Mine always start from the center top, but this year it seems that half of them are starting to split on the sides first. I wonder if all this wet weather has something to do with it...

I hope it's not a bad sign. Pods haven't dried enough to investigate.

Seems like mine open at the top, and THEN it rains (Asiatics). Will have to pay attention to what the trumpets do as that is what I have most of this year.

I had a couple that, with what I think was wet weather induced, almost seemed to be mushy before splitting. So I got nervous and brought them inside splitting one section and having them dry out in the pod and it seemed they did fine. A lot of my OT crosses looked like this and a couple trumpet. The pods got really soft, I mean really soft, quite different from what I have witnessed in the past. Though I will admit I am no expert at this.

The good news is I think they are drying fine. Many are already dried out now. Trumpets seem to take longer, but I did this with about 10 pods.

There's always something new to learn every year it seems. Just when you think you have a handle on something, something new seems to occur to jar any confidence you may have had.

Basic question here, sorry about that--when you hybridize lilies, do you let the seed pod mature--turn brown--on the stalk? On my daylilies, I have to leave them on, and then I collect them and cold stratify for a bit. Are lilium the same process?
With daylilies, the seedlings may or may not resemble the parents, and most become compost, and with hibiscus, my seedlings pretty much look just like mama. What about liliums? Are most of the seedlings keepers?
I need to join the NALS and find some back journals myself, but I think I need to drop something else first. Rose may be the one to go. I'm about finished fighting rose rosette disease, a killer with no cure. I could buy a lot of lilies for the price of one new rose.
Sorry for the ramble, but if anyone can point me to a good page on hybridizing and growing out lilium, i would appreciate it.
Do we have a FAQs section here?
Cindi

I collect my pods when they start to split open. They are usually brown then or turning brown. I open the pods into labeled paper cups in order to allow the seeds to dry out. Once they are dry I store them in the freezer.

Because modern lily hybrids have diverse backgrounds with respect to the many species, there can be a lot of variation with seedlings. This is particularly true with Asiatic hybrids. A general rule of thumb is that the plant form is inherited from the pod parent (nice inflorescence, etc).

I plan on writing some FAQs but it will most likely be a winter project. In the meantime, feel free to ask questions here. There aren't many of us that do this and we sure do welcome you to our addiction!

from the top!-as soon as i see the first signs,its'off with its head and into a bag'

I had quite a few crack open on the sides this year--many more than typical. Pod maturity timing was a little later and the weather was cooler and wetter. Some pods were still green when the seams started to tear and I could see white seeds inside. They still matured out just fine with what appeared to be very good seed of the usual color, etc. A couple of these late green pods with split seams were hit with a 27'F early freeze as well with no apparent damage to the pod or the seed. Not sure what causes this condition but I think it may be late abundant rainfall during the very end of the maturing season that provides for just that last little bit of growth to occur in the center of the pod while the skin on the pod is hardening up. Nature has it's ways--maybe to vent moisture and gasses out the sides while keeping the top sealed and more water proof during this last spurt of growth.