I really don't need to start a new seedling bed for iris but I am on here learning. I made some crosses this Spring but several made pods but they don't appear to be fully developed seeds inside. Anyone have an estimate on the percentage of crosses that will make a mature seed? Many crosses didn't take

Opened the pods on my first cross: Princesse Caroline de Monaco x Stan Coates
94 seeds from 3 pods. One of the pods didn't seem as dry and the some of seeds looked a lighter color than the others. Hope they are viable. Only one way to find out

Teresa,
What do your seeds look like? Is there a possibility you opened the pods too early?

Robin, I opened them because some of the pods seemed misshaped. It also had some black on the outside. I know on dl pods some with start but abort. The iris seeds were still whitish.

Oh Dear! Those seeds sound like they haven't matured. They probably needed more time in the pods. I don't know what happened to your pods but hopefully someone with more experience can solve the mystery.

How long does it take before they can be harvested? Do you allow the pods to brown and crack open on its own? I have a few that look close to that.

My seeds were collected 72 to 80 days after I made the cross. I wait until the pod cracks open by itself except once the pod was bumped and bent over so I opened it (that was the 72 day pod). The seeds were a little bit sticky but seemed fine and they have taken a bit longer to germinate than the others. The pods will go brown prior to cracking open. I put organza jewellery bags over the pods when I think they are about to open so the seeds don't get lost.

Totally_Amazing said:My seeds were collected 72 to 80 days after I made the cross. I wait until the pod cracks open by itself except once the pod was bumped and bent over so I opened it (that was the 72 day pod). The seeds were a little bit sticky but seemed fine and they have taken a bit longer to germinate than the others. The pods will go brown prior to cracking open. I put organza jewellery bags over the pods when I think they are about to open so the seeds don't get lost.

Here's a link (one of many I found) for organza jewelry bags - they aren't expensive at all and are reusable! Thanks so much for this idea. I'd never heard of these bags

fetpak.com

The little bags, if put on early enough, prevent insects from entering the seed pod.

Well that is a neat idea! Now my neighbors will really know I am off the deep end

I use short nylon stockings. They are cheap and work just fine, but look a bit sinister...


On the positive side, they are great conversation pieces. Everyone asks what in... they are!

Lilli, they make me think of little ninja in the garden lol.

I see what you mean!

Fortunately, I have tall hedges all around my garden, so they neighbours are fairly clueless about what I'm up to!

IrisLilli said:I use short nylon stockings. They are cheap and work just fine, but look a bit sinister...


On the positive side, they are great conversation pieces. Everyone asks what in... they are!

Very Abu Ghraib, I'm afraid. However, you could use pale stockings.... Doesn't the black make it hot (maybe that's good? Dunno....)

Now that looks hilarious!! I use the very light skin colored ones. Not too noticeable. I should get a few of the black ones just to confound the neighbors even more. lol

I have only seen the little light bags used.
http://www.orientaltrading.com...

grannysgarden said: Now that looks hilarious!! I use the very light skin colored ones. Not too noticeable. I should get a few of the black ones just to confound the neighbors even more. lol

Actually, the little organza bags might be the cheapest way to go --- the tend to come in multiples of 12 and are around or under $2. Some of the sites have minimum orders, or the shipping fee is more than the bags. Since there are s o many people here making crosses, folks could do a group buy --- and I imagine the daylily people have t he same need of bags.

That's what I thought, Lyn. Yes, here hot is good! But using pale ones is a good idea for next year.

Bonnie!

Ooops! Cross posted there! Those bags are quite a bit more expensive here, so I'll stick to the _pale_ stockings unless anyone has a better idea?

Yah -- I'm wondering where people get them for under $2.00?? I just bought a small bag of 12 at Michaels -- they were $6.50!!! Not that that's over expensive, but for people who do lots of hybridizing............