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Jun 29, 2015 2:41 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Sabrina
Italy, Brescia (Zone 8b)
Love daylilies and making candles!
Garden Photography Cat Lover Daylilies Region: Europe Lilies Garden Ideas: Level 1
Hello everyone, this is the first post I write on here and I hope I'm doing good.
My name's Sabrina, I live in Italy, and I fell in love with daylilies two years ago. I don't really have much space in the little garden but I already have 15 different varieties.
This year, just for my amusement, I wanted to try to hybridize "something", just for the fun, so I went with two varieties I like much, Lightning Strike and Awakening Spirit. It was june, 17 and the seed pod is slowly growing!
My question on seeds is about putting them in fridge or starting them right away? My plan is to make the seeds germinate and grow as fast as possible, in the house. Here in north Italy winter is usually long (not so cold in the past years), so we lack on heat and sun.
I already read other threads but this little question is still with no understanding on my part, I apologize if you already discussed it here. To fridge, or not to fridge? For how long?
Many thanks for reading, I hope my english is not too bad to read!
Sabrina, North Italy
My blog: http://hemerocallis.info
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Jun 29, 2015 2:48 PM CST
Name: Ashton & Terry
Oklahoma (Zone 7a)
Windswept Farm & Gardens
Butterflies Keeps Sheep Pollen collector Region: Oklahoma Lilies Irises
Hybridizer Hummingbirder Hostas Daylilies Region: United States of America Celebrating Gardening: 2015
Welcome! cybersix
You will get different opinions, here's how we do ours.
After harvesting we dry the, for two days.
We refrigerate them for at least 6 weeks.
We start them in the winter in plastic treys and harden them off in the sun when it gets warm.
Then we Plant them in the garden in the spring.
Kidfishing
Last edited by kidfishing Jun 29, 2015 3:01 PM Icon for preview
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Jun 29, 2015 2:56 PM CST
Name: Larry
Enterprise, Al. 36330 (Zone 8b)
Composter Daylilies Garden Photography Million Pollinator Garden Challenge Garden Ideas: Master Level Plant Identifier
Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Region: Alabama
cybersix
Welcome!
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Jun 29, 2015 2:58 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Sabrina
Italy, Brescia (Zone 8b)
Love daylilies and making candles!
Garden Photography Cat Lover Daylilies Region: Europe Lilies Garden Ideas: Level 1
Thank you very much for you reply, and for welcome!
Do you store them in the fridge with a little water or dry? Oh that's what I was forgotting, sorry, do I still need to let them dry for a couple of days before doing anything?
Thank you!
Sabrina, North Italy
My blog: http://hemerocallis.info
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Jun 29, 2015 3:00 PM CST
Name: Ashton & Terry
Oklahoma (Zone 7a)
Windswept Farm & Gardens
Butterflies Keeps Sheep Pollen collector Region: Oklahoma Lilies Irises
Hybridizer Hummingbirder Hostas Daylilies Region: United States of America Celebrating Gardening: 2015
Oh, yes sorry
We dry them after harvesting for 2 days.
Be sure to keep them dry in the fridge or they will mold and rot.
Kidfishing
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Jun 29, 2015 3:05 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Sabrina
Italy, Brescia (Zone 8b)
Love daylilies and making candles!
Garden Photography Cat Lover Daylilies Region: Europe Lilies Garden Ideas: Level 1
Thanks again @kidfishing, a common paper envelope will do good?
Sabrina, North Italy
My blog: http://hemerocallis.info
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Jun 29, 2015 3:30 PM CST
Name: Larry
Enterprise, Al. 36330 (Zone 8b)
Composter Daylilies Garden Photography Million Pollinator Garden Challenge Garden Ideas: Master Level Plant Identifier
Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Region: Alabama
cybersix,
I don't do much seed storing or hybridizing, but many think you need to store your seeds with a little moisture to break the dormancy. I normally just plant my few seeds directly in the ground and let them do their own thing, but don't go by that if you have higher ambitions than me.
Here is a site explaining the opinion on moist storage for a while.

