Cultivation techniques of Palace Lantern Lilium

Sandersonia aurantiaca is a bulbous flower of Liliaceae. It is named because its flower shape and color resemble Chinese palace lantern. When it blooms, it looks like a string of lanterns hanging on the stem of the flower, setting off the green leaves. It is called Christmasbells because it blooms on Christmas Day.

growth habit

Palace lily originated in South Africa, wet summer, is its growing season, dry winter without rain, its dormant period. Because of its low temperature and sunshine requirements, it is very suitable for greenhouse and field cultivation in temperate and subtropical regions.

The most suitable soil temperature for lily is 18℃-24℃, and it is best to cultivate it in a greenhouse with shelter and shade facilities. If the temperature is higher than 30℃, it will inhibit growth and distort the flower stem. When planted in summer, high temperatures shorten the growth period to less than 45 days for flowering and shorten the flower stems. Under normal circumstances, the lily blooms 60 days after planting. In northern Taiwan or middle altitude areas of China, the low temperature period is longer in winter, and the temperature is not too high to affect the growth of Lilium miyongensis, so the cut flower quality is good and the seed bulb yield is high; while in summer, the high temperature period is longer, resulting in a shorter growth period of Lilium miyongensis, which is unfavorable for the production of cut flowers and seed bulbs.

propagation techniques

The propagation of Lilium miyongensis can be carried out by seed propagation and seed ball propagation. After pollination, each flower stem can bear 8-12 capsules, each capsule has about 50-70 seeds, because its seeds have deep dormancy mechanism, the germination rate is very low; using gibberellin treatment can increase its germination rate to 20%. After germination, the seeds can grow into small seed balls of 1- 2g in one growing season, and the small seed balls can be cultivated into commercial balls for cut flower cultivation after 1-2 years.

When lily is propagated by seed ball, each ball has two growth points and can produce two new seed balls. The seed ball produced by this method is larger, but the reproduction rate is lower. The secondary ball often grows during the growth and development of the seed ball. The secondary ball is easy to be deionized during excavation or artificial treatment, resulting in the loss of growth points and germination ability of the seed ball. Due to the low reproduction rate of seed balls, seed reproduction is the main way to achieve mass production of high-quality seed balls.

cultivation and management

Soil and Fertilization Choose loose, fertile, well-drained soil. If the acid is low, quicklime should be used to improve the soil, which can not only improve the soil, but also kill some bacteria and underground pests in the soil. If the alkaline soil is improved with phosphoric acid added to peat, the amount depends on the specific situation. When soil preparation, fully decomposed organic fertilizer shall be applied, compound fertilizer 375-600kg/hm2 + organic fertilizer 30000kg/hm2 shall be applied per mu, or other decomposed organic fertilizer shall be evenly mixed with topsoil 30cm thick after being applied as base fertilizer. The plot planted with other bulbs should also be added 800 times dicofol to prevent root mites. Lily does not require very high nutrient levels and is generally not fertilized during the first three weeks of cultivation, during which time it is most important to ensure good root development. For small bulbs, fertilizer containing humic acid and some trace elements can be sprayed when the height of seedlings is 10-30cm in the early stage of growth to increase resistance and promote rooting. Before the seedling height reaches 30cm, the root length of stem does not reach 5 cm before soil topdressing. After rooting, calcium nitrate 75kg/hm2 or compound fertilizer 150kg/hm2 can be applied once. If nitrogen deficiency often makes the plant grow less robust during the growth period, quick-acting nitrogen fertilizer can be applied generally 20-150kg/hm2. Soil topdressing 2-3 times is appropriate, foliar topdressing can be once a week. Spray the plants once with water after topdressing to prevent leaf burning.

Temperature management controlling ground temperature is the key of early stage management. The optimum soil temperature for the growth period of Lilium miyongensis is 18℃-24℃, and the temperature should be low during the first three weeks or at least before the roots grow. When the temperature is higher than 20℃, the rooting quality will decrease, especially in summer. It is indispensable to keep or promote the soil temperature cool. High daytime temperatures reduce plant height, reduce the number of buds per flower, and produce blind flowers. Night temperature lower than 15℃ will lead to bud drop, leaf yellowing, reduce ornamental value. In summer, ventilation, spraying, shading and other ways to cool down, winter is to pay attention to heating and insulation.

Ventilation The temperature in spring, summer and autumn is guaranteed. When the temperature is high at noon, the canopy film and top window can be opened for ventilation in the morning. The humidity can be adjusted in the environment with slightly lower temperature to avoid sudden humidity change in the high temperature stage. In winter, the temperature is low, and thermal insulation measures should be taken. Ventilation must be carried out at noon when the outside temperature is high. Ventilation should be carried out intermittently.

Light management insufficient light, not conducive to flower bud formation, too strong light, but also affect the quality of cut flowers, generally speaking, growth period should be shading treatment and supplementary light measures to change the adverse effects of light factors on plant growth. Shading in the early stage of growth is beneficial to increase the height of plants, especially in summer, shading nets are used inside and outside the shed to avoid excessive temperature in the shed and cause damage to plants and buds. When bud differentiation period to bud growth is leaf burn sensitive period, should pay attention to light and humidity changes can not be excessive.

Pest control common diseases are gray mold, leaf spot disease, root rot, etc., mainly through seed ball and soil disinfection to control. Growth period disease can be every 7-10 days regularly alternate spraying of ammonium, carbendazim and other fungicides. Common pests are mainly root mites and other underground pests and aphids, with phoxim, dicofol control.

Cut flowers can be harvested when the bottom three flowers of the flower stem are completely golden, usually leaving 2-3 leaves at the base of the plant. The cut flowers should be put into clear water to absorb water for more than 2 hours, then put into preservation solution, placed in a low temperature refrigerator at 6℃-8℃, and packaged in grades after 4-6 hours.