Following the instructions that came with the seeds, I wrapped them in a dampened paper towel, put the little bundle into a ziplocked bag, and set them aside to rest in a warm spot for a few days. (This is the same method I've used in the past, though there are at least a few different ways of germinating daylily seeds. For instance, some people treat their seeds to a soak in a mild solution of hydrogen peroxide in water. Others sprout seeds in the humidity of a closed plastic bag, but take pains to ensure that the dampened towel never comes in direct contact with the seeds. Then there are those who sprout in baggies with a sprinkling of growing/sprouting medium-- perlite, for instance. I'm sure there are more ways, too, but since I've had good luck with the paper towel method, I decided to stick with it.)
I planted the sprouted seeds in two batches. (In between, the remaining seeds went back into the bag with their moistened paper towel.) The second time, there were still several seeds that hadn't really sprouted, but they were starting to look a little moldy, so I popped the unsprouted seeds into a pot, too. I doubt any of them will grow, but at least they have a fair chance.
In previous years, I've started the seeds in very small pots-- mostly yogurt cups with added drainage holes. This time, I'd already used my supply of yogurt cups for other seeds, so I re-used some larger (6"?) nursery pots. Maybe this actually makes more sense than the tiny cups. The pots shouldn't dry out as quickly, for one thing, and I won't need to re-pot the seedlings quite as soon, either.
So, I put three sprouted seeds per pot and ended up with 37 of those 3-seed pots, for a total of 111 sprouted seeds. Then there's the pot with the unsprouted seeds-- about 9 of them, I think-- crowded together into one more pot. (I can always separate them, if more than one seedling even comes up.)
Considering that I ordered a pack of "100+" daylily seeds, I'm very satisfied with the results. Now, I'm sure I'll lose some of those sprouted seeds, along the way. Some might not ever put up green shoots. Others may be weak and not survive to maturity. There may even be an albino or two. (I've had at least one before, and from what I've read, it's extremely difficult, if not impossible, to grow an albino daylily.) But still, that's a good start. Even with several failed seeds, you can't beat the price per plant.
Here's a photo I took a few days after planting some of the sprouted seeds. They've grown since then, but I've yet to take more photos. I'll try to get a decent picture this weekend.
Now for the many, many daylily photos since last post, including some plants we've seen before (but new flowers/photos). There are about a gazillion photos, so unless you have a strong appetite for daylilies (and some of the same plant on different days), you might want to skim or skip this one altogether.
This next daylily has just bloomed for the first time in our garden. It has by far the tallest scape (stem) of any I've grown. The next tallest would be the solid tangerine daylily further up the page. I used to think that one was tall, but this one is at least half a foot taller.
