Ah!! I am getting out my paint brushes for tomorrow ... Becky, do you only need a bit, or do you first gently stab and then pile up a lot of pollen on top? I think I have been using more pollen than needed, based on info read years ago on the net, that some hybridizers want a big "cap" of pollen sitting at the end of the pistil. I think I will start using less, and assist it with a paintbrush, for a while to see what happens.

I brush the paint brush lightly across one anther. And whatever comes off is used to stab/dab the pistil of the flower I want to pollinate. I try not to waste the pollen, so I don't use a whole lot. But I do try to stab some down into the pistil. I get good pod setting doing it that way. I can honestly say I don't have too many failures, but when I do ... I think it is because I am trying to cross a tet and dip.

I am not even doing hybridizing this year because I still have seeds left from last year. LOL! I will definitely be doing more hybridizing next year when the current seedlings bloom. Those are the ones that hopefully will have teeth, ruffles, big eyes, and unusual patterns. All new genes for me to play with!

Thanks, that is very helpful description and I am eager to try it out! I hate using so much pollen when my rate of pod setting is not that high. I have also found that a number of my cultivars are informal tet conversions (dips that never take or set pods, later crossed with tets and then set tons of pods ... finding that someone didn't tell the seller they were sold an unregistered tet conversion of the parent plant). I find that happening more and more! I don't usually mind having one or the other, tet or dip, but really wish that they weren't getting so mixed up these days.

What a great year of new discovery awaits, when seedlings finally awake and show their faces!

I have some early blooming seedlings from the year 2000. I have never been able to get seeds from the #&&%# things. I found a chance seedling, tryed it and got over a dozen pods. Three weeks later they all shrivled and fell off. Why do I keep trying!!

A lot of the older varieties like H.fulva and Kwanso are usually sterile and don't set seed. They spread themselves around by runners. I mention this because I don't know which of them you've tried but your last picture looks like H. fulva and the one above it might be Mikado, also one of the oldest daylilies.

Nope, the seedlings are from a Spring blooming species hybrid, I never could ID it. It rebloomed in the Summmer of the year I bought it and I ran out and grabbed some pollen from August Orange and dabbed it on. The rebloom was odd, some were missing stamens so I was unable to reverse the cross--but I grew several seedlings, all strong and early-which is odd too because crossing earlies with lates tends to average out the bloomtime. There was one red and one eye and I think eight or so yellow-but they are stubborn pollinators. I did get several seedlings from the red and Red Rum but they are frustrating as well, blooming at different times each year. Photos of the seedlings, and I hope a better photo ofthe eye which is from Saxton's old Spring Purple.

-The last photo is from red seedling X Red Rum---one year it bloomed by June, this year the darn thing did not bloom at all-just a nice clump of fans. I suppose I like being stubborn and I raise very few seeds each year, most very challenging, I have even used wild ditch lilies and Kwanso---not a project for the impatient. Getting pods on either is next to impossible but the pollen is a little easier except you have to dig the pollen off the edges of the petals (or whatever they are, they are twisted) on Kwanso. This year I am going to try to use old Ed Murray and I can't even tell if I have tet or dip or both Ed Murray. I may try both dip and tet, maybe Wild Horses tho I did once get a seedling from Ed and Pardon Me and a purple from Ed that I lost the tag.I may be getting to old for this!----Weedy

We're never too old for a garden challenge, Weedy.
I can't help you on this score, but maybe there are others who can. Wishing you luck, though!