Buying Seeds.

I have bought several packets of seeds & have
had several not come up, There is one person
that will replace seeds for you & if you want ot
buy from her you can at ..sharon@daylilyparadise.
com.

Did you stratify them first? I believe you very well may get a low germination rate if you don't. I have tried growing daylily seeds without stratifying first, and have had less than 50% germination on them. I think some tet seeds won't come up at all if you don't.

Karen

Sometimes it just takes awhile, I have had seeds take as long as 30 days to germinate and as few as 7. Then again occasionally you will get a seed or two that appears to be good but isn't. Stratification does help.

I have had the seeds in the refridgearator for 3 months before planting & most came up within 8 days but the rest of them didn't come up after 5 weeka so I am going to give up on them & plant new ones.

I grow the seeds in a new poting soil that people use to growpot & the the Daylilies grew to 12" the first month & I have had to cut the tops off 2 times already & I will have to do it 2 more times before I can plant them. I am using a fertizler called Big Bloom & a root hormone & the Daylilies grow like crazy.

I had seeds that I planted and after 5 or 6 weeks I transplanted the seedlings. There were ones that didn't germinate and I just assume rotted or had gotten washed out like some others with a bad storm ( my seed trays are outside). I just dump the soil out of the seed trays in my compost pile. Well a month or so later I noticed that there were seedlings growing on the pile. Sometimes it can take longer than one expects. I have heard people say they've had them take up to 3 months sometimes. Then again sometimes they just never do germinate for whatever reason.

I think with any kind of plant, you're always going to get some seeds that won't germinate. Some are just duds.

Karen

I agree, some just will not germinate. I have more trouble with tets than I do with dips. I read a tip I think I will try this year with tets. Put the seeds in a bag with a piece of sandpaper and shake until some of the black outer coating of the seed comes off, then plant. Maybe that will make it easier for them to germinate. It's worth a try anyway.

You could also try taking individual seeds and rubbing on that sand paper to expose one section. Might work a little better.

Karen

Karen, that a good funny idea. With hundreds of seeds I wonder how many light years that will take. BFG!

Holly Dancer

Well, I guess if you have hundreds of seeds that would take too long. DUH!!!!!

I have heard a lot of people have had success with first soaking the seed in water and hydrogen peroxide, and it does double duty of keeping them from rotting. They say it gives them quicker germination.

Karen

I soaked mine in the P-water and then they go in the peroxide moistened paper towel, back in the ziploc and then back in the "STRAT INCUBATOR", affectionately known as the refridgerator for three to four weeks like we discussed in the recent past. Remove from fridge. While keeping p/t moist they start to germinate at room temp. Then there's the on the rocks method that our dear friend "JAN", a.k.a. Philjim also use. Mike

I've done it the same as Mike. Some will start germinating while in the fridge this way. So I check them every few days.

I have a question. Can they ever get to far along to plant? Not that I have had this to happen but I had wondered if you had one to start and didn't get it into soil very soon, would it die?
I just won a few more seed crosses on the LA from hemlady, woohoo.

I will be playing with GALAXY EXPLOSION X GUDRID - 13 SEEDS
LAUGHING CLOWN X PICKET FENCES - 12 SEEDS

Teresa

I started germinating 31 seeds 1/26, to date 22 have germinated and I think the sooner the seeds are planted after germination the better.

I've only been doing this for a couple of years but have had very good success. I take my seed out of the fridge, add a single piece of paper towel cut to fit the little ziploc, then use the peroxide distilled water mixture to moisten, I leave them at room temperature.

How much peroxide and how much water? Can I do this for winter sowing?

Karen

are you serious? I didn't even look Joy to see who was bidding. I just thought it sounded like a very interesting cross! Dmail me and we might split them.

Oh No Teresa, Really, It's ok! I just wanted to tease you a bit. If I wanted them that bad, I would have bid more.
But thank you. You're a sweetheart. :-)

Karen, most people use 10% peroxide / 90% water

So I am guessing you use a different bag on each cross?

