Bulb Scaling: How to Multiply Lilies From Scales

Bulb scaling is a propagation method specific to scaly bulbs — most notably lilies and some fritillaries. A scaly bulb is made up of individual fleshy scales attached to a basal plate, as opposed to the papery-skinned tunicate bulbs of tulips and daffodils. Each of these scales can be detached and, given the right conditions, will produce a small bulblet at its base. From a single lily bulb you can produce twenty or more new bulblets, though they take two to three years to flower-sized bulbs.

When to Scale Bulbs

Scale lily bulbs in late summer after the foliage has died back — August to September is ideal. At this point the bulb is at its largest and most nutrient-rich. Lifting and scaling while the foliage is still green risks losing nutrients that would otherwise return to the bulb. Fritillaries can be scaled at the same time of year. The scales are removed, treated, and placed in rooting conditions through autumn, with bulblets forming over the following weeks and months.

How to Remove and Treat the Scales

Lift the bulb carefully and clean off the soil. Pull individual scales away from the outside of the bulb with a downward and outward motion, ensuring each scale retains a small fragment of the basal plate at its base — this is the point from which bulblets form. Discard any scales that are damaged, soft, or diseased. Dust the detached scales lightly with fungicide powder to reduce the risk of rotting. The parent bulb, with its inner scales intact and basal plate undamaged, can be replanted immediately and will flower again the following year, though perhaps slightly later than usual.

Rooting the Scales

Place the dusted scales in a zip-lock bag with a handful of slightly moist vermiculite or perlite — just moist enough to stick slightly to your hand, not wet. Seal the bag and store it at around 20 °C in a dark place — a kitchen cupboard works well. Check every two to three weeks. Bulblets form at the basal plate of each scale within six to twelve weeks. When bulblets are pea-sized, remove scales from the bag and pot them individually into small pots of gritty compost, basal plate down, tips just below the surface.

Growing On to Flowering Size

Keep potted bulblets in a frost-free greenhouse or cold frame through their first winter. They will produce small, grass-like leaves in spring. Feed with a balanced liquid fertiliser every two weeks through the growing season and allow the foliage to die back naturally. In autumn, lift, clean, and replant in progressively larger pots or move to a nursery bed. Expect flowering-sized bulbs after two to three seasons, depending on the species and growing conditions.