THE MADONNA LILY phe g 
SUMMARY 
Dig, reset, and propagate the Madonna lily early in the season. 
Propagation can be most advantageously done when the plants are 
in full blossom. There is no advantage to be gained by delaying 
the operation beyond the time when the flowers fade. 
The Nankeen lily can be handled in all respects like the Madonna, 
one of its parents. 
Some other lilies can be advantageously propagated when in blos- 
som, and this time of handling is probably of quite wide application 
to the genus. 
If for any reason it is necessary to propagate the Madonna lily 
late in the season it can be done in a dry, cool, frostless situation 
during late autumn, winter, and spring, so as to bridge over an entire 
growing season. 
Stocks of the Madonna lily may be increased by seed, by natural 
division of the bulbs, by scales, and by stem propagation. 
Under field conditions with good culture and friable well-drained 
soils having a good moisture content there is little trouble with 
pests. 
The culture of this lily on soils that heave in winter should be 
avoided. 
Careful hand pollination will produce an abundance of large 
seeds which germinate promptly and retain their germinating power 
perfectly into the second year. 
Like most liles, the Madonna is readily transplanted under the 
same precautionary measures that one should take with any perennial 
shrub or herb. 
The Madonna lily is deserving of a larger use than is now being 
made of it as a florist item, and no species is better suited or more 
- extensively employed in garden decoration. 
Under commercial handling this lily can be advantageously reset 
every second year, but under ordinary garden conditions it seems 
better to leave it undisturbed for three or four years. If the situation 
is well suited to its growth it will function satisfactorily for a much 
longer time. 
Root development on the propagation, whether from stems or 
scales, is retarded by keeping the moisture supply low. 
