Here is a picture. I believe it was bred around the second week of June (lost all my data when kids crashed my computer )



Or might it have something to do with this web around the base of the pod?

That's how some of mine look, but I still get seeds. I have noticed that if only one side looks like that early then that side usually won't have any seeds. Keep us updated

No, it's not the normal way. I don't know if the web has something to do with it, but when a pod matures it start to get yellow then darker but all the chambers at the same time, and the top starts to open. I had some doing so, some dried and died completely, some other had only one chamber like that and seeds were in the others.

This seed pod has been growing great for the past month or so and has looked just fine. It wasn't until two days ago that I noticed the first small brown spot and it seems to be spreading. I am fairly certain it has been ripening for around 40 days. If only I hadn't lost my data I could determine the exact date it was bred and harvest the seeds if it has been long enough.

ediblelandscapingsc said:That's how some of mine look, but I still get seeds. I have noticed that if only one side looks like that early then that side usually won't have any seeds. Keep us updated

I'm not an expert, but I did hybridize last year and I noticed the same thing as Daniel. And I will say that although most of my seedpods turned yellow before they went brown, not *all* of mine that produced seed did.

For the record, I highly doubt that the spider web has much to do with it. Generally, spiders are more concerned with catching bugs than drilling holes or doing any other damaging thing to your pod. I saw those same sorts of 'spider webs' last year and it didn't seem to impact my plants, as I recall. I even have a picture of one of them here (look about halfway down): http://garden.org/ideas/view/D... ...despite the 'web' and the slug, I still had seeds from that pod. You should be okay...

Edited to add: the reason I put the 'spider webs' in quotes was because I wasn't convinced it was a spider web...it looked more like something maybe a moth or other insect might create...in which case, I suppose it depends on which insect it is to determine whether or not it's a potential daylily destroyer. I didn't have any problems with mine, so I'm guessing it's a bug of some sort that simply needs a spot to next, not a daylily feast. ;)

Amber - I have noticed the very same thing happening here. I am wondering if it is being caused by moisture/water. I have had to use my irrigation every other day this summer because of the heat. Typically the pods start ripening all over, not on one side or one chamber. I did harvest a few that looked like yours. The seeds on the brown side were ready for harvesting. The other (green chamber) seeds wound up shriveling and dying. I need to figure out a way to harvest seeds from just the brown side and leave the rest of the pod in place until it all turns brown so as not to lose any seeds (prematurely). Something else I've noticed is that that scapes are browning and crumbling, yet the pods are still green. I had to remove a pod this morning that had a collapsing brown scape. I put the entire green pod in a paper envelope to hopefully ripen without losing the seeds. Am hoping the moisture in the green pod will last long enough to produce ripe, mature seeds. I've never had this problem in the past that I recall.

@beckygardner...for those pods where one chamber is opening before the others are ripe, it might be useful to use the nylon footies that DND described in the article above. This is the only pod I have so far that is dong this. I do have several pods that are completely dried up though . I too also have scapes turning brown before the seed pods are ready

@DogsNDaylilies...great article. I like the nylon footie idea. Where did you get them from? On a side note, I too experimented with a couple of tagging options (tags or different size, writing on the scape with permanent marker). I ended up using small paper jewelry tags (they are $1.50 for 100 at my Walmart). I wrote the initials or code for the pollen parent on it, wrapped it in scotch tape to make it a little more water proof, and then looped the end around the base of the bloom being pollinated. I too have my dayliles in the front of my house and didn't want big tags being distracting. I like the jewelry tags because they are so small and really not noticeable until you get close to the plant. These tags have withstood several rain storms. Yes, the writing on some of the tags has smudged when it gets wet and some of the writing is fading because of sun exposure, but all are still legible.

Well, I failed to mentioned that in some of the pod chambers that were browning and "soft", the seeds were rotting in some of them. Which is why I now feel it necessary to remove the seeds when I see the brown chambers. I do believe it has to do with moisture or irrigation (perhaps directly on certain areas of a pod).

Nylon footies can be purchased at Walmart (their brand) in small plastic clear eggs (not exactly egg shaped but rounded with a lid). Very cheap! But I must warn you .... if you get a lot of rain or irrigation, the nylon footies can cause moisture to form around the seeds and cause rot. I've had it happen to me when I used to use them in the past.

amberjewel said:
@DogsNDaylilies...great article. I like the nylon footie idea. Where did you get them from?

Thank you! I actually came up with the footie idea on my own when I realized the organza bags weren't going to work. I racked my brain for anything I could think of that was like netting... sheer enough to let sun and air through, but solid enough to retain seeds. I think the idea may have come after i purchased shoes last year, but I don't recall. (It sounds like Becky had the same idea before me, though. and here I thought I being clever. Oh well.) I do know, however, that Amazon is a good place to get a LOT of them inexpensively.

For what it's worth, I didn't have issues with rotting, but I also only put the stockings on the pods when I knew the pods were close to opening. Maybe there's a goldilocks period when the stocking should be put on... Much longer, and you risk rot?

I think the rot issue came when I put the stockings on too soon and didn't collect the seeds right away. So you are probably correct, DND. Cinderella time frame, not too soon and must collect before the stroke of midnight.

So I went back to examine the pod again. I gave it a very gentle squeeze to see if it was still firm...it cracked. So I decided to go ahead and see how things looked inside. I found four healthy looking seeds...

That's great Amber

Since that pod and seeds turned out okay, I decided to pick off another pod today that kind of had the same wrinkly thing going on with one section (but not the turning brown problem) and got 4 seeds from it as well. Then I decided to see what was in that seed pod I knocked off last week (and asked about on here... The thread "Can I save this seed pod? Seedlings...and my crazy day!" in Daylilies forum ) and got four more seeds! I think this is going to make it even harder to wait for all the rest of my seed pods to dry/open the right way

I'm so happy for you Amber, I think you got it girl