Good luck to you Julie. I am getting Frog Eye daylily this spring. If I get any seeds from it, I would surely pass them on to you if you are interested.

For me, hybridizing is a distraction from the stresses in my life. BEST distraction EVER!!!!

I have a standard residential lot, not acreage. But I've managed to squeeze lots of daylilies and many other plants onto my property. My yard is not a manicured lawn like all the neighbors, but is more of a wildlife habitat with lots of plants. I am also a bird host (and have banders that come to my yard) which I do during the Winter months, so I have a lot going on year round outdoors.

I agree with what everyone has said above. I am on a very limited gardening budget, so most of my daylilies came from seeds. The LA is a good place to get seeds and I have also been very fortunate to have a few folks share seeds with me. This year I acquired numerous named and registered plants for very cheap or even free (from some very kind ATP members). I am very interested to see what these plants do. And they will indeed give me a standard to compare my own seedlings against. I want to see what is registration worthy!

My goal is to name and register some daylilies after family members and friends and give them fans as a gift. Some will be memorial plants. It will be fun and challenging to see which plants I choose to register in the future. I've been told to grow a seedling for at least 3 years to evaluate it. Luckily, seedlings often bloom within a year of germinating here in the south. But some do take 2 years. And I've heard it may take 3 years for the blooms to stabilize. So this is a long term project.

I have somewhere between 250 - 300 seedlings and 50 registered daylilies. And I have probably another 150 seedlings that I just germinated to add to the mix. Honestly, the seedlings very first blooms are the most exciting thing. You can dream and try to imagine what a cross will create, but in most cases ... it's often a surprise!!! It's such fun to see what you wind up creating from crossing 2 different daylilies.

Living in the south, I, too ... want daylilies that show a high rust resistance. I want year round nice looking foliage in my garden areas. So I am narrowing down my hybridizing goals to include high rust resistance. I also like a pretty face. I am not picky about whether a plant is a tet or a dip. I like them all !

I am at a disadvantage in that there are no daylily clubs anywhere near me and no one else I know grows daylilies locally. The closest club is about 2 hours away in Orlando. I do have the exciting advantage of visiting some of the major hybridizers here in north Florida during the Daylily Mecca. Which I hope to one day attend. That would thrill me to no end!!!!

http://www.distinctly.on.ca/Da...

It is my understanding that Daylily Meccas are held around the country, so you might want to check to see if there is one held near you.

I have built 5 raised beds in my backyard just for my daylilies. And I also have a front border that is all daylilies. I have long rectangular containers placed around areas to grow even more daylilies. But my yard is more than just daylilies. I grow host and nectar plants for butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds. Daylilies typically have a short bloom period, so I grow many other plants too for year round interest and purpose. It keeps me active and outside in the fresh air ... which is sometimes stiffling hot and humid here in central Florida during the summer months. But I'd rather be there than anywhere else I can think of!

Good luck in your daylily hybridizing adventure!

I feel that I started rather late in life. The process takes a lot of time from pollen dabbing, to collecting seeds, to germination, to cultivating for two or more years to finally see a flower. Plus, observing the plant and flowers for a few years to finally see the mature plant and flower.

I need to live another 25 years to continue my hybridizing of daylilies.

I agree that it does not have to be expensive to hybridize and hope for some great daylilies.

Great advice from the above posters.

For me, yes, I have a bunch of registered daylilies. Some I have found do great here - for a year maybe two, then kinda wither away.Others start slow, then all of a sudden a couple years later, kaboom! And do fantastic.And the best, they stay good all along - through late freezes, wet and cold springs, hot dry summers. THOSE are the ones I want to emulate.

I have great fun with seeds. I buy them from the LA usually. Just recently won seeds with TUSK as a parent - decided I couldn't afford the parent plant. Hopefully I will get one or two decent plants from them. For about $5 and care, plus several years of patience.....

Do I think I will get a Stout medal winner from these? No! But I am sure going to enjoy myself. Heck, I only plant 10-40 seeds a year ( some years none). I have more fun dabbing, and thinking about crosses, and less fun fighting the d@mn squirrels......

Thankfully, if and when I will choose to register any, the society does not charge an unreasonable amount of money ( compared to the cattle sheep and dogs I have registered in a past life!)

The local daylily clubs have FANTASTIC and reasonably priced sales, and you can meet fellow enthusiasts, many of which will trade with you.

I have more fun giving away daylilies to my friends and family.

I think the best advice here is to figure out 1 or 2 main goals - and several minor goals, and work towards that. Don't be too broad, or you will be overwhelmed.

Also, don't overlook those oldies- there are some great genetics in them. There is a reason some of the oldest continue to be popular year after year after year.~Jan

I'm starting late in life too. Just retired, had terrible arthritis in my knees - so much so that I had ceased any outdoor activity. I got new knees for Christmas, Sept 24 and Dec 8 and decided that since I love my daylilies, have more land than I know what to do with (88 acres), horses that can produce tons of compost/fertilizer, water from 2 creeks even in extensive drought, and knees that will function as they heal, that I would try my hand at growing and hybridizing some new daylilies, DH and I put in extended water last year, and I got some newer and older favorite daylilies to add to my fairly small collection before my first surgery in late Sept. I bought a nice collection of seeds and Matt Sattemeier of Abundant Daylilies here in Florida gave me a lot of advice one afternoon and offered to help me as the project grows. Great fellow. Again, some of the advice was to get to a daylily club. The help and motivation would be priceless. Best of luck to all of you, I'll keep you busy looking at some of my seedlings and join the ranks of those with something worthwhile to do. Since we have been dealing with cancer for the last 9 years, I thought I would give the cancer patients and their families a chance to name some of them. We will see what happens!

