opabinia51
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Daylilies

Was curious, is it best to start Daylilies from seed in late winter/early spring or just sow the seeds directly into the ground in the spring. :?:

I tried growing Daylilies from seed a few years ago and it didn't work at all. I had no germination. :cry: So, any tips on how to get them started would be greatly appreciated. 8)
Last edited by opabinia51 on Sun Jan 16, 2005 7:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Newt
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Is it possible that the seeds were from triploids? They are sterile. Take a look at this.


Seed sowing as per this site:
https://tomclothier.hort.net/
Hemerocallis hybrids, liliasphodelus, middendorffii, and minor , Sow under very thin cover at Max. 5ºC (41ºF) in light, germination irregular, often several months Not true to type
You might also find this helpful.
https://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/features/huber/2622627

https://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/daylilies/3752

Maybe you could try winter sowing. I think they perfer the cold cycles to break. If you need info on how to winter sow, just let me know.

Newt

opabinia51
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I don't think so, the seeds that I bouhgt (a few years ago) were from a reputable seed distributer. Last year I bought a Daylily from a Lady and she stated to me that it is best to seperate their roots and propagate them that way. My plan this year is to pick up a few more cultivars as plants and put them in my garden and I would also like to try starting some from seed within the next month or two. As soon as the snow clears enough for me to get to the nursery I'm going to by my allottment of seeds to start for my veg garden and I was contemplating buying a few varieties of Daylilies to try starting as well.

By the way, Newt. Thanks for the websites, they were very useful.

The Helpful Gardener
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Root divisions are the best way to repeat the same bloom...

BUT...

seed gives you the potential for that great new plant (natural mutation).

That said when big guys look for that hot new plant they cross two good 'uns and plant THOUSANDS of seeds to get one , maybe two new plants.

How big is the garden? :roll:

Scott

opabinia51
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Well, the entire ornamental garden is fairly large but, I only have a small area that I currently have my one Daylily in. I bought another one today (something like 50 percent off! Bonus). The area is fairly bare and perfect for propagating Daylilies.
I went out to my local nurseries today in search of Daylily seeds but, alas there were none. They all said that in a month or two they would be getting the little roots in. I was really hoping to try doing seeds again but, looks like if I want to do that, I will have to order the seeds.


Oh yeah, root divisions. I already know about the root division thing. Problem is with root divisions you get a clone of the parent plant but, with seeds you get genetically different material therefore perpetuating the species potential longevity. I have a real problem with all of this cloning that has been going on. Apples are the main point that comes to mind.... this is why I have been collecting apple seeds (and cuttings) in hopes of growing up little apple trees to cross pollinate and increase the gene pool of apples. The same idea works for Daylilies. Though, the diehard Daylily fans cross pollinate them in order to find neat new cultivars, that is a neat side track. Codominance is a wonderful thing!!!!

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Especially if you're married... :lol:

Newt
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:twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :wink:


Newt

opabinia51
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Ha ha ha! Very funny..... especially if you'r married, sheeeesh. :roll:



Actually, I think I already mentioned this but, I bought another Daylily yesterday (at greatly reduced price :wink: ) And I just finished typing an email to my Aunt who is a Master Gardner who has three Daylilies with lots of tubers and is going to supply me with tubers delight! So, you could say that the Daylily population in my garden is growing exponentially. (Even though, it is just growing)

opabinia51
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Ha ha! Success! I have found a possible source for Daylily seeds through none other than the President of the BC Daylily Society!!! (This is a good thing as I did not want to order the seeds over the internet). :D


By the way, if anyone who reads this thread has Daylilies in their garden and would like to say anything about the trials/tribulations/truisms about growing daylilies, I'd love to hear about them. 8)

The Helpful Gardener
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Here's one to shoot for; I like (but do not own...yet) Gentle Shepherd, as close to a pure white as I've seen...neat...

[url]https://www.bloomindesigns.com/product/DGENTLESHEPHERD[/url]

Scott

opabinia51
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Very pretty. I'll keep that one in mind. There certainly are a plethora of cultivars to choose from. The sky is the limit.

