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seed pod on day lily

brer
11 years ago

I am new to day lilies. I have searched this site, but all questions dealing with the seed pods seem to start in the middle. I don't know ANYTHING>

I planted day lilies from a friend last fall. This year all bloomed beautifully, but some had no pods and a few had big pods.

What do I do with these? Why don't all of them have pods?

I take it from what I've read that I let the pods mature and then collect the seeds and refrigerate them for 3 weeks and then soak them in water before planting.

Are these always hybreds? Are they babies from the parent.

Where can I read more about this?

Thanks so much!

Comments (15)

  • silverkelt
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Seed pods only form when the daylily was pollinated, in this case, if you only have one daylily type, its most likely pollinated with itself, via mother nature.

    The seedlings from it will most likely look like the daylily you grow, sometimes with diffrent hues , the genectics comes from the parents, in this case being a self cross, its probably not going to stray to far, but they could be shorter, taller, more vigorous , less, or complete dogs.

    You can do a google search for daylily hybridizing if you want.

    You need to allow the pods to mature as far as possible, when they are ready they will split open, you can use mesh cloth, nylon or anything of that nature to collect the seeds.

    If you are planting seeds, the seedlings are called hybrids, they are not the mother plant. Hence you could name them if you really wanted to.

    Silverkelt

  • dementieva
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    And if you are not interested in taking care of a bunch of unknown baby plants, you can always break the pods off the plant and throw them out. A daylily will have more energy for growing and flowering if you break off any pods when they begin to form.

    Whether you want seedlings is a matter of personality. If you like the unknown and want to try it out, go for it. Most will be unimpressive compared with the plants available on the market, but you never know until you try. If you want plants that look good and grow well, buy existing plants instead.

    Nate

  • Ed
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I usually discard all pods that I didn't pollinate. Making seeds does divert the plant's energy from growth and bloom. I store my seeds in the fridge crisper in little plastic bags only until I am ready to plant, usually when all seeds have been collected. I don't soak the seeds prior to planting, unless the seeds have been dried excessively for some reason.

    Oscie Whately's "Art of Hybridizing" has been published around the web and is an excellent guide for hybridizing daylilies. Another source you should check out is the American Hemerocallis Society, link below.
    Have fun, Ed

    Here is a link that might be useful: AHS

  • pdsavage
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I belive najoba ment to say 1/2 gallon of water.

    05) Mix a solution of 1/2 gallon of hydrogen peroxide and 6 tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide. Pour some in each seed bag and seal.

    Now im new to this but i have had plenty of luck with just sticking the seeds in potting soil,they seam to grow just fine.

  • Nancy Barginear
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Oh my goodness! I certainly did mean 1/2 gallon of distilled water. Thanks for pointing that out.

    A former colleague of mine was really big into daylilies, and advised me to just plant them in the ground. Somehow, I just never could bring myself to do that. When we lived in the country, I planted thousands of red poppy seeds (actually scattered them in my wildflower garden area). It seems the fire ants and/or other critters ate all but two seeds. I had one huge red poppy growing near our front door, which had to have been deposited by a bird. The second one was growing out of a fire ant mound in the wildflower zone - the little devils must have overlooked one seed.

    Nancy

  • Nancy
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I was just going to say before I read all of Nancy's post, to discard any that are squishy. The seeds should be hard & shiny. I've had lots of squishy seeds this year. Usually the bees pollinate the daylilies, & if the bees cross pollinate them for you, they don't check to see if the plant was a tet or a dip, which rarely will result in a good seed pod. It is always fun to grow your own daylilies from seed, but be aware it can take a couple of years to see blooms. Mine are exceptionally slow, most take 3 years here.
    I did learn something new from this post. I knew that I could start some seeds without cold treatment & they grew well, while others just sat there. I didn't know why til Nancy list & it makes sense that dormants require cold. Just hadn't thought of it.

  • dementieva
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Yeah, I've got between 50% and 75% sprouted right now (and more still starting), and all I did was:
    1. Put them in zip bags in the fridge for 2 weeks.
    2. Plant the seeds directly in pots under shade.
    3. Mist with water every day so the soil never dries out.

    Nate

  • Nancy Barginear
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    That's great, Nate, but me, I'd forget to mist them! In fact, I have three pots of proliferations sitting in a kiddy pool full of water. I just have to add a little water here and there. It's working out well. I like Tommy Maddox's water beds, but hubby says "No!" so I'll have to make do with the alternate arrangement. LOL

    Also, when I pay $20 for 5 seeds, I simply must hover over them and mother them. Same goes for a special cross that I want to cultivate.

    Nancy

  • dementieva
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    That's an important difference! Mine are all from my own crosses, and if a few of them don't sprout, my attitude is "fewer mouths to feed." :)

    I can understand wanting every one to grow if you bought them though.

    Nate

  • organic_kitten
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Nancy, that is such nice detailed info. Thanks for sharing.
    kay

  • DragonflyRhino
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    So for those of us who live in northern states (Im in Iowa) have people found the same success using these methods but having them inside under grow lights instead of taking them outside in the shade?

    I just found Lily's Auction www.daylily.com and I am in so much trouble! I am addicted!

    Rinthea

  • carla17
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Nancy, thank you very much for the directions. I just posted somewhere, it went into outer space I think. Anyway, I'm glad to find some good steps on how to.

    Carla

  • opnjmprs
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I do pretty much the same thing as Nancy. I usually start my seeds in February. After they put up green shoots, I will leave them under the grow lamps until I can get them in the outside seedling beds in May- June. Quite a number of them will bloom by September of that year, but many will not bloom until the following year, I usually wait until the 3rd year (on the ones that show potential) to make a final determination of whether they are keepers, or are going to a friend or the compost pile.

    Linda

  • alameda/zone 8/East Texas
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    It was time consuming for me last year to put individual baggies over each cup. This year I am going to try encasing the whole group of cups I put in my roasting pan with a clear plastic clothes bag, like the cleaners put over clothes - seal both ends with twist ties. When a cup needs to come out of the greenhouse, will just reach in and get it. Will use chopsticks to keep the bag off the plants. Anyone else tried this?
    Judith