Late Summer and Autumn

This time of year things are really winding down, and most lily stalks will have shed their spent flowers. Some will already be turning brown. It is important to remember that leaving the green stalk after flowering allows the plant to feed the bulb. In Autumn the bulb begins to grow new roots. Remember a lily bulb is never 'dormant' and should never be out of the soil for long.

If you've been dabbing pollen, then you will see some lilies have pods. As the immature seed pod grows, like a fruit, it becomes nice and fat. Often the pods start off green and later often begin to change colour to a rusty brown. The pods shown here are still 'green', which means they are 'fleshy' and the seed inside is not yet ripe. When the pod is ripe it will be brittle, and begin to split.

Lily parts come in groups of three. and the seed pod is no exception. Here you can clearly see the three sections holding two rows of seeds each (6).