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Lilium 'Casa Blanca'

Jose,

If you scale the bulbs this fall or next spring, you should get a bloom
or two the following year and six to eight the year after.

To scale them, snap off the scales, making sure the scales are broken
off right at the basal plate.  Let the scales air dry for a day, dust
them with captan, and place in the scaling medium. I strongly recommend
coarse vermiculite for the medium.  It should be quite dry - it should
feel barely moist when you squeeze it.  Place the medium with the scales
in a well ventilated plastic bag, and place in a warm room (~65-75 F). 
You should see bulbs starting to form in 2 to 6 weeks.

The yield of bulblets will depend on many conditions, and varies from
variety to variety.  A typical yield would be between 1 and 2 bulblets
per scale. If your goal is fifty bulbs, start out with 2 to 4 bulbs.  If
the bulbs are large you may end up with many more than fifty bulblets.

If you scale the bulbs this fall, I would let the bulblets develop for
three or four months.  Oriental lily scale bulblets normally need to be
vernalized before they make top growth.  Put the bag in the refrigerator
for two or three months.  When removed from the frig, they will start to
grow in a week or two.

Plant the vernalized bulblets in fertile, WELL drained soil.  Plant them
in a sunny location where they won't have to compete with other plants. 
I have a nursery bed to plant  scale bulblets in that is raised, filled
with a mix of compost and coarse sand, and is in full sun. The key is to
give them the best growing conditions possible when they are young. If
you plant them in poor soil, or where they have to compete with other
plants, or in poorly drained soil you may never get them to blooming
size.  Do not let them completely dry out, but go easy on the watering. 
Bulb rot is a major enemy. Remember, oriental lilies need an acidic soil
to grow well.

Plant the bulblets an inch or two (to the top of the bulb) deep. The
larger scale bulblets will put up a small stem, while the smaller ones
will put up leaves without a stem. You can plant them fairly close
together - two or three inches between the bulblets should work well.

After the plants go dormant in the fall, add a couple of inches of good
compost over the bed.  The following year, some will bloom, and they
should be ready to transplant in the fall.

I hope this answers your question, and I hope you go ahead with your
project.  Fifty Casa Blancas will be beautiful!

If you have any further questions, drop me a note.

David Sims  sims@dmi.net
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