and adjust their industry structure. Under such circumstances, varieties and planting techniques have become key. Therefore, mastering the cultivation techniques for edible lilies has become very important.