I'm sure there is another thread asking this very question but along with many other things today I can't find it. I made my first cross this summer ( Rock Solid X Jamacian Me Crazy) and clearly I stored them wrong as they have started sprouting already and have had to be potted up and put under lights. I stored the seed, after they had dried for a few days, in plastic baggies that I had put some slightly damp vermiculite in with them because they looked really shrivelled up and I didn't know if I had dried them too much. Needless to say they absorbed the tiny bit of water in the vermiculite swelled and sprouted. Had I not looked at them yesterday for no real reason I would have lost them all. So my questions are:
1- Just how much shrivelling up can the seeds handle without dying?
2- Do the seeds need anything in the bag with them or should they be completely dry & without any media?
3- How long will seeds properly dried and stored remain viable and is it possible to freeze them like true lily seeds can to extend viability?

Any help will certainly be appreciated!

Brian storing seeds in anything MOIST is the way a lot of people get their seeds to germinate. Did you have these in the fridge? Usually that's where they are stored moist for a few weeks (cold stratification) and then brought to room temp to germinate, but depending on the temperature and frequency it may be opened the seeds can germinate in the fridge. So basically what you did was plant your seeds

To answer yuor questions, and you may get various answers because there are sooo many ways to store seeds. These answers are just IMHO

1. The seeds can shrivel up quite a bit, some into really dried up, shriveled little things. Some will shrivel more than others, some won't shrivel at all. Shriveling will not kill the seeds, if a seed dies or doesn't germiate it probably wasn't viable to begin with.

2. The seeds need NOTHING in the bags if you are just storing them. The only thing that may need to be added is a small piece of paper towel to absorb any moisture that may accumulate in the baggies. They can go in the fridge or left at room temp (as long as it's in a place that's not really warm), this is just dry storage. I believe it's Juli on here who puts them in envelopes and doesn't put them in the fridge.

3. Seeds can remain viable for many years. I can't remember where I read this but someone planted seeds after being stored 5 years and 90% germinated. Also from what I've read, seeds can be frozen if they are dried well.

Hope this helps

Helps a lot Michele! Thank You! Well I guess this years seeds got a real good start on next year. I just hope I don't kill them through the winter. Most other plants do well under my lights but I have some of those little guys from off the scape and they are reaching for the light and they are practically touching them already.

I agree with Michele l00%. The only thing I would say different is in my own experience with older seeds (5 years old) I have a lot harder time getting them to germinate. I haven't had much luck with the older seeds.

You can trim those tall scraggly seedlings

now Im a little new to the whole thing...but i have done a little research and i dry mine out very well them store them in little ziplock baggies with CINNAMON....its a natural antibacterial and absorbs any moisture too...just my two cents....

Emily,
Is this your first year to use the cinnamon?? If not, how has it worked in the past years????

Hi Mona.....yes its my first year so i will report back come spring....but if you do research on the web you can find where people do it and some on the LA send their seeds that way...I have recieved some....so far absolutely NO moisture or mold/bacteria....and it isnt supposed to harm the seed in any way....supposed to being the operative word.....

One top of being able to lock out the moisture and keep out bacteria..supposedly it is a mild preservative too....most of the info i found on the web was other types of seeds (not dls) but with that and the fact several of the LA sellers do it i thought i would try it....

Interesting. I have not heard that before but couldn't hurt to try.

For those who eat daylilies, should be a whole new experience when the bloom.

whats even funnier is when i try to pour it in the bags and i get a big puff of cinnamon in my face and proceed to sneeze all day....

I've tried it with some lily seeds that started to get a little mouldy this fall. I took the worst seeds out, sprinkled in the cinnamon, shook the bag to mix well and so far I have seen no further growth of mould.