Re: What to do with seeds
- To: iris-talk@onelist.com
- Subject: Re: [iris-talk] What to do with seeds
- From: I*@aol.com
- Date: Wed, 4 Aug 1999 06:13:05 EDT
From: Irisborer@aol.com
In a message dated 8/4/1999 12:31:56 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
Onegun2@aol.com writes:
<< Now for my question. I have daylilies and one of them, has seeds in the
pods that I pulled off of them. I had nothing to do with it. :-) Does anyone
out in Iris land know if these seeds need to be put in a freezer and then
planted. >>
Hi Tom...
Although it's not a good idea to stray too far from irises on this list, the
reality of the situation is that some of us "cross pollinate" and so most
plant questions can find fertile ground.
Have I used enough horticultural metaphors??
To plant daylily seeds..... 1) wait for the pod to turn brown and crack
slightly, 2) plant the seeds in the ground, 3) GET OUT OF THE WAY!
Kidding.... but it's almost that easy for both daylilies AND irises....
Daylilies do not necessarily need stratification, but it can't hurt. Do NOT
put the seeds in the freezer, but rather in a small amount of damp peat moss
in a plastic bag in the veggie bin of your fridge. After Christmas, you can
plant them inside.
Irises might take a bit more effort. I go through a ritual with both
beardless and bearded seeds..... based on a recipe by Ensata Gardens. This
may not be required for the bearded irises, but it keeps you occupied till
spring.
Harvest the pods when they are brown and cracked.... then you can leave them
lying around somewhere inside till November. In November, put each cross in
a separate bundle made out of panty hose, with a water-safe label attached.
Soak the bundles in a bowl of water, changing the water each day for 14 days
(and rinsing the bundles)..... let the excess water drip off after the 14
days, put them all in plastic bags and put them in the veggie drawer of the
fridge for 10 weeks.
At 10 weeks, you can either plant them directly, or - if you're challanged
for space as I am - sanwich the seeds between several layers of damp paper
towel (Scott white... no chemicals), place them in a warmish place like on
top of your refrigerator and begin check for signs of germination after 10
days or so - planting only the seeds that accomplish that.
Another way to go through the soaking, rinsing cycle, is to suspend the
pantyhose bundles in your toilet tank...... I repeat TANK (not bowl...
ewwwwwwwwwww).
When you have potted the irises, you can put them under plastic under plain
old shoplites till you see them begin to sprout. I keep my lights on for 20
hours - but I'm told you don't need to turn them off at all. Remove the
plastic covers when they have sprouted.
The alternate method for starting iris seeds is..... put them in the ground
immediately, and GET OUT OF THE WAY.
Back to daylilies, there have been careful studies done of the critical temps
for germination for them, but my experience has been that if you're a
hobbiest, it's not that important. Most seeds will cooperate if you just
plain old plant them!
Kathy Guest, a double agent
iris lover and President of BADS, the Buffalo Area Daylily Society
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