Chipping and Scaling
Scaling Preparation:
Bulb scales provide an ideal method of increasing hybrid lilies.
If only a few extra plants are needed, scrape away the soil from the base of the stems so that the bulb is exposed and detach a few scales, ensuring that each scale has a piece of the base plate attached.
If you require quite a few, then it is better to lift the bulb and detach as many scales as you require, ensuring that each scale has a piece of the base plate attached.
In the latter case, after the foliage dies down circa week 35 select large firm bulbs, and trim off their tops and roots then remove the brown outer skins to expose the overlapping scales radiating from the basal plate.
Snap off as many individual scales as are needed from the bulb, ensuring that it ends up with a piece of basal plate on it, as this is where the new growth will come from.
If the scales are somewhat limp cut them off with a sharp, clean, sterilized knife.
Replant the parent bulb on completion of this task.
Lightly dust the scales you have removed with anti-fungal powder,or wash them in a fungicidal solution.
Propagating scales:
Insert the scales almost to their tips in pans or trays filled with sandy compost.
When the new leaf is 75-100mm long, pot them up singly into 75mm pots, and grow them on in a cold frame.
Alternatively, remove the scales as described above and place them in a polythene bag with a 50:50 mixture of slightly damp compost and perlite, or 100% dampened vermiculite, inflate the bag, seal the top and keep it in a warm place e.g. an airing cupboard.
It may take up to three months for tiny bulbils to form on the chips, when they do, plant them up individually into 75mm (3") pots and grow them on at a temperature of 10°C (50°F).
They should produce leaves the following year.
Allow the leaves to die back, pot them up if necessary and grow on for another couple of years before planting them out into their final quarters.
Chipping:
Chipping is similar to scaling and is more suitable for bulbs such as; Chionodoxa, Narcissus, and Hippeastrums.
After the foliage has died down, select large, firm bulbs and trim off their tops and roots, and remove the brown outer skins.
With a clean sterilised sharp knife cut the bulbs lengthways into segments or chips ensuring that a piece of the basal plate remains on each segment.
The size of these segments is subject to the size of the bulb.
For example a narcissus sized bulb should be cut into four segments whereas a bulb of hippeastrum size may be cut into eight.
Soak the chips in a fungicide solution, then mix in some damp vermiculite in a polythene bag.
Inflate the bag, seal the top and place in a warm dark place, and maintain a temperature of 21° C (70° F),
It may take up to three months for tiny bulbils to form on the chips.
After the bulbils form, plant them up into individual 50 mm (2") pots and grow them on at a temperature of 10°C (50°F).
They should produce leaves the following year.
Allow the leaves to die back, pot them up if necessary and grow on for another couple of years before planting them out into their final quarters.