DavidLMO said:I cannot get it to quote...

David, just hit the little quote button down at the bottom of the message, then delete everything you don't want, but leave the the brackets and info (quote="Person begin quoted) at the beginning and the brackets and info( /quote ) at the end.

Seedfork said:

David, just hit the little quote button down at the bottom of the message, then delete everything you don't want, but leave the the brackets and info (quote="Person begin quoted) at the beginning and the brackets and info( /quote ) at the end.

Yes I know that. For some reason, it was not working for me. Works now ok.

Sue and David. All the info you have supplied is helping me greatly. I'm doing my best to keep notes of what I'm doing and the results. My hope is to weed through my notes and highlight things that worked. Then I will have my notes, tests, and info from experienced folks, like yourselves, to follow next year.

Again, THANK YOU so much!!

You are most welcome.

signet said:
I sing the praises of coconut coir! What a fantastic medium to start and grow daylily seedlings .

Because coir is so porous ....there aren't the problems of root breakage when multiple seedlings are removed from their community cups or containers and then need to be separated and the roots grow lovely and strong . No need to fertilize as it seems that the plants are somehow drawing in nutrients from the coir, the water and air . For me coir is a win - win - win product for growing daylily seedlings.

This is my first year starting daylily seeds. Your suggestion of the coconut coir intrigued me enough to purchase some. It is one that has been "washed". I put water into it and was amazed. It comes in this HARD block but the water turns it into the most fantastic stuff!! Loosens up, light weight, seems very wet but I took a handful and squeezed it; no water came out nor did it clump. No matter how hard I tried...it did not clump. I can see why the daylily roots would be extremely happy in this stuff.

I had previously (before I read your post) gotten some seed starter which I am going to use also. I think I'll do three tests: 1) Coir only, 2) Coir and seed starter, 3) seed starter only. I have the feeling I'll use coir (alone) in years to come, but I like testing and comparing.

Hi petruske.

I hope you find the coir as fantastic as I have found it .Two things of note that I am not sure I mentioned . I still watered from the bottom and I still used a fan blowing on the seedlings once they germinate and have true leaves showing ( the movement from the air flow seems to make the seedlings stronger ) . I did not use fertilizer or anything special with the seedlings planted in the coir so can't speak to if they will grow faster or larger if watered with a weak solution of water/ferrtilizer. I prefer to grow my plants as naturally as possible .

I do think however if you choose to mix the coir with the seed starter , if there is organic material in the seed starter you have purchased that you will still be plagued with fungus gnats . I don't know which product you will be using so can't say for sure . If you are going to experiment , I would keep the coir/seedling mix far enough away from the seeds in the coir alone . In my experience the fungus gnats just don't in habit the coir so it shouldn't matter but why risk it , if you do get fungus gnats in the seedlings planted in the mix there is no point in exposing the other seedlings not suffering from the little insects.
Best of luck with your seedlings ....I would love to see some pics once you get the seeds planted and they start to germinate .

I built shelves in front of my windows in my living room and grew the seedlings with natural light coming from outside but if you have some T5 lights that could possibly hasten growth .

sorry my message got duplicated . I have deleted the second copy .

petruske said:

This is my first year starting daylily seeds. Your suggestion of the coconut coir intrigued me.

I had previously (before I read your post) gotten some seed starter which I am going to use also. I think I'll do three tests: 1) Coir only, 2) Coir and seed starter, 3) seed starter only. I have the feeling I'll use coir (alone) in years to come, but I like testing and comparing.

You can get it loose & fluffy as well as the bricks. The latter is cheaper and a bit of a pain, I think. I am starting DL seeds as well in: coir mixed 50/50 with Light Warrior seed starter media (from Foxfarm).

When I start potting up seedlings, I will be using a 50/50 blend of coir and potting media. For the latter probably either Foxfarm or Happy Frog. Both are quite expensive compared to like Miracle Gro or whatever, but worth it in my opinion.

signet said: [snip good stuff]

I do think however if you choose to mix the coir with the seed starter , if there is organic material in the seed starter you have purchased that you will still be plagued with fungus gnats . [snip more good stuff]

I have seen a lot of people talking about fungus gnats several times. I have planted literally tens and tens of 1,000s of seeds over the past 40 years. I have never once has fungus gnats when starting seeds. And all seed starter I have ever used was full of organic material. ** I have had them on a couple of occasions in potted indoor plants though.

I wonder if it is a regional problem and/or something to do with media that people are using. Or some other environmental factor.