http://www.ctdaylily.com/files...
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Jun 29, 2015 3:43 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Sabrina
Italy, Brescia (Zone 8b)
Love daylilies and making candles!
Garden Photography Cat Lover Daylilies Region: Europe Lilies Garden Ideas: Level 1
Thank you,
what I'm afraid of is the cold of the winter, although temps didn't go under 1-3°C deg in the past two years.
I don't have any high ambition for now, the little garden is very little and it's fully crowded, let's say it's an experiment, even if I'd obviously be super happy to have my own plants!
I could plant the seeds straight away, after all if everything will be fine the seeds will be ready for mid/end july, so they could have enough time to settle in the ground (I think so, but I could be wrong!).
If I should plant them right in the ground would air drying for a couple of days still needed?
Thanks for the article, what is still puzzling me is the sequence of steps I have to make_
-air drying
-fridge (moist or dry)
-germination
oh well I'm not an expert gardener I'm afraid to cause some seed death!
Sabrina, North Italy
My blog: http://hemerocallis.info
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Jun 29, 2015 3:53 PM CST
Name: Larry
Enterprise, Al. 36330 (Zone 8b)
Composter Daylilies Garden Photography Million Pollinator Garden Challenge Garden Ideas: Master Level Plant Identifier
Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Region: Alabama
How about two days to dry, a few seeds directly in the ground, a few seeds in dry cold storage, and a few seeds in damp cold storage, then after six weeks take them out of storage and plant them side by side with the direct seeded ones and see how they do.
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Jun 29, 2015 3:56 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Sabrina
Italy, Brescia (Zone 8b)
Love daylilies and making candles!
Garden Photography Cat Lover Daylilies Region: Europe Lilies Garden Ideas: Level 1
That's not a bad idea, but I can't imagine now how many seeds I will get. The plants has two seed pods, I could let both grow (one was the backup pod LOL)
Sabrina, North Italy
My blog: http://hemerocallis.info
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Jun 29, 2015 3:59 PM CST
Name: Larry
Enterprise, Al. 36330 (Zone 8b)
Composter Daylilies Garden Photography Million Pollinator Garden Challenge Garden Ideas: Master Level Plant Identifier
Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Region: Alabama
I normally don't get many seeds from each pod, three or four normally. Sometimes only one.
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Jun 29, 2015 6:30 PM CST
Name: Becky
Sebastian, Florida (Zone 10a)
Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Daylilies Hummingbirder Butterflies Seed Starter Container Gardener
Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Garden Ideas: Master Level Lover of wildlife (Black bear badge) Birds Ponds
Welcome Sabrina! Welcome!

I am glad to read that you are interested in experimenting with hybridizing. First off, I think you should just think of this as an experiment. You could get all kinds of advice, but in your climate and region the results may be different. Have fun with this experiment and don't expect too much (that way you won't be disappointed if it is not successful on your first try). And you might just be pleasantly surprised and get a good seedling or two or more ... Thumbs up

I live in hot, sunny Florida. We have very mild (warm) Winters here. I have been hybridizing and growing seeds for a few years now and mostly have success. Here is what I, personally, do:

1) Wait until the seed pod is browning and crispy when it starts to open and collect the seeds before they fall to the ground.
2) I separate them by flower cross into paper envelopes (which I label with the cross) and let the seeds dry for 3 days. They should harden in those 3 days and be ready for either planting or storing in the refrigerator.
3) I put them in the refrigerator (NOT freezer) for at least 3-4 weeks (often they stay in there longer until I have the time to plant them). I store them "dry" in small plastic ziplock baggies which I label with the cross (pod parent x pollen parent).
4) After the 3-4 weeks, I plant mine in styrofoam cups and place them in my window sill to germinate. Germination usually takes 1 to 2 weeks for them to sprout ... BUT ... some can take much longer (months!!!).

I wrote an article here on ATP about planting seeds that may give you some ideas:
http://garden.org/ideas/view/b...

If you get months of freezing temps in Winter, it might be too cold for a small seedling to survive. I like mine to grow for about 6 months or so before I plant them in the ground. That's how I do it. I aim for success here in my zone and I don't get the freezing Winters that most gardeners get. My success rate from seed to seedling to blooming daylilies has been pretty good so far.

Since this is an experiment, see how many seeds you get first and then you could split the seeds up and grow them different ways to see which way works best for you. I also suggest you store a couple in the refrigerator as back-ups in case the experiments fail. If you find the best way to germinate and grow them, then you can use the back-up seeds to grow more seedlings! Good luck!

