Paradigm has a lot of stuff as does Brew and Grow. Tons of indoor gardening info there. Sales people very knowledgeable too.

Dave, browse eBay for T5 6500k bulbs and fixtures and LED grow lights. It's a good place to educate yourself as to all the stuff that's out there; you just have to find it--locally, if possible. Don't buy anything hastily until you explore all the possibilities.

Again, many thanks

This is from an OP Karen North pod? Maybe viable?

I can't say it looks hopeful... you can plant them if you want and see if you get anything.

That's what I thought, maybe the dark one, if any.

K thanks. I figured as much. Which is fine since they were OP so I wasn't expecting much with them.

Sorry, not even the dark one: it is actually two chaff seeds still sandwiched together.

I cut a pod off my Karen North several days ago, and you've prompted me to take a look-see....



Definite chaff on left, live embryos on right. I think this is the best seed crop I've ever gotten from Karen North.


Karen North isn't a good parent to learn hybridizing with because it is a triploid, and inherently doesn't "want" to set good seed. And just because there are embryos, doesn't always mean they are good to go. Often, there are complications that arise if the parents are not compatible.

With experience, if you examine them carefully you will start to see that the endosperm (the dark stuff around the embryo) is sometimes not as it should be. In questionable ones, the endosperm area will still seem hollow rather than solid. Solid is always better than hollow, but I can't say definitively that a hollow seed won't live. It doesn't seem like it, though. And even though solid is always better, that still doesn'tnecessarily mean everything is right with the endosperm. The embryo itself can be just a hollow shadow of what it should be too. I don't expect you to be able to discern, but the left group is definitely hollow. The right group not so much. I suspect I will get 3 or 4 seeds to sprout out of this. Whether they continue on is another question.

Thank you for the info Rick. After the pictures i know better what to look for on seeds. Next pod i open I hope it's better

More pics of bad seed:

I hit a milestone for me today! While these were suppose to be DH seed, Sorbonne×Stargazer, one seed apparently had different ideas. One little leaf coming up. Question is though, what do I do now? Put the bag under lights? I'm assuming that could sacrifice the other seeds in there. Try to pick the single seed out? Or sacrifice the single seed?

I'd say some of these seeds look promising. Orange sensation× matrix

Yes, there are quite a few good ones among the bad.

Thought this was a neat pic

With no regard to what season it is, how soon can a gardener plant lily seed after
harvesting it?
3pete

Yes, it is neat. Did this one come out of the pod like that? I've seen L. regale pods where the whole darn pod was sprouting while still on the stem. Maybe due to all that rain you've been getting recently. If you stay with hybridizing, over the years you're going to see more odd things happen than you can possibly imagine. For instance, today I had a new seedling who's shell on the pod was so paper thin and transparent that I could literally count the seeds in the pod. Needless to say, it tore open today after yesterdays rain. Just one example, but every day is a new experience around here come this time of year with seed pods.

I picked up 1.51 inches yesterday at 5PM in a heavy thunderstorm.

3pete, I think Mother Nature designed that to be as soon as the seed falls freely from the pod. Conditions have to be right for germination to begin, however.

Well there you have it, 3pete: zero days.
But if the seed isn't dry, it will be very delicate, and you will need to be very careful when handling the it. But even when I deal with seeds (not Lilium) that must never dry out before germination, I always clean them and let them dry for a day or two before I re-moisten. Even these seeds will at least have their surfaces dry first, in nature.

Lorn, it did come from the pod like that. Couple of them actually. What should I do with it? Toss it in some potting soil?

If you think the cross is worth saving, stick the sprouted ones in some potting mix now. When the rest of the seeds have dried a little bit, sprinkle them around on the media and cover lightly with about a quarter inch of mix. It's tempting, but be careful not to load yourself up with too much unimportant junk right now because come Jan and Feb you'll have plenty of well documented good stuff to plant.