Newt
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Hi Opabinia,

I love the old fashioned ones as well as the spider varieties. I also adore the rebloomers and everbloomers. Last spring I planted an everbloomer called H. 'Big Time Happy' that surpassed it's billing!
https://www.perennials.com/seeplant.html?item=1.800.170

Scott,
That's a beauty!

Newt

opabinia51
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Hey Newt,

That is a very nice culitvar. I look forward to seeing what my aunt has to offer but, that will be this spring. I personally really like cultivars with deep, rich colours like purpples and deep reds. My latest acquisition has been a flower called Strutters Ball. It's a deep purple with a white and black eye.

The Helpful Gardener
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'Big Time Happy is one of Daryl Apps' progeny, so no suprise it's a good one...

I also like 'Pardon Me' , not as prolific a re-bloomer as 'Stella', but it's red and that makes up for any deficiency...

Newt
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I think the dark colors look great offset by the light ones! The light ones also look great in partial sun where I have my daughter's planted with evergreen shrubs behind them.

Newt

opabinia51
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Awsome. I'd love to hear what others think as well. I know that there are more people that peruse this site other than Newt, Scott and myself :wink:

I'll look those cultivars up on the web. :idea: ...Yes, the second cultivar is very nice. Sort of similar to the one that I have. There is one cultivar (whose name escapes me) that is orange and yellow. It has four petals, two are yellow and two are orange. Very nice.

The Helpful Gardener
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Not to forget the height ranges available here either; 'Autumn Minaret' with nearly 6 foot flowerscapes behind "Chicago Royal Robe' (36 in.) with a 'Stella' or 'Happy Returns', (24in.) and maybe 'Little Grapette' (12 in.) in front. Lots of others to fit in fore, mid, and back as well...

jamie68
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Hi there Newt,
I agree with you completely...the dark ones look best when highlighted by the lighter ones...to many dark cultivars can start to look somber...I also love 'Pardon me" ,,,,another great little rebloomer is 'Lil Grapette', lovely purple/lavender shades to the blooms, and boy does it rebloom! I still had blooms in November...WOW! :D
Have a great day !

Jamie

opabinia51
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Mmmmm, I really like Chicago Royal Robe, it's a really nice cultivar. Such nice colours.

With respect to the darker and richer colours. Yes, I agree some lighter colours are nice but, you can also offset the darker/richer shades with other plants in your garden or by where you plant your daylilies. For instance, Chicago Royal Robe and some other richly coloured flowers would look really nice and quite eclectic infront of and around a large Lily.

opabinia51
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Wow! Just found this amazing cultivar: it is called Starman's Quest. Just beautiful!

Newt
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It took a bit of searching, but I found it. Lovely. A real eye catcher!

https://hortiplex.gardenweb.com/plants/jour/p/54/gw1071854/page.html

Newt

opabinia51
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Yes, I've emailed the President of the BC Daylily Society and asked her if she by chance sells it. A real treat. I'm hoping that I can get it.

Newt
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Good luck! I hope you can find it.

Newt

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Easy to breed this lot too, Opa...

A biologist's dream genus...

8)

Scott

opabinia51
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By "dream genus" I am guessing that you are referring to Hemorcallis? Yes, I have a few Adobe files on breeding them. I acquired my second daylily a while ago and will be recieving at least four cultivars from my one aunt and three from the other. Anyway, it should be fun to cross breed them and see what neat and interesting cultivars that I can come up with.

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Name one for me, O.K.?

:lol:

Scott

opabinia51
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Name the PDF File or name the cultivar? If you want a name for one of the five cultivars that I will be recieving.... wish I knew. Neither Aunt has the foggiest clue what cultivars they have. :roll:
I was looking the the leaves poking throught the soil of the one Aunts Daylilies (actually, they are mine now but, are still at her place) but, until I transplant them here and they bloom, there will be no way to tell what cultivars they are. (UNFORTUNATELY)
:?: :?: :?: :?:

Newt
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Hi OP,

You might find this site interesting, if you have the time and patience. I has thousands of named cultivars with the dates. Unfortunately it's in alphabetical order, not by color or date. So, if you know the year, you might be able to id yours. Start by clicking in 'Daylily data'.

