Oh well, I had a cross I cared so much for. Nothing really fancy but I love the parents, they were spartacus adorned and ageless beauty.
I got 20 seeds and stupid me planted all them. But the potting mix was not good, it stayed so wet (here sun hits the garden for a couple of hours now, and humidity is really high). I found some not destroyed seed but it's covered with mold. Is there anything I can do to try to salvage them?

The other cross I made just because I could and not because of a good reason (between Little Shopper and I can't remember what other plant) gave 24 seeds. I put them in vermiculite and in a month they germinate ALL. 24 clones LOL. I have to grow them a bit and then gift to someone!

If you have some hydrogen peroxide , you could that into a small bowl of water and soak the seeds that are moldy. That might cure the mold problem, but not sure if the seeds are still viable. You have nothing to lose, so I would try it. I have also heard of adding a little bleach to water and soaking for a few minutes and then drying on a paper towel. So sorry you sowed all those seeds. I always hold a few back .... just in case .... as a back-up plan.

Sabrina,

It's been my experience that when mold shows on the outside of a seed it's because the inside has already decomposed, but you might be able to save a few.

I totally understand the desire to fall-sow some daylily seed, and I do a couple of flats every year, but when I do, it's the earliest pods I've harvested, and I always refrigerate the seeds (damp) for at least 3 weeks before sowing.

I put the individual crosses in small manila coin envelopes (60mm x 110mm), grouped in plastic "ZipLoc" baggies. Then when it's time to dampen them, all I have to do is add about 10 mm of water to each baggie, let them soak for about 5 minutes until the bottoms of the manila envelopes are wet, drain away the excess, and put the baggies back in the refrigerator. If you always maintain the baggies in an upright position, the seeds that sprout early will grow straight shoots and roots, and be easier to plant.

Stratification doesn't hurt the evergreens, and it's very important for the semi-evs and dormants, so I do them all. It's not unusual to see a couple of dormant seedlings in evergreen crosses, and vice-versa. Some will sprout without this stratification, some may never sprout, and others may take so long that they will fall victim to fungus first. If stratified, they sprout rapidly and more uniformly.

I limit my indoor fall-sowing, mostly because of the power, space and upkeep required. I refrigerate the bulk of my seed dry until around January, moisten and refrigerate for 3-6 (or more) weeks, then sow them in pots outside as they start to sprout.

I feel your pain. I did the same thing with a smaller batch- over-watered them all the way to daylily heaven...

Sorry to hear about your seeds Sabrina & Diana

Sabrina. Hope your successfully germinated seedlings are beautiful. You never might get a nice surprise.

I am a newbie but agree with what Ken has said. It seems to offer more control. My first attempt was planting some bee pod seeds of Piccadilly Princess near the edge of a huge pot outside. After some months I forgot about them and astonished when 4 obviously daylily seedlings appeared. I had them in pots till recently and hope they will flower soon. PP is a ruster but it blooms so frequently and looks nice that I will keep it.

Last year I tried the wet striation on bee pod seeds. It worked good. Some died but they may have been Dip selfies. (A good reason to dab pollen). Four had not germinated after months so they are on the table and will go into a pot soon whatever they do or don't do. No mould, but could be rotted.

Others from the fridge were good and still don't have rust even though the pod parent had it. When they germinated I planted them in pots of vermiculite which I gradually moved into our mild winter sunshine. Then I potted them individually into compost. They are in the ground now at last. They have the vigour of the pod parent.

In the fridge now I have some that were given to me. So I am glad I had some practice attempts. Maybe you will do another cross with the plants you loved.

Sabrina, here is what the packets and baggies look like. I prefer the paper envelope method because it lets me control the moisture levels of large numbers of seed easily and seems to prevent a lot of seed and sprout rot. I've noticed that any time live plant material sits directly against plastic, it tends to decompose. After an extended period of time (much more than 6 weeks) the envelopes sometimes will develop a little mold discoloration on them, but it doesn't seem to affect the seeds or sprouts.



These are dry because they are recently harvested. I stopped moist storage a couple of weeks ago, because I figure that 4-6 weeks from now, any tiny seedlings I set out may have problems if we have a cool, wet winter.

Thanks to all. It was too late for the seeds, all I found were empty moldy shells that crumbled the moment I touched them.

I refrigerate most of the seeds, I don't know why I was so on a planting frenzy. But the biggest problem was the potting mix. It's too wet and it says wet. I have a small seedling in the same mix and I can see it's suffering from wet. It's so small I don't know what to do, if giving t a new pot whith fresh potting mix or not.

It's the second time that a bagged potting mix is already affected with damping off.

I agree, its' hard to grow new seedlings inside. I have a small portable greenhouse that I will use when colder days will arrive.
The second problem is that sun in winter doesn't shine on the garden.
The past year I tried with grow lights in the basement but the room is closed, no air circulation and I had problems with those little flying things that place eggs in the pot and eat roots I can't remember the name and I'm too lazy to open another browser window

The good thing is that I can make the same cross the next spring because the plants are still there, but I've been such a stupid. 20 seeds and not keeping a back up is an idiot thing!!
Thanks to all!

Thanks to all. It was too late for the seeds, all I found were empty moldy shells that crumbled the moment I touched them.

I refrigerate most of the seeds, I don't know why I was so on a planting frenzy. But the biggest problem was the potting mix. It's too wet and it says wet. I have a small seedling in the same mix and I can see it's suffering from wet. It's so small I don't know what to do, if giving t a new pot whith fresh potting mix or not.

It's the second time that a bagged potting mix is already affected with damping off.

I agree, its' hard to grow new seedlings inside. I have a small portable greenhouse that I will use when colder days will arrive.
The second problem is that sun in winter doesn't shine on the garden.
The past year I tried with grow lights in the basement but the room is closed, no air circulation and I had problems with those little flying things that place eggs in the pot and eat roots I can't remember the name and I'm too lazy to open another browser window

The good thing is that I can make the same cross the next spring because the plants are still there, but I've been such a stupid. 20 seeds and not keeping a back up is an idiot thing!!
Thanks to all!

Sabrina,

Potting soils aren't what they used to be. I don't know what you have access to there, but it doesn't sound good. You may have better luck by using a bagged mix that is specifically designed for sprouting seeds. These are typically made with peat and perlite, and you'll need to supplement them with a complete liquid fertilizer. There are a few boutique potting soils available here which are made from traditional ingredients, (aged ground bark, peat, humus, sand, topsoil, compost) but for the most part, potting soils have become part of the yard waste recycling chain, and are liable to contain anything. For me, the biggest problem is that they are based on raw wood chips (instead of bark), and the wood starts to mold right in the pot once supplied with moisture and nutrients. These mixes are often dyed in order to appear to be well-aged, and after a few waterings, they return to their original tan color. The industry has few regulations or standards. That I am aware of.

A few years ago, I heard of a widespread problem where a herbicide commonly used in cattle feed yards was making its way into potting soils via the steer manure. Even though it was present in very low concentrations, it was acting as a pre-emergent, and pepper and tomato seeds sprouted in it would whither and die.

If you're stuck using bagged potting soil, sift it through a 4-5 mm screen, pasteurize, and add 25% perlite. Otherwise, you might do fairly well by planting the seeds directly in the garden after the weather cools. At least there, the good & bad soil organisms have a way to balance each other, and with a bit of wire screen to keep the kitties from digging, you might be pleasantly surprised at the results.