Hybridizing Daylilies in
the Home Garden
by
Fred Davis, MG, Hill Gardens of Maine (To view previous articles, click: Archives)
Hybridizing of daylilies — the production of new varieties through the
manual transfer of pollen between selected flowers of different cultivars — is
easy, uncomplicated, and is the primary source of most of the more than 45,000
named varieties in existence today. There are a great many methods of
hybridizing — most get the job done satisfactorily. Here’s mine:
SELECT
THE TWO VARIETIES YOU’D LIKE TO “CROSS.”
The “pros” — those who work nearly full-time producing new colors and
forms of daylilies for fun, notoriety and, quite often, for profit — have
developed a precise system and set of rules for selecting parents that are not
only genetically compatible, but that will enhance or incorporate particularly
desirable flower characteristics. The home gardener, however, is not bound by stringent rules and
scientific procedures. Simply select the two daylilies you’d like to
“cross” and do it! If the result is a seed-filled pod at the end of the
season, it worked. If there’s no seed pod, they were not compatible. . .so try
again!
If, on the other hand, you want to leave very little to chance, our Daylily
Variety List will provide you with the genetic information (whether tetraploid
or diploid). Always, in this case, cross a tet with a tet...and a dip
with a dip.
The two we’ll cross for the purposes of this article: ‘Chicago
Apache’ (a stunning scarlet tetraploid), and ‘Hill's Silver Sweetie’ (one
of my 1998 tetraploid seedlings). I’ve
removed the flowers only for the purposes of this picture. You won’t do
that. . .leave the flowers on the plant.)
TRANSFER
POLLEN FROM ONE FLOWER TO THE OTHER. 
Each
flower has seven thin structures
arising from the center (throat): 6 stamens (the male or “pollen” part) and
one pistil (the slightly longer female part). Shortly after the flower unfurls
in the morning,
those packets of pollen at the ends of each stamen “open” to expose the
fluffy yellow powder-like male element.
Carefully
remove one of those pollen packets and transfer some of the substance to the
pistil of the other flower. 
Some people prefer to use tweezers for the purpose.
Here’s a close-up of the process:
Now, for interest’s sake — and to produce additional color variations
or other flower characteristics, I do what I call a “double-cross” and move
pollen from the one we just pollinated back to the one we originally took
the pollen from (first was pink-to-red. . .now it’s back to red-to-pink).
Since virtually every seed in a pod will be slightly (perhaps even dramatically)
different from every other seed in that same pod, the potential is nearly
endless! Doing a “double-cross” multiplies your chances for even more
interest and excitement.
Now
a most important step: attach a small label to the flower stem that records the
date and the names of each “parent” involved in this cross. In this case,
the label will read: “Chicago Apache to Hill's Silver Sweetie 7/18/03”. Another label,
of course, with “Hill's Silver Sweetie to Chicago Apache 7/18/03” will go on the other
flower (the routine for me is “pollen-parent” to “seed-parent”).
The next day, the flower will have wilted (don’t dead-head that
flower!) and, within another day or two, it will fall, leaving behind the
beginnings of a small
seed-pod.
COLLECT
THE SEEDS. Over the space of
1½ to 2 months, that pod will grow larger — stuffed full of shiny, black
seeds.
Remember to be very careful as
you accomplish your daily deadheading chores in the daylily bed — you don’t
want to accidentally snap off your precious seedpod full of “babies”!
Seedpods will first turn
yellow, then brown, and will crack open at the top. At that point, remove the
pod and it’s tag, being careful to not allow seeds to spill and become lost.
If your cross was done
early enough in the season where you live, freshly harvested seeds can be sown
immediately — actually giving you what amounts to a 1-year “jump” on
seeing the actual color results of your efforts. Use any commercial
seed-starting mix and cover your seeds with ¼” to ½”. Moisten thoroughly
and place in a protected spot away from direct sun and intruding critters like
squirrels, birds, and slugs.
Seeds
can also be sown directly outdoors in a prepared garden bed. Pick a protected
spot — that you will clearly label for each cross you made — and rake it out
smooth. Sow seeds about ½” deep, spaced about 6” apart in definite,
straight rows. (Planting in rows makes the task of weeding easier, and you’re
less apt to accidentally “weed-out” a precious seedling.) Maintain constant
soil moisture — but not a “mud-hole” — during the germination period
which may take from one to two weeks. They look like grass when they sprout so,
again, be very cautious when weeding the bed.
A
light layer of mulch around the now-fast-growing seedlings will moderate soil
moisture and temperature, and help to stifle weed-babies. Nothing else needs to
be done until the following spring, when a balanced, granular fertilizer (I use
10-10-10) is applied at the rate of about a half-teaspoonful for each emerging
plant — lightly cultivated in and then watered.
You’ll feed again — about
a teaspoonful for each plant this time — at about mid-season (July 4th
in Northern-tier states) — and continue to eliminate any weed competition.
An example of a daylily seedling — 30
days after sowing.
STORING
SEEDS FOR SPRING SOWING. If
it’s not practical to sow the seeds during the year of harvest, they can be
allowed to dry for a few days (they’ll shrink a bit and appear to be a little
wrinkled), then tightly seal them in either a small jar or Zip-Loc bag. I prefer
the plastic bag — much simpler to store in a tight space. Squeeze out all the
air and make sure there are no holes in the plastic bag. The crisper drawer of
your refrigerator is the perfect place to store most seeds. They’ll last the
winter and be just as fresh as the day they were harvested when early spring
arrives.
Sow spring seeds indoors about 4 to 6 weeks before last anticipated
frost. In Maine, that’s early April. Keep the seedling container in a
consistently warm, very bright spot — and protect it from those sharp
fluctuations in temperature normally seen on windowsills.
Transplant outdoors after the danger of frost has past. (Yes, the root
systems are hardy and are somewhat protected underground. . .but tender,
new foliage won’t be able to survive even a light frost. . . and you want to
give them their best shot at life in their first year!) Select a bright, sunny
spot with deep, rich, well-drained soil. Adjust soil pH in the root zone to
between 6.5 and 7. A light application of 10-10-10 fertilizer at the time of
planting and again early in July will encourage rapid, healthy growth.
WHEN
WILL MY NEW SEEDLINGS BLOOM? If
sown during the year of harvest, then wintered over outdoors with a light mulch,
it is conceivable that most will bloom during their second full year in
the garden. However those first flowers usually don’t show their true
color and form until the 3rd or 4th year.
(By the way...there's no picture of the results of the cross pictured in this
article because it'll be two years — maybe three — before we see flowers.)
PROLIFERATIONS. Occasionally, small plantlets will develop on the flower
scapes of some varieties. They can be removed and planted to expand your daylily
border. Descriptions of how to do that — with close-up photos of the
process — can be found in the new article on the subject: Daylily
Proliferations: Making More of a Good Thing.
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