Hybridizing

Hybridizing your own daylilies can be fun and very rewarding. And most importantly, it's easier than you probably think! Here I will explain how I go about creating my hybrids.

It all starts in late winter. I start getting the itch to work with my daylilies. There is just one little problem, it's winter. The plants are dormant (for me anyway), and they are not blooming. So I turn to the next best thing, start planning what plants I want to cross in the spring. I usually jot down ideas on a notepad late at night (thats usually when ideas for crosses hit me.) I decide what goals I would like to achieve with each cross. For example, if I crossed a plant that had a red band, and another one that had an extremely high bud count, a goal could be to get a plant that has a red band with a high bud count. Of course this is just a basic example. Ok enough talk, lets get into the fun stuff!

Once spring rolls around, I start keeping an eye on the daylilies that I want to cross to see when they will be blooming. For the beginner, you'll probably just want to deal with plants that bloom at the same time so you don't get into freezing pollen and saving it. (If you are interested in freezing pollen and using it at a later date, I will explain how in just a little bit.) Go out into your garden early in the morning the day the flowers will be opening. I usually go out between 8 and 9 am. That seems to be a good time here in the Dallas area as it gives time for the pollen to dry, and it's still early enough to have a good chance of a successful cross. You want to be the one pollinating your plants, not the bugs! The earlier you pollinate, the better your chances.

For the next part, you'll need a pair a tweezers. (You don't NEED them, but I find them helpful sometimes. I just use my fingers for the most part.) Using the tweezers (or your fingers), I carefully take 1 (one) stamen off one of the flowers. In case your unsure, here is what a stamen looks like. There is usually 6 of them. Now take the stamen you removed and take it over to the other plant you want to cross it with. Dab the top part of the stamen (called an anther) on to the tip of the pistil (called the Stigma).There will be only 1 pistil, so it will easy to spot. And guess what? You have just made your first cross! Within a few days, if the cross was a success, you will see a little pod start to swell at the base of where the flower was attached. (The flower it self falls off after a few days).

Now, you must tag the flower you just crossed so you can remember what it was crossed with! It's easy to remember when you have only a few crosses, but it gets confusing very fast if you have more than a few. It's good practice to mark all of your crosses. There are many different ways to go about this. Some people use paper tags and some use different colored string to identify a cross. Just about every hybridizer has their own unique way of marking a cross. What I like to use is old mini blinds. I got the idea from a site by Bill Jarvis a few years back. You can view the site here. It's a very informative site and is where I learned how to do my first crosses. I highly recommend checking it out. Back to the blinds, what I do is cut the blinds up into pieces about 2 inches long, then I punch a hole at one end with a standard hole puncher. It can take a little bit of force to punch through the metal, so get ready to work those muscles! I then tie a piece of kite string through the hole. The tag is now ready to use! I use a good permanent marker when I write my cross on the tag. The normal fine point "Sharpie" markers work well, but if you can get the "Industrial" strength Sharpie, it works even better. It won't fade from the sun, or wash off in the rain. When writing down your cross, be sure to list the "pod" parent first. In other words, the plant that will be growing the seeds.

Now comes the hard part. Waiting. You want to see those plants right now! But as we all know, thats not going to happen. But we do need to harvest those seeds! When your plump seed pods start to turn brown and crack, it's time to collect your seeds! (This can take anywhere from 40-60 days.) I wait untill most of the seed pod is brown and dry, just to make sure all the seeds have ripened. Take the seed pod (and your tag!) off the plant and carefully pry it open. I would suggest doing this over a large paper grocery bag, just in case some of the seeds try to make a run for it. Knock all of the seeds out of the pod. Most will just fall out if you turn the pod over, but there is always a few that don't want to leave home. Just gently use your finger to set them free. Once all of the seeds are out, you can discard the pod. I then put the seeds and the tags in 35mm film canisters and leave the canister open overnight so the seeds can dry out completely. You may have to bend the tag so it will fit if you are using the mini blind tags. Once the seeds have dried overnight, pop on the lid of the canister. I also like to write what the cross is on the outside of the canister. This just makes it easier for my needs.