** Perhaps this might exclude the ocassions when I start seed in 100 % vermiculite or perlite or sand.

The time to take out my pot with vermiculite and seeds from fridge has come... @sooby, can I put this pot in the basement under the grow lights? The temperature is 13-15° C, will they germinate?

Sabrina, if you have somewhere a little warmer I would put them there until the first one germinates, keep the pot in the plastic bag if that would be in the house where the cats are (I'm assuming the cats won't bother a plastic bag?). If you can't do that then yes, they should still germinate at 13-15C if they have been adequately stratified (because stratification increases the temperature range at which daylily seeds germinate).

Regarding coir, you can get fungus gnats with coir but as far as I remember with both coir and peat-based media it is related to the particle size. I'll see if I can find the study again. Coir is not naturally nutritionally balanced for plants but does supply some of the nutrients so plants should do better with a little fertilizer that covers what it doesn't.

Like David, I've never had a problem with fungus gnats in seedlings even using peat-based mixes but I do tend to under-water more than over-water and watering is a factor with fungus gnats. Houseplants that spend the summer outdoors can bring them in also, and they can come in through windows and doors etc. as well as sometimes be present already in media that you buy.

I wouldn't expect fungus gnats to be present in bags of vermiculite, perlite or sand in any case, there'd be nothing for them to eat but they can be present in organic-based soilless media. I wonder if with coir they aren't present initially but if there is another source of them around, that's when they can get into it? I'm going to go and see if I can find that reference again, and tack it on to this as an edit.

Edit: Here's the article. Depending on texture (fine coarse or medium) coir either reduced or increased fungus gnats, and the same applied to peat-based media. The study report also discusses watering:

http://hortphys.uga.edu/pubs/G...
Also
http://hortsci.ashspublication...

sooby said:Sabrina, if you have somewhere a little warmer I would put them there until the first one germinates, keep the pot in the plastic bag if that would be in the house where the cats are (I'm assuming the cats won't bother a plastic bag?). If you can't do that then yes, they should still germinate at 13-15C if they have been adequately stratified (because stratification increases the temperature range at which daylily seeds germinate).

Thanks Sue, I can put the pot in the kitchen where the temp is around 20°C, but the lighting is poor. We have a 100 W light bulb with cold light and nothing more. Is it a problem?
Also, when they germinate (I really hope they do) it would be a problem to change their environment again putting them in the basement?

Daylily seeds don't need light for germination so they should be fine in the kitchen. Once they start to emerge then move the pot to the basement and take off the plastic bag. I don't see a problem with moving them to the basement, it's not a big change in temperature and certainly no more than they'd get if they were outside.

Thanks a lot Sue! Let's take them out from there and see what happens!

Like David, I have never once had fungus gnats and I use potting soil. Only difference is, I pot them outside in the spring and leave them outdoors. Have never seen the gnats on them.

Hi again petruske.


It seems everyone has differing opinions and experiences . I am no expert and my comments are completely anecdotal . I have shared what my experiences have been and I will personally never use potting mix again but I cannot quote or share articles showing how coir works one way or the other .

My best suggestion to you would be to take the word of the experts above. I will however continue to use only coir as in my experience this has been the best medium for my use with the least problems developing while I am germinating my seeds . I get no fungus gnats and no damp off .

Best of luck with your seedlings , I hope you get many many gorgeous blooms .

I say .... do what works for you!

I've had fungus gnats using potting mix. I've grown them indoors and outdoors. Never noticed fungus gnats outdoors, but indoors ....yes! I may check into coconut coir, but for me ... it is also about the cost.

This has been a very interesting conversation! Thanks to all who contributed their experience with different sowing medium. I love hearing what works for everyone! Gives me ideas to try in the future.

I absolutely agree Becky ! The end result justifies the means. We all just want great blooming plants that we can enjoy

Totally agree on the ...if it works -- keep doing it I too garner a LOT of info reading threads and exchanging ideas. I usually learn several new things every day. [I set out outvever day to do so.]

And I appreciate it.

Where I find things least helpful is growing actual plants outdoors - particularly tropicals - e.g. Plumeria. Something that works great in Southern CA or Southern FL in general for me will be totally useless here in Z 5b. But I do read threads cause I may learn a trick about something that may some time be of use.

Back to this topic at hand. I have garnered a lot of useful info

I will consider using the coconut coir too. I just don't know where it is available. Haven't ever seen it before.