Good luck Barb, sounds like you have a great plan and I'm sure Mark can help you with advise or daylilies.

Does Abundant Daylilies have a garden opened to the public?

I had won some plants on the Lily Auction and being fairly close - maybe 70 miles or so. I emailed Mark and asked if I could pick them up instead of him shipping them since I was due in the hospital for surgery and wanted time to get them settled in. He said sure and we set a time. Off I went. He has a nice place there, well kept and tended. He's hybridizing plants and has an area for them. I bought one of his new ones registrations, Santa Claus, which looks like a deep red eye and sizable edge on cream base. I got some really beautiful daylilies and he topped them off with fertilizer and sent me home with them in their pots. I won't forget his kindness and the time he spent with me.

(Thanks, Fred for gently correcting his first name - Mark not Matt, and I left out the L in his last name (typo) -Sattelmeier. I was concentrating so hard on getting the 'meier' part right that I didn't notice the 'L' didn't take on my keyboard.) I keep having to watch that thing.

Good luck to you too, Barb! May this hybridizing hobby provide you the therapy and joy you need for your body and spirit. Wish you many beautiful flowers and plants ahead.

If I were to suddenly be 15 years younger, and start again with this hobby, I would do:
1) Join a daylily club--or start one. Join AHS
2) Go to regional meetings and see what is available to grow. Talk with other enthusiasts. Find out what daylilies are favorites in the region. Which are easy to grow. Which are good seed producers. What are the five biggest problems that growers in the region have that hybridizing might fix. Etc., Etc..
3) Read, Read, Read. Buy very few plants.
4) Go visit commercial growers/sellers in the Region. Find out what they think would be a step in the right direction, flower types that need improvement, or what would be a big advancement in daylilies.
5) After a few years of doing the above---Then, and only then, seriously start into your great venture. The first thing is to figure out where you will grow these plants; how much area you have to do it; what the soil needs to do it right; what equipment you need to do it right; etc., etc..
6) After you have done all the above---set specific goals to be your guide for the future.
7) Start with SEEDS. Figure out how many seedlings you will be able to accommodate---then buy 25% more than that to allow for non-germination.
8) After a few years of blooming the seeds, you will have a great idea of what works, and what does not in your area. You will have had a great lesson in evaluating flower/plants. You will also have a few plants that you can work with. Your seedlings will show you the way to go, and what cultivars you need to buy later on to help reach your goals.
I, of course did all that pretty much backwards---and paid the price. If you are organized and determined---you can do well--even in a back yard garden. All the Siloams were bred in a small back yard. John Benz, I believe, has about an acre. The biggest area of expansion in the daylily world is in the North. Hardy daylilies that grow with abandon that have flowers as pretty as any Florida bred would be a goldmine to anyone would could consistently produce them. Nate Bremer, Phil Korth, and Mac Carter, to name a few are great examples of smaller growers that produce big results. If you first learn how to grow them to their best---you will be shocked at how many keepers emerge from you little piece of heaven.

I don't think money or space is the problem. But, I would like10-20 years younger. The waiting and selecting and multiplying is of years not hours or days.

Larry- Mark has a daylily farm, If you call him I am sure he would let you visit.

philljm said:
The local daylily clubs have FANTASTIC and reasonably priced sales, and you can meet fellow enthusiasts, many of which will trade with you.

Jan, what daylily club do you attend? I'm wanting to join a club but don't know what's in our area.

Sscape said:The biggest area of expansion in the daylily world is in the North. Hardy daylilies that grow with abandon that have flowers as pretty as any Florida bred would be a goldmine to anyone would could consistently produce them. Nate Bremer, Phil Korth, and Mac Carter, to name a few are great examples of smaller growers that produce big results. If you first learn how to grow them to their best---you will be shocked at how many keepers emerge from you little piece of heaven.

I was bitten by the DL bug about 10 years ago after visiting Nate Bremers (Solaris Farms) and have many DL from his operation as well as many of his own creations. 2015 was my first year of crossing using some of the 200+ that I have. I urge all to listen to the great advise given here. It's so easy and fun to pollenate and VERY easy to get carried away. They urge you NOT to get carried away (as I did)...yes, even after reading all their sage advise. Now I have over 700 seedlings growing in my house. I did think ahead and prepare a bed last fall. I believe it will hold close to 400 seedlings if I plant them following Fred's method of 8" apart. My son-in-law has property that I can plant all I want, however, the bed would have to be prepared in the spring , not the best way to do it IMO.

Wow, that is so awesome, Sue! I bet you are super excited about your seedlings! Did you plant seeds from your own crosses or purchased from others? Would love to see their blooms someday. Best of luck to you and hope they will bloom soon for you. Do you have both dips and tets?

Most are from my own crosses but I did get a bunch of year old seeds (free from Cynthia here at ATP). There are dips and tets both. I surely will post pictures of the seedlings when they bloom. But that won't be for a while here in zone 5a