on my own seeds I get close to 50% every year, on the ones I purchase it really varies more, so the people with repeated history of failures get knocked off my list of ever purchasing from them.

Without knowning what you are doing from start to finish its hard to critique..

However , make sure your seeds are fully ripened before harvesting, best to let them crack themselves.

Dont overdry , loads of heat can damage any seeds, normal room temp for a week is all thats needed at the most.

Soak them in water first, dont waste time planting seeds that are useless.

keep the seed mix, damp but not soaking.

I grow mine under lights on a heating mat with a constant temp of around 65-70 (control doesnt seem that accurate to get within 1 degree) but doesnt seem to bother them.

Silverkelt

I've had 90-100% germination from seeds from CT Daylilies - and he puts the seeds in the bags along with dampened vermiculite before refrigerating them. But then, he does his pollinating and growing seed pods in a greenhouse. Every seed he sent me looked perfect - fat and shiny.

I have too many daylilies, so am not pollinating this year. (I can't believe I can make it through the season without dabbing here and there). If I were though.....I'd give his method a try.

The best germination rate I ever had was when I started soaking/planting my seeds beginning four days after harvest. That info was passed on to me by another hybridizer. But then, that's because we live in the South and can get our seedlings a good start before winter.

Nancy

I think it's nature or nurture and beginners luck. My first cross (in 1987) was ditch lily pollen on an unknown that an old lady from the farmers market said came from Austria Hungary. Since she had an accent , I believed her, . Anyway she sold daylilies out of her back yard and just forked a big division off when you bought them---some had names and some di'nt so I have old orange ones that I'll never know. That first year I got eight seeds, put them in a flower pot in February and all grew without any fuss, went into the garden in a lump and bloomed in1988 Start of an obsession. Used old Ed Murray a few years back and got five seeds all of which refused to germinate. Found out they have to be cold stratified and not by planting outside in the Fall which is my usual procedure because they just die-------I am too disorganized and forgetful for any complex procedures so I can't bother with soaking or fussing--though I did finally stratify some Ed Murray seedlings and----------

As a follow-up... how long should I wait for seeds in my seed starter dome? I am now at 20% germination and they have been planted aver two weeks. Should I remove the seedlings that have sprouted and continue to wait for the other seeds? or are they probably past waiting for? The sprouts have reached the top of the dome and I don't really want to keep them hunched over in there too long or does that even matter?

hi moonpie, This was mt first winter with growing seeds. I had around a 75% rate, and if it opened all but a couple survived. I did some in a "dome" with individual cells. Those were the worse. Unless its a super deep cell like 6 inches they seem to really not like them after sprouting. It set mine back at least a month in comparison to the ones I started in 18 oz plastic cups. I did 3-6 seeds a cup and let them grow till it looked crowded then planted them in individual cups.

I also pre germinated in water in refrig and just put them in the cup. Not much of a difference for me. It just seems to matter how good the seed is.

Hope this helps :)

In the last year I've planted about 5000 seeds over many months, some expensive ones and a lot of cheap ones I bought on the Lily Auction where someone was clearing out their refrigerator. Plus I made about 550 of my own seeds. Germination rates vary from 0 to 100%, and seem to vary more by who the parents are than by who sold me the seeds. I saw this with my own seeds, and I know they had consistent treatment. The seeds from some parents like Shotgun Wedding often didn't germinate, though with a few co-parents the germination rate would jump into the 80s. This happened whether Shotgun Wedding was the pollen or pod parent. So maybe most of your seeds are from a daylily with a bad seed germination rate?

I'm in Colorado, and most seeds get harvested in August when we are very dry. So we pick the seeds and immediately put them into a plastic baggie with a piece of paper towel without drying them first, label the baggie with the cross, and tuck the bags into the refrigerator's vegetable drawer. If I wait only a few weeks and plant, the germination rate is higher than if I wait a few months. So speed of planting can have an influence. Seeds I get off the Lily Auction in August that were grown that summer and planted immediately by me usually have 100% germination rates. But this is also a function of dormancy - these southern evergreen or sev seeds sprout faster than some of the northern dormants.

I buy 6 or 8 inch deep storage boxes about 1.5 feet by 2 feet from Target and divide them into three planting rows with pieces of colored flagging tape cut to the length of the box and held down by two toothpicks. I use sterile seed planting mix about 4 inches deep and water it first. I plant 5 seeds of one cross and put down a colored plastic toothpick to divide it from the next cross, and keep going until I've filled the box, keeping seeds about two inches apart. I have a master seed planting chart where I write down each cross in its position as I plant them and note the color of the next toothpick. This chart is scanned into my computer so I can't lose it. Then I put the clear lid on the box and either put it under lights or in the middle of my living room floor where it doesn't get direct sun (don't want to steam my seeds!). My house is 62 degrees at night, and 68 degrees during the day. Seeds start to sprout in 2 weeks, and really go to town at 3 weeks when I'll have 30 seeds sprout each day. The lid is put aside as soon as the first seedlings start to hit it - even here where it is dry the seeds/seedlings don't need to stay covered at this point since the air stays moist above the soil. I keep the soil moist but not damp; I think it's best to err on the side of drier instead of too wet. With such a large potting container the soil dries out slowly so it's easy to keep its moisture level consistent.
I wait at least 2 months to pot up each cross into its own 1 gallon pot with 5 seedlings per pot, though cheaper seeds will get put into those little tree pots that are deep but about 2 inches square at the top. However, if I get too ambitious and plant too many seeds like I did last year, the seed storage boxes can go outside during the summer - this works in Colorado because we don't get rain very often so not having drainage holes is okay. Otherwise drainage holes would need to be drilled in the box.

This fall I planted some seeds I got from someone else, and two were a bit moldy. All the seeds except the moldy ones sprouted, but the mold spread and wiped out all the nearby seedlings. So throw away moldy seeds, or plant them in a separate pot if you must try them.

I hope something here is helpful. Generally I find daylily seeds very easy to germinate so there must be something that is causing a problem. Perhaps too much moisture, too much humidity, too much heat? You may have better luck waiting and planting your seeds outside in the spring - using a bigger pot for 5-10 seeds is generally better than a bunch of small pots for each seed. Or plant your seeds in rows in your vegetable garden. May you have more success this year!

Last year I planted a thirty six section seed flat and marked the seeds with colored toothpicks . One of my more insane neighbors wandered into my yard with her toddler and while she was going thru some trash (I'm not making this up!) the little girl started playing with the toothpicks and pulled out several seedlings. The police were pleasant but there was really not much anyone could do. Crazy old man , crazy neighbors. I gave up on the seeds and the ones left froze in their little cubes of coir. Yesterday I found about six of them a couple inches high still in the flat. Is there any moral in this ??????-----------------------------------Weedy

Those who set seeds in an controled environment get a higher germination rate (greenhouse).

Years that we get extreme heat and very little precipatation can also affect germanation or excessive amounts of precip. have a affect on germination also.

I have had seeds germinate in five days but they can also take 20 days or more to germinate.

My germination rate is about 50-60 %. Some crosses get higher rates. I dont put my seeds under lights. I just use the sunlight from the south window. I believe the stronger seeds will come up with natural sunlight. I rarely ever lose seedlings with this method.

I am with you spiderjoe about using the natural sunlight. I am not the pickyest gardener and so I want easy plants.... which is why Daylilies became my flower. So maybe I shouldn't concern myself too much with germination rate and just take the ones that do and consider them the winners of the genetic race in my little area of breeding.