We are pleased to welcome you to our website. We hope you will find information and details of interest to you.
We propagate Lilium species under sterile, in vitro conditions and are committed to their conservation, since many are threatened with extinction in their natural habitat. Our goal is to maintain, reproduce and thus conserve these plants.
Stage 1 has been completed with the development and modification of different nutrient media, the understanding of how lilies react, behave under in vitro conditions and how reproductive and vegetative propagation can be achieved.
In Stage 2 we are now inviting the public to participate in our work and we are including the distribution of lilies propagated in our laboratory, because we have always viewed our work in terms of processing, propagating and conservation.
It will be up to others to cultivate the plants and enjoy the flowers. Our pleasure is in no way reduced by this, quite the contrary. We not only pass on the plants but also the responsibility to keep the genetic purity of the species
in focus. The different species clones, preserved in vitro, will be kept in our laboratory and form the basis for further reproductive cycles, if necessary. The central philosophy of our laboratory has always been that parallel to
a seed-bank there ought to be an in vitro Clone Bank as a complementary support.
Stage 2 now includes
- The repatriation of lilies to their natural habitats, provided that it makes sense and the lilies can be adequately protected.
- The establishment of special cultural procedures in Botanical Institutions and Gardens, which possess the appropriate know-how and necessary climatic conditions, so that these plants and the underlying concept of species protection
are also accessible to the public. - Donations to various private gardeners and botanical centres, where the focus is on intensifying genetic diversity, species-intern cross-pollination is deliberately carried out, and we, in return, gain access to these plants and seeds to form a back-up cultural resource.
- The return of the material we have received from many supporters around the world. Without these supporters we would not have been able to make progress towards realising our goal of creating something unique in the middle of Europe:
a centre where as many lily species as possible are processed and propagated, where the genetic fingerprint of each lily species, derived from at least 4-6 clones per species, is held in our laboratory in the form of in vivo clones
conserved by us as tissue. This makes it possible to resume reproduction at any time. - And, finally, it is now possible for lily enthusiasts, private gardeners and hobbyists to acquire lily species as seedlings and young plants. In this regard we will regularly expand, supplement and revise our web-store. Our concept
calls for especially the rare lily species to be offered at least once in 4-6 different clones in the next few years. This offering will, in most cases, be staggered rather than coterminous, as we may have to work on further improving
one or other clone.
In Stage 3, the final stage, we intend to place the Clone Bank in trusted and experienced laboratory hands, preferable to one laboratory upon each continent and turn our attention to a new plant family based on the same philosophy
and the same goals.
Sometimes we have been given, in acts of total selflessness, especially by private gardeners, the only specimen of a particular species, often the most valuable plant in a whole collection, despite the risk that we could fail in our
task. Experience counts for a lot but it isn‘t everything. We would especially like to thank these supporters for the trust they have shown in us. We are committed to honouring this trust and are now able, with humility rather than
pride, to return and distribute these plants.
Lilium Division IX
(Matthias Knoll)