Check out the monthly daylily seedling thread here on ATP. This thread has the June seedlings:
The thread "June 2015 Seedling Blooms" in Daylilies forum
What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters, compared to what lies within us.
Garden Rooms and Becky's Budget Garden
Last edited by beckygardener Jun 29, 2015 6:36 PM Icon for preview
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Jun 29, 2015 9:25 PM CST
Name: Ashton & Terry
Oklahoma (Zone 7a)
Windswept Farm & Gardens
Butterflies Keeps Sheep Pollen collector Region: Oklahoma Lilies Irises
Hybridizer Hummingbirder Hostas Daylilies Region: United States of America Celebrating Gardening: 2015
cybersix said:Thanks again @kidfishing, a common paper envelope will do good?


Envelope would do fine but these are better, I think.
Easier to seal and to store.
http://www.usongstrading.com/e...
You can get them at any craft store.
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Jun 29, 2015 9:31 PM CST
Name: Becky
Sebastian, Florida (Zone 10a)
Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Daylilies Hummingbirder Butterflies Seed Starter Container Gardener
Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Garden Ideas: Master Level Lover of wildlife (Black bear badge) Birds Ponds
Don't "dry" them in those plastic bags though. You might get seed rot instead of drying out the seeds before storing in those plastic baggies. Just saying ....
What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters, compared to what lies within us.
Garden Rooms and Becky's Budget Garden
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Jun 30, 2015 1:32 AM CST
Thread OP
Name: Sabrina
Italy, Brescia (Zone 8b)
Love daylilies and making candles!
Garden Photography Cat Lover Daylilies Region: Europe Lilies Garden Ideas: Level 1
@beckygardener,
thanks so much for your post! Depending on how many seeds I get I may try different ways. I'm not an expert at all and daylilies are the first kind of plant I really like and I really care of. Never done really much in a garden.
The first impollinated pod is growing very well, the second is smaller because I impollinated it some days later than the first. So I may have a good number of seeds to try different methods. If next winter will be as the past I would have less fear of planting seeds in the ground, it has been rainy and didn't freeze. I would like to see some flower soon, but I understand that nature has its path to follow. Your seedlings are gorgeous!
@kidfishing thank you, I have those ziplock little bags, I will store some seed in them.
Sabrina, North Italy
My blog: http://hemerocallis.info
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Jun 30, 2015 5:08 AM CST
Name: Vickie
southern Indiana (Zone 6b)
Bee Lover Garden Photography Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Daylilies Plant Lover: Loves 'em all! Region: United States of America
Region: Indiana Garden Art Annuals Clematis Cottage Gardener Garden Ideas: Level 2
Welcome! Sabrina!

I found the link below very helpful and still have the section about "Daylily Seed Germination" posted on my refrigerator. I used the Dry Refrigeration method: After harvesting the seeds and letting them dry out for a few days, I put them in paper envelopes, marked the envelope with the cross, then put the envelopes in a plastic bag for 6 weeks. Then I followed the directions about putting the seeds in plastic bags filled with a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and water and put them back into the fridge for 3 more weeks. Then I planted them in pots and let them grow over the winter with a light above them. Out of 26 seeds that I grew last winter in the house, 23 survived and they are now living happily outside. I hope to see some scapes next year!

http://www.cedarthorn.com/hybr...

Here's a picture of the seedlings taken in December 2014. You can barely see the light above. I had 3 seeds per 4 inch pot.
Thumb of 2015-06-30/blue23rose/172539


Good Luck!
May all your weeds be wildflowers. ~Author Unknown
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Jun 30, 2015 7:19 AM CST
Thread OP
Name: Sabrina
Italy, Brescia (Zone 8b)
Love daylilies and making candles!
Garden Photography Cat Lover Daylilies Region: Europe Lilies Garden Ideas: Level 1
Thanks a lot blue23rose! I guess I will be printing the instructions Thank You!
Sabrina, North Italy
My blog: http://hemerocallis.info
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Jun 30, 2015 11:44 AM CST
Name: Vickie
southern Indiana (Zone 6b)
Bee Lover Garden Photography Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Daylilies Plant Lover: Loves 'em all! Region: United States of America
Region: Indiana Garden Art Annuals Clematis Cottage Gardener Garden Ideas: Level 2
You are very welcome! I hope you have great success no matter which way you go about it Thumbs up
May all your weeds be wildflowers. ~Author Unknown
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