I was curious when you start making your own seeds, and dont use 'sent ones'. What is your interest...what are you breeding for?

beautiful peonies. probably better that they dont grow here ;-)

That is a peony? A tree peony or the old fashioned kind (I think it is herbaceous???) Lovely. I had a 4-1/2 foot tall 5 foot wide tree peony that was so wonderful... and recently a neighbor saw that my driveway was being over come by weeds and took it upon himself to come over with his four wheeler and a tank sprayer and I don't know what chemical and spray my driveway. By the time I got out there to tell him not to do it.... there was a big fog of spray everywhere. I wasn't mad at HIM - he was only trying to help - but he killed a lot of plants. I got the hose and right away started spraying plants down, but the tree peony all wilted. Another neighbor is a horticulturalist and she came over and we started cutting perennials to the ground. We cut the tree peony off, down to a 8 inch stump. It is just now starting to send out shoots, so I think we saved it. It had been living there 15 or 18 years. Other plants that wilted down before we got them cut off have not come back. One, a perennial geranium I have had for 20 years and was at least 5 feet across - the roots were just jelly a week later. Just made me sick. But, I could have lost a lot more.

On the upside, all the weeds in the driveway are brown.

I used to do watercolor painting and am gathering supplies to try to do that again. Have not touched hand to brush in 30 years. Do you mind if I save that photo to put in my try to paint folder?

I will start making my own seeds next year as a lot of the plants will be mature enough to handle the extra stress of seeds by then. My goal are good hardy northern daylilies with some of the beauty of the Southern added in. There are so many options out there but I would love to get more Pinks and more forms added in along with fabulous edges and large size.

Wow, Cary! Great seedlings! My favorite is definitely the one in post #379554! But they are all lovely!

By far that is the best performer as well. It has a sought after branching that is rare. It will be one of the few that have everything that a daylily should be to be named.

I am going for ruffles. I think ruffles are timeless and will be a strong showing.

I little insight on me and my program is that I walk out every morning and look around to see what is blooming. I then use this to create my pallet to work with. Every flower has a match in the garden to bring forth a new generation that I think will be worthy of introduction.

My biggest problem at the moment is that I have Dips and Tets that I want to cross and can't of course. I have started Dip conversions to make them Tets so in years to come I will truly have a complete palette to work from.

Are you doing your own conversions, I have someone else do mine, and have waited as long as four years to get a tet, by that time I have forgotten what I wanted to do with it.

spunky1 said:Are you doing your own conversions, I have someone else do mine

That is healthier for you, though. I have heard that converting plants is not healthy for the person doing it.

Who do you send yours to Fred, if I might ask.

I will send you a C-Mail

What do you do to convert them from dip to tet.... I've never grown a daylily from seed but my daughter has one daylily growing in the house from seed she collected this year. I love all your babies and would love to have seed but I'm in Nova Scotia so oh well... look and envy your beauties.

I have killed everything that I have tried to convert so far. I will try it again this summer with what I learned last year. I will try to convert some of the rainbow patterned dips. I want to concentrate my breading program with tets but love some the look of some of the dips too. I know if I convert a dip into my line it will be unique to me only. That's if I don't sell the conversion. I have access to the chemicals so it seems logical to at least try to do it.

Cary, I really hope it works for you this time around. I found a whole page on Jamie Gossard's website about how he does conversions, and it looks like he tries it with many plants of each cultivar. And it seems like he does have quite a "conversion operation" going there. And then afterward do you check the cells under a microscope to see if it took, or do you have to rely on trying crosses with tets to see if it worked? I would love to see some rainbow patterned conversions become more available. So far I've ordered the tet Spindazzle and the tet Ben Lee, and I would love to find a tet Lavender Blue Baby (I think that's the one) that didn't cost a small fortune...

Killing them is another reason I don't convert. I am having the seedling that won best UF from King Of The Hill converted and if it survives I will have it all. The person doing it doesn't do UFs or spiders.

I think they only check the pollen Betty.

WOW! That is fantastic, Fred! Does this mean you won't be introducing that seedling until it's converted to a tet, or would you introduce it as a dip and then convert it just for your own use?

And thanks for the info on checking the pollen, Fred!

Wow Fred! I sure hope it takes. I just loved that seedling in your pics The tet possibilties boggle the mind. Do tell if it works, so we can keep an eye out for the kids.

Kim

Betty The dip version will be registered this fall, you can't register a converted flower. I am having it converted now while its still a seedling to try and get ahead a little. Will keep everyone posted Kim, if its converted you will hear me holler "yea howie".

That is so fantastic that you will be introducing it this fall! And I want to get in line!!!