What is the shortest and longest times that you have had a seed pod ripen?

Hmmm ... I've never recorded the length of time for any seed pods. But I believe the majority of mine take about 5-6 weeks. I also wonder if a partial shade garden takes longer ... than a full sun garden .... pod to ripen?

Not sure. I would think....logically....a shade garden would take longer. But logics don't always apply lol.

Maybe @Sooby and @admmad will read this thread and reply. Both of them are very knowledgeable!

The rate of plant growth of all sorts depends on temperature; light is necessary. Temperatures in the shade are lower than those in direct sunlight so pods would take more time to develop in the shade than in direct sunlight under otherwise identical circumstances. Pods would take more time to develop to maturity at lower temperatures.

gargoyl52 said:What is the shortest and longest times that you have had a seed pod ripen?

I haven't timed it personally but the 2002 AHS Handbook chapter on daylily physiology, page 124, says "Fertilization to seed maturity requires 46 to 56 days with the median time of about 52 days in diploid clones". They don't give any temperature information etc. for that.

Later in the book (pages 130-1) is some research on the effects of shade but it doesn't say anything about pod maturity. It does say there are fewer pods in shade.

Well, I was sure off in my guess .... so more like 7 - 8 weeks for pods to ripen. I should probably start keeping better records, but time to be more precise in observations and data keepin is not always possible with family, friends, and work.

Thanks Sue for taking the time to find that info!

We probably should note that the shade test was done in Chicago so the results may not mesh with the common use of shade cloth in the warm climates. Also I didn't see timing for tet pods but if I come across it I'll post back unless someone else knows.

Well I have some tet pods that are 3 weeks old so I'll post when I harvest them and what the crosses were.

I'd love to see some pics of pods through the stages of "ripening". This is my VERY FIRST year of playing with pollenating daylilies. I'm reading up on as much as I can. However, I don't seem to find many pictures of a good vs. bad signs along the way. I just read today that the pods will begin to turn a pale green as they ripen. Some of mine are doing that and, until now, I figured they were turning "bad". I guess I expected them to go from the bright green to brown. Here are some pictures of some of my 400+ pods in the garden. Had to include my best looking plant "Velvet Beads". (sorry not the greatest pictures.)
Questions: When the pod is mis-formed (as in one of the pics), should I be concerned?
Question: When some of the spent flower leaves a dried shell (usually small pieces), should I remove that or just let nature take its course?
Question: I know dips must pollenate with dips and tets with tets. I see some sites put (tet.) before the plant name. ie. tet. Barbara Mitchell. I have Barbara Mitchell. I don't believe it stated "tet" in the name when I bought it. Does it matter when using it to pollenate?

Sue - To answer your questions ...

Depending on location, some pods turn brown while others turn a paler green. I had one today that did that and should have taken a photo before I pulled the pod off. It had started to open. That is a good sign that the seeds are ripe and you can collect them from the pod.

A mis-formed pod could mean no seeds, just one seed, etc. You won't know until it ripens. Leave it until it cracks open to reveal it has ripened.

When a dead and dried flower won't release from the pod, I usually cut the top of the dead flower off after it dries and just leave the bottom part around the pod. I do that so the wind (or anything else) doesn't snap the pod off the scape.

If "tet" is before the name of a cultivar that is labeled a dip, then it is a diploid converted to tetraploid. You will likely need another tet cultivar to cross with it to pollinate it to create viable seeds and the pollen needs to be crossed with another tet cultivar.

The colours that the pod may show seem to depend on the pod parent. I don't have any photos but if there are some dry spells tomorrow (the forecast is for rain) then I will take some photos and post them.

If the pod is misshapen it usually means that one or more of the chambers does not have developing seeds in it and those chambers are dying and then drying. The pod may crack open at the tip of those chambers - that usually does not necessarily mean that the seeds in the chambers that did not dry are mature. The time to collect the seeds is when the other chambers actually start to crack open at their tips.

In a normal daylily all seeds in a pod start as soft whitish ovules, but as they develop they produce a darker pigment in their outer layer. The colour is brownish and then later becomes black.

If you open a developing seed pod very early, say less than two weeks after pollination the seeds will be whitish. Around days 19 to 20 they become brownish and a few days after that they become black (lets say that is about 25 days after pollination). A pod takes about 52 days to develop to maturity (ranges from 46 to 56 days according to The New Daylily Handbook). A daylily seed will be black from about day 25 to day 52. Arisumi (at Beltsville, Maryland) found that after day 35 the seeds could be harvested and planted in soil or grown on special medium. He did not get a high percentage of seedlings (23% in soil and 22% on the special medium) but that may have been partly due to the seedlings being triploids not diploids).

Something I've never recorded.

It is an interesting topic, I'll check in but probably not something I'll contribute to. Don't get me wrong, it is an interesting perspective. This point in the season my focus is ripe fruit and associated veggies....

Every year as soon as I finish pollenating I remove the shade cloth, the pods seem to ripen from 7-10 days sooner, which doesn't seem to be a lot faster unless your like me and have to time your planting down to the last day you can get the seedlings in the ground and see them bloom the following year. I use 40% shade cloth and it keeps the temps under the cloth about 10* cooler.

Thanks everyone for your comments. I'm learning as the days go by. I think I'm just a little too anxious. I've picked some pods that were small and shriveled to half the size they were. Looking fairly dead, I looked into them. Many had no seeds but I did come across several that had one seed in one cell. The pods were still actually still soft and pliable. I'm waiting until they dry completely and crack open as you have suggested. one and all.