https://nick.assumption.edu/Daylilies/about.html

Newt

The Helpful Gardener
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No Opa, I meant name one of the progeny I can see coming out of your garden in three or four years (Scientists are SO literal) :lol:

Plant Geek

opabinia51
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Ah yes, but CONTEXT is in the eye of the creator of the question. As per the eye of the purveyor of the question, context can have many meanings. :wink:

Yes, it will be interesting to see what I get. :shock: I hear that they take two years until you get a bloom but, that makes the bloom all that more special. As far as naming is concerned, I lean towards giving something a name that is descriptive as to it's morphology (what it looks like) as apposed to a name of a person's best friend. And of course, there are no better languages to name something that Latin and Greek.
:idea:

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Ever the scientific mind, Opa... :wink:

Scott

opabinia51
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Well, it's interesting because even within the scientific community there is a movement of most people who, when they discover a new species or subspecies to name it after a friend, colleage or themselves. But, really when you think about it, what good does that do for anyone? If I call an organism Strongylocentrous purpurea I can immediately pick out the greek roots to see that the organism will most likely have a radial symmetrical body plan (as apposed to bilaterally symmetrical like humans) and that it is most likely purple... and with a greek-english or Webster's dictionary you could glean other information from the name.
I forget the genus name of this organisms but the species name is clarkii. Now, obviously the namer of this organism has named it after someone with the name clark.... great... I'm sure that Mr. or Mrs. Clark was very happy about that. But, for the biologist or layperson in the field who has to remember the name of nine million three hundred twenty two thoussand other organisms and differentiate between them.... a morphological name would be much more useful.

A little rant.
Last edited by opabinia51 on Fri Feb 25, 2005 2:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.

The Helpful Gardener
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Ranting is not necessarily encouraged, but neither is it discouraged (lord knows I've hopped off on a few rants here myself...)

opabinia51
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Mulch comes to mind...... :wink:

The Helpful Gardener
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DON'T get me started... :x

but indeed, you are correct... :shock:

Scott

opabinia51
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Yes on the topic of that horrible wood mulch that everyone uses... even at the Horticultural Center where I volunteer as the weekend Librarian they use the stuff. I was really sad to see that they had a huge pile of it there this past weekend. :roll: Oh well, I guess there is nothing we can do but pass on the good word of mulching leaves, grass clippings, seaweed and the like. And by the way, for those people who are reading this thread:

If you make a nice mulch from the above listed ingredients... it does keep the weeds down quite nicely and it enriches the soil making your plants grow better, bloom more often, have more vibrant blooms, the edibles will tast better and less refuse will end up in our land fills. It's a win win situation for plants, people and the environment.

The Helpful Gardener
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And there is good wood mulches; aged pinebark, softwood blends, etc. but it's more expensive so people buy the cheaper stuff AND IT'S BAAAADDD!!

TOLD you not to get me started, Opa... :evil:
Last edited by The Helpful Gardener on Tue Mar 01, 2005 9:31 am, edited 1 time in total.

opabinia51
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Well, like I said; it's best to spread the word here about good mulches.

Better to talk about good stuff to use rather than about how bad one product is... leaving no alternative to the bad stuff.

Incidentally, the leaf, coffee grind, etc way of mulching is free. Doesn't cost you a penny and if you make your own soil through composting.... you have a nice cover to put over the mulch that looks really nice.

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Nobody can get off thread like you and me, Op...

opabinia51
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Hybridizing with Daylilies: For those who wish to embark on a botanical journey with Daylilies: Here is how to start out in Hyrbrizing.

It's really quite simple (or can be quite complex) you just remove the anthers from a flower that you want to cross with another and touch the stigma of the other flower.


Once the seed forms, leave it on the plant for several weeks (there is a given time period but, my notes are not in front of me. I'll put that in at a later date.)

After collecting the seeds you can plant them and grow new plants up with combinations of the traits of the two other plants.


A note on genetics. Do not think that if you cross a yellow Daylily with an orange Daylily that you will get seeds that are 100% yellow and orange. It doesn't work that way. You may get 25%-75% of the seeds being only yellow or only orange. Or you may have seeds that are combination of the traits. It's somewhat complicated so I won't say why. Suffice to say, be aware.



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