Society garlic, Latin scientific name: (Tulbaghia violacea), is a perennial herbaceous plant of the Amaryllidaceae family. It is a bulbous flower, with a plant height of 30-50 cm, bearing cylindrical small bulbs, and mature plants form clumps.
Planting Methods
Scale propagation: that is, using scales for cuttings to produce daughter bulbils. First select high-quality lily bulbs with large bulbs, true color, and intact, pest- and disease-free condition as seed bulbs. First cut off the base of the bulb with a bamboo knife so that the scales separate, then plant them in a seedbed of sunny sandy soil between September and October. Open furrows 10 cm deep, with a row spacing of 30 cm and a plant spacing of 35 cm, bury the scales in the furrows, cover with 4 cm of soil, and press lightly after burying. The following spring, take out the scales and use them as propagation scales for replanting. When planting, the concave side of the scale can face downward, otherwise seedlings are not easy to emerge.
Bulb propagation: also called division of bulbs, which is separating the small bulbils growing on the old lily bulb for propagation. When harvesting lilies in September-October, separate and collect the small bulbs beside the mother bulb, keep them as propagation and cultivation bulbs, store them mixed with moist sand, and take them out for planting in mid-April of the following year. When planting, the depth is 10-15 cm, and they will sprout and emerge in 20-25 days. Larger bulbs can bloom in the same year, while smaller ones take 2-3 years of cultivation to bloom. There is also soilless seedling raising, that is, placing the removed small bulbs in a wooden box in a greenhouse, with a suitable temperature of 18°C-20°C; in this way, small lily seedlings can grow after 3-4 months, and they can be planted in March-April of the following year.
Bulbil propagation: Lilies such as Lilium lancifolium and Lilium candidum produce small bulbils in the leaf axils. After the flowers fade and before the bulbils fall off, collect the bulbils and plant them in the nursery field. After one year, they can form small bulbs and grow leaf buds, and after 2-3 years they can bloom. Seed propagation is also possible, but because the seedlings grown from seeds grow slowly, it is mostly not adopted unless for large-scale propagation. There are 4 propagation methods: sowing, dividing small bulbs, scale cuttings, and dividing bulbils, and any one can be chosen as needed.
Seed propagation: Sowing is sexual reproduction and is mainly used in breeding. The method is: collect seeds in autumn and store them until sowing in the following spring. They germinate about 20-30 days after sowing. During the seedling stage, appropriate shading is needed. By autumn, small bulbs have already formed underground and can be dug out and planted separately. Depending on the species, some seed-grown seedlings bloom in 3 years, while others need many years of cultivation before they bloom. Therefore, this method is not suitable for home use.
Soil
The growing medium should be mixed with leaf mold, sandy soil, and garden soil in a ratio of 1:1:1, and fully decomposed compost and a small amount of bone meal should be applied at the bottom of the pot as a base fertilizer.
Fertilization
Society garlic is suited to nitrogen fertilizer, with soybean cake, rapeseed cake, farmyard compost, and nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium compound fertilizer being the best. During the growing period of society garlic, loosen the soil and weed frequently, and carry out intertillage together with watering and fertilizing. Generally, apply diluted liquid fertilizer 2-3 times during the growing period to promote the growth and development of the seedlings. When flower buds are about to form and bloom, apply phosphorus and potassium fertilizer 1-2 times to ensure that the seedlings have sufficient nutrition during the bud formation and flowering stages, which can not only make the flowers large and brightly colored but also promote the development of the bulbs. For large-scale planting, pay attention to ventilation and appropriate shading. If planting on a small scale or in pots, for ornamental varieties with many flowers and slender, weak stems, set up supports to prevent the flower stems from breaking.
Watering
Watering only needs to keep the potting soil moist, but during the peak growing season and in dry weather, water appropriately and more frequently, and often sprinkle water around the flower pot to increase air humidity. The potting soil should not be too wet, otherwise the bulbs are prone to rot.
Potting Methods
Potting is best done in September-October. The growing medium should be mixed with leaf mold, sandy soil, and garden soil in a ratio of 1:1:1, and fully decomposed compost and a small amount of bone meal should be applied at the bottom of the pot as a base fertilizer. The planting depth is generally about 2-3 times the diameter of the bulb. Society garlic has a relatively large demand for nitrogen and potassium fertilizers, so it should be applied once every 10-15 days during the growing period, while phosphorus fertilizer should be limited, because too much phosphorus fertilizer can cause the leaves to turn yellow. During the flowering period, phosphorus fertilizer can be added 1-2 days. To make the bulbs plump, promptly cut off spent flowers after blooming to reduce nutrient consumption. Watering only needs to keep the potting soil moist, but during the peak growing season and in dry weather, water appropriately and more frequently, and often sprinkle water around the flower pot to increase air humidity. The potting soil should not be too wet, otherwise the bulbs are prone to rot. Potted society garlic should be repotted once a year, replacing it with new growing medium and base fertilizer. In addition, during the growing period, turn the flower pot once a week. Otherwise, the plant tends to grow unevenly, affecting its appearance.