It's okay to put more than four, 4 is Laurel's choice. You just thin as you transplant later on after germination. I have a tray outside with about 200 seeds--after sprouting they'll get transplanted into rows in a holding bed.

I cross pollinated way too many daylilies last year. I may start a few seeds from each cross, favorite crosses I'll start them all, but I'm going to have extras. I don't have the room to plant every seedling. Hmmm...I should go through them and figure out the extras, and give them away here.

Karen

The daylilies are easy enough to thin out - their roots are pretty robust, so pulling them apart is simple.

The last 2 years I have WS daylilies. This summer, I should finally get to see what cross's I have. So easy to WS.

Melissa1977

This post is just what I was looking for; thank you!

A question about the refrigeration: I collected some seeds from my pods in the late fall (I think---but it's been at least several weeks), and they've been stored in a plastic baggie ever since. They haven't been refrigerated. Do I need to put them in the fridge before they're viable for wintering sowing now?

Thanks!

No. WS does the cold strat for you.

T

What Trudi said! Refrigeration isn't necessary, but the seeds can rot if they're stored in a warm place, so they should be thoroughly dry before storage, and kept in a cool, dry place if they're not refrigerated.

Laurel

I had great luck sowing daylily seeds last year. Mine grew into large plants over the summer. I've already seen some new growth on a couple of the clumps. I hope they bloom this year, but expect to wait one more year.

Okay, I'm giving this a try. I have too many daylily seeds to grow them all inside. I have read the website-thanks! But I have a couple of questions.
I have my water jugs ready to plant. When I have my seeds planted do I just put the jugs outside, say on my porch(cement) or should I try to insulate them with snow?
Also what do you do once the seeds germinate? If it is freezing outside( which it could still be for quite a while) won't the seedlings die?
Debbie

I was outside today bringing out my tom flats and checked on my solstice containers, one of which was thickly sown with OP daylily seeds I had collected (ehem) from numerous sources including a pocketful collected at the Queens Zoo where they were in process of cutting back the spent clumps. While I don't see green yet, I do see the very beginning of roots breaking out of the seeds, so maybe in a week or so I'll see some green shoots.

Now all I have to do is figure out where I'll put them all.

The seedlings are pretty tough and should be fine outside. You don't need to cover them with snow right now that will happen without your help and they don't sprout till things are how they like it so while they are waiting they don't care.

So I should put them out where they will get some snow not on my covered porch? I might have trouble finding a level spot out there without digging a bit into the snow. We have lots of drifts around.

I believe that most people put their containers outside though a few do keep them on their covered porches. If you keep yours on your porch be sure to keep checking if they need to be watered as they will not get the snow and rain which waters the ones outside.

Another option would be to keep them on the porch until some of the snow melts and then put them outside. If they are on top of or in a snowdrift it helps to be aware of how the snow melts so you can reposition containers to prevent them from toppling over.

I keep my back patio shoveled so I can put containers there any time during the winter/spring.

Thanks mnwsgal.
My back deck would be the perfect place too - no roof and it's level but my dogs go out in the back yard and my lab retriever cross thinks she should dig up or eat anything that my hands have touched. It makes gardening out there a real challenge. I have learned not to move too many things around. I think I will put my containers in a flower bed somewhere else after digging out some snow to level things off. Then if they get covered again no problem. I will find them sometime.
Debbie

Swontgirl,

I put containers on my picnic tables--a long time back the dog was a puppy and shook to death every container I had laid on the ground. She doesn't do it now, but I still put the containers on the table. I put some outside yesterday and just shoved them down into the snow that was on the picnic table top. That's what you have to do.

Thanks Trudi,
I scooped out some snow from the flower bed along side my porch and shoved them down in there as far as the depth of the dirt in them. I hope it will work.
I am kind of confused as to why you plant different seeds at different times if they all just grow when the temps get right for them anyways. It seems from what I have read that you do annuals later on. But wouldn't they just grow when the conditions are right? Is there something I am missing here?
I am going to a gardening show this weekend that has some interesting seed sellers and hope to get some that I can start out. Anything really easy for beginners in Canada Zone 5a?
Debbie

Some annuals germinate easily and if you have an unusually warm day late winter/early spring they might germinate and then freeze when temps are back to normal.

By waiting to sow those closer to your last frost you will not have to worry about early germination and the need to coddle those seedlings or to resow.

That was a very informative post, didn't have any daylily seeds saved so skipped over the thread.

I've lurked on the daylily forum and seen the photo results of various crosses, fascinating business, and like was said, every seedling even through controlled pollination bloomed differently if crossed w/another.

At this point I'm kind of lukewarm about most daylilies, don't like the coral ones in my part shade bed but hate to get rid of them. I'm really excited about a clump of yellow ones I'm getting going. Maybe it's heresy to say this, but I'm not that enthralled with the super fancy frilly ones, maybe an exception or two.

I've been waiting for Wild's to start Brave Heart again, guess they do it in 3-year cycles and missed it last spring. They always send me a freebie, and that's how I got the first two yellows, now I've ordered Going Bananas, supposed to bloom longer.

One freebie I put out by the fire hydrant. Dogs do their thing on it but it's multiplied and has really pretty red blooms, Baja, not to be confused with the Baja Asian.

I may try something with those yellow ones, soft yellow, not greenish leaning on the color chart, may try to cross some of those with each other.

But the ditch lilies have got to go. I dislike them intensively. Except by the roadsides in the country.

SwontGirl,

You can sow hardy annuals at anytime, if they sprout early the seedlings are not going to be effected by a cold spell, some even laugh at the snow or ice. Tender annuals you can hold off on until the end of winter as its less likely for them to sprout until the weather warms--the problems are the occasional freak prolonged warm spells, and that's why tender annuals get sown closer to the end of season.

Thanks, I think I get it now. Will have to experiment. I've got lots of old seeds to try and will get some new ones too.
Aliska,
Daylilies are so much fun - but watch out you can get addicted fast!! I have started seeds in the basement the last 2 winters and I am really looking forward to see if they will WS for me. How much easier that would be!
This is just the best forum ever. It is so nice to get on and there's an answer to your question right away!!
I now know who the most excited gardeners are!!
Debbie