Wood lily time is now!

Wood lilies (Lilium philadelphicum) are blooming now but you have to be quick or you will miss them.

Last year we had more success than usual at Pleasant Valley Conservancy, but this year is even better. Perhaps the consistent rains we have been having this year are helping. The table below shows where we saw wood lilies during our searches on 11 and 13 June 2015.

Wood lily location	Character of site	# plants	Source
Cabin Prairie	Planted prairie	5	Seed
East Basin	Planted prairie	2	Seed
Forbs Garden	Planted prairie	4	Seed
Pocket Prairie East	Planted prairie	4	Seed
Pocket Prairie West	Planted prairie	5	Seed
Ridge Prairie	Planted prairie	1	Seed
Toby’s Prairie North	Planted prairie	2	Seed
Toby’s Prairie South	Planted prairie	9	Seed
Unit 1	Prairie remnant (south-facing slope)	14	Seed?
Unit 6	Prairie remnant (south-facing slope)	1	Transplant
Unit 7	Prairie remnant (south-facing slope)	1	Seed?
Valley Prairie	Planted prairie	4	Seed
	Total plants at PVC	52

Use this link to access my post from last year, which describes the technique that Kathie used to plant wood lily seed.

The source of the lilies in two of the remnants (Units 1 and 7) is questionable, as we have no records that these sites have ever been planted with this species.

Some of the sites on the above table have had wood lilies for some years. We first saw plants in the Valley Prairie about 5 years ago. We also had a single plant in the Pocket Prairie about 5 years ago, but it was in bloom for about 24 hours before a deer came along and ate it. We are fairly certain that this same plant is one of those found this year in Pocket Prairie West.

Last year was the first year we had lilies in Toby's Prairie. These arose from seeds that Kathie had "knifed" into the ground 4 or 5 years before.

What are the chances that any of these plants will become pollinated and set seed? According to the literature, wood lilies must be cross pollinated, so the same insect must move from one plant to another on the same day. Thus, the chance of seed set will be higher at those sites where several flowering plants are close together. In order to monitor these plants for seed set, a numbered flag was placed at each location.

In addition, Kathie hand pollinated a number of plants. Using a Q-tip, she carefully lifted pollen from the anthers of pollen-producing plants and transferred it to the pistil (female organ) of nearby plants. Hopefully, this will lead to higher rates of seed set.

Hand pollinating wood lilies

Close-up of the wood lily flower