How do YOU start your Daylily seeds?

15 years ago

I have a story of woe. Two years ago, I made my first attempt at starting daylily seeds. I started with almost 150 seeds (bought off eBay). I planted them in a soilless germinating medium, and thought I gave them good drainage. Of the 150 seeds, 33 germinated. Of those, 4 were albinos (!). Of the remaining plants, 2 died of some unknown reason. The remaining 27 developed into hardy looking plants. (Note: The seeds that didn't germinate seemed to rot -- I think I kept them too moist. And no, I didn't pre-soak them). Since they were so big -- I started them the preceding January under lights -- I decided to overwinter them in the greenhouse. I'd read where the worst thing you can do is overwater plants in the greenhouse, so I got a water meter, and watered very judiciously all winter. In the spring, ONE plant re-emerged. It's growing nicely in my garden, but holy cow! 150 seeds and only one plant! And yes, I now know about the bamboo chopsticks from Walmart, and use them instead of that stupid water meter (which is useless -- does not correlate with the chop sticks at all), so all of the plants I overwintered the following year, save one, did just fine.

So now I have two 8' by 12' beds stuffed full of daylilies of all kinds -- at least 30 different kinds, if not more. And many are making pods, and I'm dying to see what Mother Nature has done in terms of crossing the daylilies, but that means I need to germinate the seeds! I've read the books -- look what that got me! I know experience is better than books, and experience is what I find here on the Garden Web. I'm willing to start planting now, as I have two sets of good grow lights, and the seeds I've gotten so far are deep black and plump. Or should I wait? I also have south facing windows I can move these to when I want to start my spring plantings. What would you do, and how would you do it? What kind of growing medium do you use? An inquiring mind wants to know! Any help you can offer would be most appreciated. MacThayer

Comments (8)

uroboros5
15 years ago
I place my seeds in lightly moistened soil in a Ziploc bag. Around December I start to check for signs of germination in the bags. If there's germination, I plant the seedlings under fluorescent lights. Otherwise I just plant in pots in January, also under fluorescents. I just transfer them to the garden in the spring.

Germination rate is never 100%. I received some dried up seeds that simply died, but 80% germination is about normal. Being in Canada, I lose more in winter. Some crosses do better than others.
wren_garden
15 years ago
Uroboros, Do you put the plastic bags of soil and seed in the refrigerator for the recommended 6 week period to put them through the dormant cycle?
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fairysoapgirl
15 years ago
MacThayer - I harvest, then dry for 2-3 weeks (people differ on how long, so I just don't want mine to mold). I refridgerate for 3 weeks or longer. Then I use a seed starting tray with soiless starter (vermiculite mix). I have a system that allows me to water from the bottom of the tray, so that top watering does not encourage mold or rot. Usually, it took anywhere from 3 days to 3 weeks for the seeds to sprout up, and once they did, I put a grow bulb on them. Then as soon as it warms up, transfered them to pots and outdoors.

I am relatively new at this, but this method had a great sucess rate. Hope this helps some.
uroboros5
15 years ago
"Uroboros, Do you put the plastic bags of soil and seed in the refrigerator for the recommended 6 week period to put them through the dormant cycle?"

Yes, I do - much longer, usually, because I won't want to start planting before January if I can help it.

A few weeks ago I received seeds of April LaQuinta x Priscilla's Smile and noticed that one was already sprouting a root! I planted it in a pot, kept in in the house under lights, and it's already in the garden. I'm not sure it will survive the winter, but I didn't want to keep it indoors until next May either.
marbree
15 years ago
I had that happen the first time I grew daylily seeds.

Now I just refrigerate the seeds in the bags they arrive in ( I put them in a larger ziplock bag first ) and then just plant them in a seedling bed outside when temps average about 65 degrees F in the spring, and keep them watered in. Damp off doesn't happen outside.

They seem to handle a later frost or snow if it happens, but I haven't had any germinate if I sow too late in the fall.

If you can get them to germinate in the fall to where they put down good roots, I have had tiny seedlings live through the winter.

The only bad thing is that it takes so long until the plants flower this way.

I bet the seedling that survived everything is a pretty good plant, though. I'd like to see some pictures.

p.s. I haven't heard of using chopsticks in pots to check for dryness levels.
Ed
15 years ago
I missed the chopstick thing too. Will you explain?
Ed
macthayer
Original Author
15 years ago
I would be happy to explain the "chopstick thing". I had been complaining about losing plants due to over/underwatering, and I'd bought a "water meter" which is a device with a metal stick that you put in the pot and it's supposed to tell you how moist the soil is at the moment. I'd made mention of it on another forum, and another Garden Web member told me it was useless (and it is-total waste of money) and to go out and buy some cheap, bamboo chopsticks at Walmart (or wherever). I think I got about 25 or 30 chopsticks for about $5, and of course you can keep re-using them. Then what you do is stick a chopstick into the dirt in the pot and leave it there for about 5 minutes. When you pull it out, test it for dampness. I just wipe the dirt off and hold it up against my facial cheek. If the chopstick is dry, the plant needs to be watered. If it comes out wet -- and sometimes it will surprise you at how wet it feels -- do not water. I think it works so well because the bamboo is so porous. Anyway, it really is a clever way to tell you how much water is in the soil near the bottom of the pot. I wish I'd known about it when I was over-wintering those daylilies! LOL!

And yes, Marbree, the plant that lived is doing remarkably well. No scapes yet, but lots of healthy foliage, and a second fan coming up. I feel confident I'll have scapes by next season! MacThayer
Ed
15 years ago
Thanks for the explanation, I'll give it a try.
Ed