Sprouting Lycoris Seeds
Sue Madison

I start them in moist vermiculite pushing the seeds about half-way into the medium with the scar being covered for sure. I keep them under lights with some plastic cover to keep it from drying out. You have to watch for fungus; I spray with rubbing alcohol if I see any. If the seeds are fresh they will sprout fairly quickly. If they are stubborn and just won't sprout I have peeled off the black seed coat and then they sprout.

A coiling root comes out first into the air and then circles back into the medium somewhere. The food from the seed is meanwhile being transferred to form a small bulb where the root goes into the medium. Eventually a spear-shaped leaf forms and the seed is pretty well depleted.

Try to keep them growing under the lights for as long as you can. There are reports of blooming within 2 years if you can keep them growing. Once they go into a dormancy they seem to get locked into that cycle tho. If they go thru dormancy cycles it takes about 7 years for a bloom.