EASTER LILIES 15 



Even though added illumination is given lily plants to hasten flowering, 

 reasonable cultural temperatures should be provided. Roberts and Struck- 

 meyer (11) observed that the response of plants to length of day was 

 affected by temperature. They found that chrysanthemums under con- 

 ditions of short or long day at cool temperatures produced sucker growth 

 instead of stem growth; but with the same length of day, short or long, 

 at warm temperatures stem growth was stimulated and sucker growth 

 inhibited. 



The usual method of applying light to lilies to hasten the blooming 

 date for Easter is to use 200-watt lamps spaced 6 feet apart and suspended 

 2 to 2y2 feet above the top of the plants. On benches 4i/4 to 5 feet wide, 

 one 200-watt lamp will effectively illuminate approximately 27 to 30 

 square feet of bench space. A 14 inch R. L. M. dome reflector should 

 be used with each 200-watt lamp. If the reflector is to be used at a 

 future time with lower wattage lamps, an adaptor can be purchased to 

 fit the smaller lamp. 



The lily plants should be illuminated for a period of 5 to 6 hours daily, 

 starting at sunset. In Massachusetts this will occur at approximately 

 4 p. m. in December and January, at 4.30 p. m. in February, and at 5 

 p. m. in March. A normal long day in summer has fourteen to fifteen 

 hours of effective daylight while short days in winter may have eight 

 hours or even less sunlight per day. In extremely cloudy weather in 

 winter, the illumination of lilies for six to seven hours with electric lamps 

 may not be sufficient to compensate for the greater lack of light during 

 the day. Therefore, it may be found advisable to lengthen the daily 

 period of artificial illumination one or more hours when such weather 

 conditions occur. 



The results of experimental work show that the flowering date of lilies 

 cannot be hastened more than two weeks by the use of artificial light. 

 Where a lily crop is definitely late, light should be applied six to eight 

 weeks prior to Easter and reasonable growing temperatures maintained. 



The number of lily plants a 200-watt lamp will illuminate depends on 

 the spacing of the plants in a given bench area. Plants that are the 

 most retarded should be placed directly under the lights and those more 

 advanced toward the outer area of illumination. A 200-watt lamp oper- 

 ating for 6 hours will consume 1.2 kilowatt hours of electricity, which, 

 at the rate of 4 cents per kilowatt hour, would cost between 4 and 5 

 cents per 30 square feet of bench area illuminated per night. 



The use of light is merely an emergency method or cultural aid; it 

 should not be expected to give miraculous results, particularly when the 

 bulbs have been planted very late or improperly handled. 



Easter Lilies from Seed 



The production of lilies for flowers from seed is not a common prac- 

 tice among florists because it involves too long a time between seeding 

 and flowering and too much labor. Excellent quality flowers can be 

 grown from seedling lilies, however, particularly from hybrids. Under 

 favorable conditions seedling lilies can be flowered in 14 to 16 months. 

 Much better success will be had if they are grown in pots and shifted as 

 needed, rather than in flats. The seedlings may be planted in the field 



