We put the seeds, after they have dried on the counter, into Ziploc bags and in a plastic container in the refrigerator in the fall. In late winter, mid-February here, we take them out and then do the process outlined above. In our case, we don't have a window sunny enough, so we grow them under fluorescent plant lights in the basement till time to plant outside.

They have to stay in fridge that long?

Marianne . are you planting lily seeds or daylily seeds?

I assumed daylily seeds as this is the daylily forum . Lily seeds and daylily seeds are not the same You will want to check with the people on the lily forum if they are lilium seeds.

I don't think the seeds have to be in the fridge that long. It's just what we do. I have heard a few weeks.

Thanx del...Signet they are daylily. Thanx again ya'll. :)

Planted my seeds. Fingers crossed !!!

How are your seeds doing Mariana? I planted some around the same time and I'm worried i've killed them. I didn't do the sprout starting thing before planting them in pots, but kind of wish I had. I only have one sprout that may be a daylily (though it seems pretty skinny compared to pictures I've seen so I wonder if a weed seed got into the pot).

Jeanerz , where are your seeds planted. In the house in pots / outside in pots ? Are they in high light ? low light? warm? cool environment ? all these factors come into play as well as genetics as to when a seed will sprout . I have had some seeds take as long as 3 months to germinate. Do yourself a favour and don't give up on them , keep them watered but if possible water from the bottom . Give decent light and most of all be patient . If you had sprouted before planting you might have seen sprouts before this but it doesn't mean because you didn't that nothing will come from your seeds. I sprouted all my seeds but because I have them outdoors and it has been so cool it slows down the process and they are just breaking the surface now .

Thanks for the quick response. I think I did a few things wrong (and I'm impatient too). They are in pots - I had been leaving them outside on my deck but they're inside now because it's been insanely rainy here and I didn't want them to drown (I think the news said 6 inches over the past 2 days). I'm not sure how I would water from the bottom up. When I first planted them I asked a coworker that does lots of gardening about how deep. She suggested just put them on the soil and lightly cover them...I don't think that was good enough...maybe it would be ok if I watered bottom up, but when I poured water into the pot (as lightly as I could considering I don't have an actual watering can) they would become uncovered and I had to push them back down into the soil. I haven't had to do that for awhile now... I don't have a grow light or anything like that...I took a table lamp and put it in the midst of the pots on my kitchen floor yesterday...trying to get them some kind of light considering how gloomy it's been but I doubt it helps. Oh and it's all potted up in potting soil, if that matters.

On a tangent - I had an apple a few days after planting the daylily seeds and found that the apple seeds were already sprouted in the core of the apple I had just eaten. I felt obligated to plant those so I potted them up and they seem to be making progress. I suppose they're making me even more impatient for the daylilies :P

I'll try to be patient, but what I might do is try to re-make the crosses and pre-sprout them next time. This was my first attempt at daylilies from seed.

Mine are in little plastic cups inside baggies.( have a hole in the bottom)

They are not up yet...mine are a few yrs old also...but I figure what the hey.

Thank Signet for all the info!

Good luck to us!! (wink)

Oh yeah...mine are on the porch in afternoon sun. ;)

Not sure why everyone thinks that planting daylily seeds and putting them in plastic bags is a good idea. It really isn't .You run the risk of damp off (which is the the seedling rotting at the soil level) and possible development of fungus gnat larvae that are found in potting medium and who will chew off the plant at the soil level . Both conditions need excessive moisture to proliferate

It has been my experience and believe me I have had my failures when I first started out with daylily seeds, It is best to plant about 1/2 inch deep , water from the bottom ( to avoid damp off and lessening the chances of fugus gnats growing in the soil ) and either run a fan blowing on the seedlings or place outdoors where the conditions are the best for growing from seed. The wind also helps to strengthen the plant. .

"Not sure why everyone thinks that planting daylily seeds and putting them in plastic bags is a good idea. "

Because someone said so once and now when you look for any information on growing stuff in pots from seed, that's what it says to do. So the method shall live on forever!

Maybe I'm lucky I'm too lazy for that nonsense :P

I see what you are saying and it does work for many seeds but it just doesnt seem to do well with daylily seeds for some reason . Like right now I have hibiscus cuttings in a plastic tent but I find most things rot . simply because they are overly moist . So unless you poke decent sized holes in the plasticto facilitate transpiration you run the risk of mold , fungus and gnats for whatever is growing in potting medium .

I myself lost so many seeds when I started ( doing everything you can think of wrong) and then I discovered coconut coir and have not lost a seed since . There is no organic material in coir so fungus , mold and gnats cant survive in it . I have even had seedlings sit out in the pot they were planted in all over the winter and came through with flying colors the next spring. That was daylily seeds planted in coir! seedlings dont need to feed from organic potting mix .

Mine are coming out of the bag rite now! wink

Thanx ya'll !

So, another of my daylily pots had something come up that looks like the first one. Maybe these are daylilies after all - they just seem so skinny compared to how fat the seed was...made me wonder if they were weeds. Does anyone have a picture of a daylily about a week or so after breaking through the soil?

here ya go . These have been planted for about 10 days now

the size of the sprout can be affected by whether the seeds are diploids or tetraploids too.