Yes use a separate baggie for each cross, you can buy the small zip type bags at walmart in the craft dep., 100 for about $2.00. It makes it very easy to check every day or two to see if any has germinated, I remove and plant the seeds as soon as possible once they do.

Here is how I germinate daylily seeds, whethe my own, or purchased. Actually, I use the same method for all perennials. Works better than soil and is quicker. Those seeds that don't germinate, are usually not good to begin with. I have almost 100% germination with this method, called Deno Method named after Dr. Deno who invented it.

I first soak the seeds in hand hot water over night to plump them up.

I use a damp kitchen paper towel cut in half and moistened in Peroxide (9 pt water to 1 part Peroxide). Squeeze out the excess water. Fold it in half. Place the seeds in a corner and fold one end over the seeds. Place this package in a small ziplock bag and zip it, leaving a small opening to blow air into the bag to fill like a balloon. Once filled, zip it closed. Place in fridge for 3 weeks to stratify the seeds. After 2 weeks, check to see if any have begun to sprout, which often they do. After 3 weeks, move to room temp to germinate.

Sprouting time depends on variety. At this point, check the seeds several times during the week, starting after the 3rd day. As soon as seeds have formed a radical (tiny roots forming) with a tweezer grasp the seed casing of those and transfer to seed flat or pot. Make a hole with a pencil and guide the root into the hole. Plant the seed, leaving the black seed coat level with surface of the soil, 1" or more, apart. Be sure to place roots downwards in the hole. If the roots have grown into the paper towel, just tear around the roots and plant it. Do not try to remove the roots from the paper. The paper will eventually rot.

I use seedling mix, since it is much finer. I also plant in 6-packs, whick are 1" sq. pots joined together. When 4 leaves have developed, I move them to a 3" foam pot, which are coffee cups. They are cheap in Walmart and a pen will easily punch drainage holes.

My step by step photos of my method. Before planting, I harden them off in a plastic bin placed on the east side of my garage. They get planted in my coldframe end of May where they will remain all winter. I had 2 seedlings bloom the following year.

I should mention that the following year after planted in the coldframe, they will be moved to the garden.

Here are those first seedlings still in the coldframe. The red is a child of pod parent Forsythes Wrinkles and Crinkles, the other is a child of Highland Pinched Fingers, a polychorome.

Will be interesting to see the blooms this summer.

I will try this again... If you want to grow hugh seedling use Super Thrive, I planted my seeds Jan 8th using Super Thrive & Big Bloom fertalizer & they have grown to over 12" tall & I have had to cut the tops off 3 times already & will have to do it again in about 1 week, Super Thrive says your plants will be twice as big in 1 year & you can buy it at most garden centers in small bottles of you can buy it on line from Super Thrive at www.super thrive.com for $60.00 a quart & it will last you for several years. You only use 2 drops per gallen of water.

Roseman- what is the potting soil you are using?

Tink.. I use PRO Mix HP & a new product the guy wants me to try is Sunshine Advance Mix number 4. I buy this pro mix at the place people that raise pot buy there grow materials from.

They sell the big lights that cost $400 to $600 buy, I use 4 ft
grow lights & the plants grow like crazy.

Sometimes you just get a firm, plump seed that won't germinate no matter what you do to it. And unfortunately, it's usually in a batch of seed that you desperately want all of. :-/

So very true Inda.

Roseman.... why did you choose Big Bloom instead of Grow Big (I am assuming the Big Bloom you are using is the FoxFarm brand)

Tink.. You are right it is Grow Big from Fox farm, & I havn't lost 1 seedling so far.

Bought a bottle of Super Thrive a couple weeks ago from H/D. I used it on all my indoor sdlgs and house plants. I am going to check the nursery next weekend for a bigger bottle. They have a garden show planned for next weekend.