hi all,

another question about sprouting seeds and seedlings again

I've sprouted about 150 seeds in June / July, which are all nice seedlings by now.
I'm moving them from the seedling trays to bigger pots and I'm sure that, with perhaps some extra protection, they will make it throught the winter without too much problems

Temperatures have dropped to the lower 60 this week and I'm not sure we'll get a nice balmy Fall again, like last year.
Frost (at night) is not expected until late November / December, but still...

This week I received some seeds that I won in the LA and I'm expecting some more next week
Should I try to germinate them this late in Summer, or should I wait until Spring?
If I do germinate them now, will the seedlings grow enough in the lower temps to be big and strong enough when Winter starts?

Decisions, decisions...



Mayo

so, at what temp do seedlings stop growing?
Does anybody have any experience with this..?



Mayo

Daylilies, like most plants, may grow very very slowly at low temperatures. It is unlikely that anyone has measured over a long enough period of time, with temperatures set at constant values to be able to indicate at what low temperatures daylilies stop growing at all. At high temperatures, above any optimum temperature, plants may not just stop growing but actually suffer damage.

Maurice!

Alright, I'll just try to germinated and raise some now and I'll keep some as backup in case they don't make it

I can put them temporarily in my garage should we get a really cold spell this Winter, but normally I don't have any problems in my garden..
I have an Oleander, an Olive tree and several Agapanthus' in pots since 2000 and they do ok,


Mayo

Mayo - I agree with your plan. Grow a few of the seeds now and hold back a few from each cross (keep them in the refrigerator) until Spring. I always hold back a few anyway on each cross because the unexpected can happen. Don't put all your eggs (er.... daylily seeds) in one basket (so to speak). I think you have a very good plan! Good luck!

Maurice - So cold won't damage a plant as much as heat in many cases? I live in a hot zone and have no experience with freezing and snowy conditions. I assume the soil will protect the plants in cold temps, but can not protect them in high temps?

Maurice - So cold won't damage a plant as much as heat in many cases? I live in a hot zone and have no experience with freezing and snowy conditions. I assume the soil will protect the plants in cold temps, but can not protect them in high temps?

Each plant species is different. A tropical plant might be damaged by 40F but a daylily would not be. It depends on the type of plant.

If you take a daylily that is happily growing at 75F and put it into 25F it will suffer. If you slowly lower the temperature day by day to 25F the daylily will stop growing and usually not suffer. If you took that same daylily growing at 75F and put it into 100F it will probably suffer. Again, if you raised the temperature day by day the daylily will probably acclimate and might not suffer.

We do not have substantial climatological information about how and where the original daylily species grew. Some of them grew at high elevations. Some of them grew at northern latitudes. Only a few of them grew at more southern latitudes. I expect that in general daylilies do better in what we might consider to be moderate temperatures rather than hot temperatures.

More modern cultivars, particularly those bred in Florida and southern areas might do better in warmer temperatures than older cultivars but that depends on just how many hybridizers in Florida (and other warmer locations) use shade cloth and how many do not use daylilies that do not do well at high temperatures in their hybridizing.

I did a series on seedling growth for zone 9 for the 2014-2015 growing season here. I do not know how to post the link where you can just click on it.

The thread "Seedling Progress" in Daylilies forum
The thread "Seedling Progress" in Daylilies forum

I remember that thread! That was very interesting, indeed.

Maurice - Thanks! I thought that might be the case, but I wanted to verify what you said and why. Makes perfect sense!

spunky1 said:I did a series on seedling growth for zone 9 for the 2014-2015 growing season here. I do not know how to post the link where you can just click on it.

The thread "Seedling Progress" in Daylilies forum
The thread "Seedling Progress" in Daylilies forum

great info!!

This raises my hopes for the seedlings I have now (although I'm sure they won't grow as fast as yours, Fred!) and gives me the courage to start some late germinations


Mayo

I came home early from work and have taken a couple of my seedlings out of the seedtray and have put them into 1-gallon pots
(yes, I'm addicted.. ! )

They are 6 weeks old now and all are more or less this size




It will be interesting to see if the ones I'm going to germinate now will be the same size when they're 6 weeks old
(that will be around the beginning of November, I guess, depending on how fast they will sprout )

Mayo