Thanks signet... really doubting what i see is a daylily...

If i can get a picture in focus i'll post.

This is the best photo I have of it.

No Jeanerz, sorry that is not a daylily sprout . However , dont give up on your daylily seeds yet . Did you refrigerate the seeds for 3 or more weeks before planting? When you harvest the seed was the pod brown and starting to split open ? How old are the seeds ?

All of these are pertinent questions . One thing you can try if you didnt refrigerate the seeds . Take that pot put it in a plastic bag ( only so dirt doesnt get into you fridge )and pop in the fridge for 3 weeks . Then bring out , take out of the bag and put outside. See what happens . I have a mini fridge full of daylily seeds that I will probably never have enough time to grow out. I plant the ones that insist on sprouting while they are in bags in the fridge . Do you know if you need a phyto to import daylily seeds into the USA . Does anyone know . If you dont, I could mail you some seeds.

They were in the fridge for over a year... The pod was already split open when I harvested seeds in August 2015. I thought I read that someone here was able to get 3 year old seeds to sprout so I was hoping 1.5 years in the fridge wasn't too long. Unless maybe I stored them in the fridge wrong (just in an envelope)

The storage thing can be a problem . I keep mine in plastic envelopes that I get at the dollar store . I have some that are more than 3 years old and are still viable though. Here's another suggestion , seeing as you are having no luck why not gently dig up the seeds in your pot. If they are sprouting rebury , however If they haven't germinated try the squish test .

Gently squeese the seed . They should be firm . if they are really soft and squishy they are no good if they are still firm wash off the dirt put in some kind of small container like an individual yogurt cup and add water and about a capfull of hydrogen peroxide and set aside to see if they will sprout . if they do once they sprout replant .

I wish I were closer so I could see first hand but this will have to do I guess.

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll try that...I have moved the dirt around on the top some looking for any sign of life but wasn't sure if I should dig right in. If I can't find them, does that mean they've probably decomposed?

Good news! Found one with a little white nub! When I put it back should it be nub facing down? Not sure how it was oriented when I found it...was just moving dirt around.

Yay !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

great news ! Now you just have to be patient . You dont need to do anything special . just lay the sprouted seed on its side and recover with soil . It doesnt need to be oriented it will sort itself out

Yea jeanerz I took mine out of bag That day....but nothing yet , gonna check'em and see. Thanx Signet. And Congrats jeanerz.

We're probably both just too impatient Marianna :P

I Know I Am ! LOL

Hey signet - seeing as Marianna and I are so impatient... do you have an idea of how long it takes for the seed to go from sprout (like the nub I found) to actually breaking through the soil? I'm ready to start crossing days off my calendar :P

Think I have a daylily on the way up! I'm going to name it Waldo...as in "where's Waldo".

I hope so Jeanerz but I am not seeing any green in your image ( sorry to disappoint) just all browns and whites. .Love the name you have chosen ! LOL ! LOL !LOL !

Lol yeah that's why I chose the name...it's in the center...above the 3rd white ball in the row of 3 and to the right of the stringy stick looking thing lol. It's like he's poking his nose out of a cave. I'll take another picture when it's more obvious

Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha ......OMG you are hilarious. Not anxious or anything , oh nooooooo.!

Walk away from the daylily pot girl . Just make sure your pot is well watered and then check back in a week. You are gonna give yourself a stroke over these seeds.

I knowwwww lol. Should have seen me when I was getting new grass for the front yard. I was worried the hoa was going to complain about having just a dirt yard. (or mud really since I was keeping my dirt watered)

LOL !! I haven't looked at mine in a couple days... Ain't it strange how days can seem like weeks when waiting for seeds to pop up?

Marianna , That's ok though ....soon you will be old hat at the seed thing and it will become like second nature and when you have finally put the baby plants out in your gardens .and they grow .....well that's when it all the magic happens and suddenly one blooms and you know that no one else in the world has that daylily but you and suddenly we have new daylily addicts ...........muwahhhhhhhhaaaaa hhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaa!

I was just thinking...how perfect would it be if waldo blooms with red and white stripes? Lol

Waldo the Wonderlily ! LOL

Signet, I know you said wait a week, but....Waldo got over his bashfulness and was ready for his close-up.

Yeah Waldo ! Yea jeanerz!

How are yours Marianna?

Congrats an official daylily seedling .........you are a proud mama! LOL ! and I am guessing you just may be hooked!

Nothin... fingers crossed. Not giving up tho...lol

I looked in the dirt and the one I looked at had a white spot on it? Is it gonna sprout? I dunno...lol

if you are seeing white at the pointed end of the seed then yes, you are seeing the germination starting .

Good deal..

Waldo is coming along... Also have 3 others.

there ya go! Now you're cookin with gas! (depending on how old you are , you may or may not understand that comment :LOL ! )

Yea Waldo !!! mine, nutton...