I know it's proberly here somewhere I want to try to cross my Trahlyta with my Irish Glory. Trahlyta has a bloom that will open tomorrow and Irish Glory is full of blooms.

I tried Irish Glory with some other daylily and the bloom just fell off And I did not
expect Trahlyta to bloom so I want to take advantage and I just Love Irish Glory

Any help would be greatly appriciated

Hi Shannon,

My understanding is that you have at least two main options:

1. If your Irish Glory will surely have blooms open tomorrow, at the same time as Trahlyta, then you can bring pollen from one to the the other's stigma (see picture). This can be done by using a q-tip, tiny paintbrush, or pull pollen 'stems' with tweezers or fingers to bring and rub over the other plant's stigma.

2. If the two plants may not have flowers opening on the same day, you can remove some of the pollen stems from Irish Glory today, remove the pollen pods from the top onto a paper plate or towel, air dry for 2-12 hours, put in an air-tight container, and refrigerate the pollen until you use them tomorrow on Trahlyta.

I've heard it is best to do the pollination when it is between 70-80 degrees, so you may want to time it for the time of day when it is in that range...

There are so many successful hybridizers here that I expect they will have additional/other advice ... but this is my general understanding from hearing what has worked for them.

Hope you have a successful pollination - let us know if it takes? :)

Thanks.. Does it matter What plant is MOM ? My Irish Glory is in the garden and Trahlyta is young in a pot. Now I know one thing I did wrong i thought the polin needed to go into the flower .

How long does it take for me to know if I got it right ? Do I cover the flower ? and is the bloom supposed to
fall off ?

Sorry for sooo many questions Just excited

The stigma does need to stay in the flower, but the pollen/stamens can be removed to make it easier to get them to the other plant's stigma. You can try to take pollen from each plant and use it to pollinate the other''s stigma/s (so both plants have a chance at being the 'mom' and the 'dad' with each other). Since some daylilies are better able to be a mom-pod parent or dad-pollen parent, you'd increase your chances by using their pollen both ways with each other. Maybe some of the hybridizers here will also have information about the mom-pod and dad-pollen strength of your particular daylilies.

I've read that it only takes a few days to see a pod form (and in the meantime the dying flower falls off by its own, and should not be removed earlier by hand). But, I also wonder what is the normal range of days to see a pod form, rather than just how long the pod takes to mature and ripen its seeds.

Some say to cover the flower with a fine netting (held in place by tape around it at the stem?) to keep the flowers from being further pollinated by any other pollen that may be nearby.

The more people ask about things, and share their knowledge, the more we all learn, so thanks for asking your questions! Your excitement is contagious and that inspires us all.

As long as we're in this conversation, how can I store pollen? As in, I want to cross a mid-season bloomer with a mid-late bloomer. I can grab pollen from the early bloomer, but I'm probably weeks away from the other one blooming (assuming it blooms this year at all since it was just planted, but I expect it to)

hey mary!

Hybridizers say that when you want to store pollen for longer than a day, you use the freezer method. Here's one way that it is described:

1. Use your fingers or a tweezer to remove the stamens from the opened flower (some say anytime from before the tiny pollen pods open to show the pollen, to anytime before it gets above 80-90 degrees or so when the pollen gets too dried out and spent).

2. Remove the tiny pollen pods from their stem and let them air dry on a plate or tissue for 2-12 hours. If possible, keep them in an area that is 70-80 degrees, and place a fan nearby to blow over the area above the pollen (not directly on them) to help with drying.

3. Put the pollen/pods into an airtight container (zip baggie, etc) and place in your freezer. I've seen examples where the hybridizer was able to use the frozen pollen for over a year after freezing it.

4. When you are ready to use the pollen (the intended flower has opened on your other plant) remove the pollen from the freezer. Again, information varies, from anything to using it immediately, or waiting up to 20 minutes for thaw.

5. Its easy to rub a clean q-tip into the pollen (you'll see it on the q-tip) and rub that gently onto the intended flower's stigma. Return any unused pollen to the freezer for later use.

Would love to hear if this works for you ... and ... to hear if there are other takes on how to do it from the great hybridizers here!

Hey Mary

Here is to topics where we discussed pollen. If you have any other questions after reading feel free to ask.

The thread "Freezing Pollen" in Daylilies forum
The thread "Pollen-ways to store it" in Daylilies forum

I dont want to freeze it. I just want to try to make seeds After I dab it (polin) on do I cover the
bloom ? Also, I have a few that are making seed heads naturally. I wait until they are brown Correct?
Then do I put them in the fridge ?

Shannon,
I was answering Mary's question on pollen.

No, you do not need to cover the bloom. Just dab it on and let it do it's thing, it may make a pod and it may not.

I do not wait until the pods are brown. I check mine every day, if they look like they are getting close to being ready I give them a little squeeze. If they crack open a little at the top then I go ahead and harvest them.
You can put in the fridge if your not ready to plant yet. If you want to plant right away there's no need to put in fridge. Also, some say to air dry the seeds 24-48 hrs before putting in fridge. I have just rolled them in a paper towel to get surface moisture off and then put them in a baggie in the fridge without air drying. I saw no difference in doing it either way.

I've read that you can start DL seeds by the old 'tomato seed' method of putting seeds on damp paper towels, then inside an open baggie, for a few days to sprout, and then transplant to potting mixture.

If they are taken directly from pot and put into potting soil, though, how many days usually until they begin to sprout above the dirt?

Thanks!

Thanks y'all!

Shannon, you can have your thread back now. Sorry for the hijack.

i'm glad you 'hijacked' and added some mileage to the discussion!! unless there is a full-blown FAQ for hobby gardeners - or someone makes a nice youtube video to showcase 'from buying to caring, from pollinating to seedlings - its great that a general plant site like this brings everyone together for Q and As. Hybridizers have local mentors, societies, and daily, often full-time work to learn it all. The rest of us learn a lot from their willingness to explain and tailor to hobbyists' individual learning curves and real-time situations, when they have the time and inclination. Incredible that it is all voluntary and free! Yay ATP!

OK for the Hijack LOL Well I tried it ....I'm going to keep my fingers crossed Ok
maybe my toes also