Once this is done, time to put those seeds in the refrigerator. While I've been told it is not necessary to do this, I do it anyway. It sorta gives the seeds a short dormancy period. I leave my seeds in the fridge to chill for 3 weeks (it's OK to leave them in longer too). Once the 3 weeks is up, it's time to plant those seeds!

I plant my seeds in a custom mix of ground up pine bark, peat, perlite and water soluble fertilizer. I got the idea for my mix from Jeff Pryor of Jeff and Jackie's Daylilies. You can find the full potting mix recipe on their site under "Cool Stuff". What I use is a very scaled down version of theirs.

For crosses that I got a lot of seeds from, I use 3 gallon pots and put about 60 seeds in each pot. For crosses that have a small amount of seeds, I use 1 gallon pots and put 30 or so seeds in each pot.

Once I have my seeds planted, I place them where they can get lots of sun. Keep the seeds moist but not wet. I like to put my pots of seeds somewhere where I can quickly move them to cover incase of heavy rains. Wouldn't want those seeds washing out of the pots now would we? In about 7 to 14 days you should start seeing quite a few little seedlings poking their heads out of the soil!

Once the plants reach about 2 inches in height, I start feeding them with a 30-10-10 plant food. I start out at a very weak solution of fertilizer, and then each time I water them, I slightly bump up the strength. For example, I may start them out on a 1/4tsp per gallon rate, and by the time I'm ready to set them out, I have them on 2 or 3Tbs per gallon rate. The reason I use a 30-10-10 fertilizer and gradually raise the strength is because I want my plants as big as possible before I plant them out. I plant my seedlings out in the fall, so I only have 2 months to get the seeds up and growing. Technically I have 3 months, but I give the plants a 1 month "settling in" period before the first frost. I harvest my seeds in August, and I have them ready to plant out by mid October. This has worked out well for me. In other climates, such as the north, this setup may not work, due to the shorter growing season. This is something that you will have to decide for your self. I know many people from the north won't even start their seeds until the following spring, and that is perfectly fine. You gotta do what works for you!

When I plant my seedlings out, I place them about 8 inches apart. Some growers plant their plants as close as 6 inches, but in order to do that you must have a consistent and somewhat aggressive feeding schedule. 6 inches is very close and it will get crowded in a hurry. 8 inches will get crowded too, but not quite as much. Some crowding isn't bad. I look at it this way, if a plant can't handle some crowding from it's siblings, then I don't want it. One should not have to deal with poor growth habit.

Once all the seedlings are planted out, we must once again play the waiting game. For my area, it typically takes 2 years before I'll see a bloom. The first year the plants put on allot of growth, then the 2nd year the majority of the seedlings will bloom. Sometimes you will see a seedling bloom it's first year. In Florida, this is a very common occurrence due to the near year-round growing conditions. In the north however, it may take 3 years before you see a bloom.

That basically covers how I do my hybridizing. The best thing to do is follow someone else's example and then tailor it to your own needs. As you gain more experience, you will discover new methods that work best for you!

Before I go, I'll tell you how to freeze pollen for later use. This is done when one of your plants is blooming, yet the one you want to cross it to is not. First get a Q-Tip and cut it in half. Take one of the ends and brush it on the pollen. The pollen will stick to the Q-Tip. Once you get what you need, place the Q-Tips in a 35mm film canister, label the outside and toss it in the freezer. When your ready to use the pollen, take it out and let it "thaw" for about 5 minutes. Once it's warmed up a bit, it's ready to use! I like the Q-Tips because it makes a nice pollen control device. Only the pollen amount needed will come off the Q-Tip and onto the the pistil. Pretty neat Huh?

I hope this helps get you started on the road to becoming a world famous hybridizer. If you have any questions feel free to contact me at wesman@uberlame.com