Question
I am wanting to try and plant some of the seeds I have collected from my existing tiger lily plants this winter by doing so in pots. Do I have to take the seed out of the black pod it grew in on the stem or is the whole black pod the seed. This is my confusion. I has since planted the entire pod in the soil as I felt this is what mother nature would have done.....? : ) Any help or advice would be great.

thanx
Newbie Kathie

Answer
Hi Kathie,
Thanx for your question.  I'm not sure you really have a tiger lily but I also realize that people all over the world have a different common name for the same plant.  With that said, the instructions are still the same.  The common tiger lily with which I'm familiar, can be seen through this link.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilium_lancifolium

Generally, though, lily seeds can be found in the pod-like structure you described.  There will be a number of small, black, hard seeds inside the pod.  What happens in nature is that the pod pops open and the seeds are sprayed over the soil near the plant.  Other lilies have flat, brownish, round, paper-like seeds.  The pod bursts open and flings these seed onto the soil also.  Most lilies that grow in Canada and the US require a cold treatment to grow from seed.  That means they need to be on or in the soil during the winter and the wet and cold breaks the dormancy and the seed sprouts in the spring.  Some lily seed called hypogeal, will grow the root first with no leaf growth until the next year.  I hope this helps.
Tom