How to Grow Daylilies From Seed Pods

Daylilies are simple to start from seed.

Daylilies are simple to propagate by seed. When your daylilies drop their flowers, their seed pods become easily visible. Once you pick and shell the pods, the seed can be planted immediately. Start your daylilies indoors; when the daylily seedlings reach a few inches in height, they are ready to brave the outdoors. Growing daylilies from seed is simple, but it does require patience. The University of Florida says daylilies grown from seed must grow for two seasons before they will be ready to flower.

Things You'll Need

• Seed flat with cover
• Seed-starting soil-less mixture
• Spray bottle
• Watering can
• Water
• Potting soil
• 3-inch pots

Instructions

1. Pick the daylily pods off of the plant when they turn brown, dry and begin to split.

2. Break open the pods and remove the seeds.

3. Fill a planting flat with moistened, seed-starting soil-less mixture, available at gardening centers.

4. Scatter the daylily seed over the surface of the planting flat so that there is roughly 1 inch between seeds. Press the seed down gently with your hands to ensure good soil contact.

5. Cover the seeds with 1/8 to 1/4 inch of the soil-less medium. Moisten the layer with water from a spray bottle.

6. Place the clear plastic cover on the planting tray and place it in a warm (room temperature or higher) spot that receives indirect sunlight.

7. Remove the seed flat's cover twice daily to check on the soil's moisture level. If it is dry to the touch, re-moisten the soil with water from your spray bottle.

8. Remove the cover permanently once the seedlings germinate. Continue to check the soil's moisture level twice daily and water when needed to keep the soil moist.

9. Transplant the most robust daylily seedlings to individual 3-inch pots filled with moistened potting soil when they have at least two true leaves and are hard enough to handle. Uproot each plant by placing a pencil well underneath the base of the plant and pushing up. Gently plant the seedling in the pot so that it sits at the same level in the soil as it did in the flat.

10. Water the pot's soil whenever the top third of the container dries out.

11. Transplant the daylily plants to the garden when they are 4 to 6 inches tall.

References

• Montana State University Extension: Harvesting and Saving Garden Seeds
• West Virginia University Extension Service: Seed Saving Tips
• University of Florida IFAS Extension: Daylilies for Florida