Expert: Laura Walker - 9/26/2006

Question
I'm moving several oriental lilies and when I dug
up the bulbs, I found some of the smaller bulbs fell
loose, no roots or anything.  They reminded me of thick onion petals.  Can these be planted too or just the "mother" bulb that is in one piece?

Thanks so much for your help.

Answer
Mary,
You can certainly plant the small multiplied bulbs when they fall loose of the mother bulb.Most are already formed "baby" bulbs and these can definetely be planted.It may have just been a piece or a layer that fell off the mother bulb.It needs to be a normally formed bulb to plant and produce blooms no matter how small.Hope this clears things up a bit for you.Hope your planting is a success!