Has anyone used any of the bagged pots for growing on seedlings? Or in any way with daylilies? I have gallon plastic standard pots, 1 gallon Root Pouches and 2 sizes of the cheaper white ones sold on Ebay. Want to try the bags, but I'm a bit scared. Any input would be appreciated. Thank you.

I use the bags for daylilies and will probably use them for seedlings next year. They work great since you can't overwater! I would suggest grouping them together in the winter if you get sustained freezing temperatures. I've lost some in the bags but no more than I lose in the ground or my raised beds.

We've had an incredibly rainy summer/fall and I expected some in containers to die of root rot but they've all come through. Even ones I've dug up and repotted!

Here in North Carolina, when the temperature goes up, the humidity goes down. Bags tend to dry out MUCH faster than plastic pots. Bag pots under 10" size work well if you set them in appropriate saucers. Appropriate is defined as a saucer that is 2" wider than the pot/bag that you are using: 10" pot needs 12" saucer, etc.. Water them until the saucer overflows, then wait till they are dry before you water again.
I tried bags a while ago. They work well on woody trees, shrubs, and perennials, but did not do well on daylilies in bags that were more than 8 inch size. Even in saucers, the bottom half of the bag stayed nice and moist, but the top half was dry. I now use plastic pots of varying sizes with saucers, and the plants are doing better than they ever did---even ones growing in beds.

Thank you both. Was going to only use them indoors this winter (under lights), outdoors to harden off, and plants will go in ground no later than June. Plan on grouping the one gallons in 1020 (extra sturdy, no hole) trays. Storage is at a premium here, the cloth takes up so much less space. The pots I plan to use are 5 X 5.9, which from what Greg said, should work well. No individual cell trays this year, that was a nightmare to organize to plant. Not to mention the wasted potting mix for those I lost or failed to germinate. Not to mention moving those trays in and out of the garage all spring when we had so many late frosts. Thinking 10 seedlings per pot? Does that sound too crowded? Becky, I'm the poster child for overwatering, so your input makes me think these may be perfect.

I tried the cloth bags, they might work well where excess moisture is a problem, but I had about the same experience as Greg; they dry out way too fast. I like the tan color, which doesn't heat up in the sun, but they are so dry that the plants are constantly stressed, even using saucers. I ended up finding plastic grow bags which fit inside of them. I also line unglazed terra-cotta with plastic. It's dry, dry, dry here.

@beenthere
Tina, I've used square plastic pots in 1020 trays, but plastic grow bags come in many sizes, pack together efficiently in trays, and are cheap, I'd recommend those for seedlings. I plant up to 9-12 seeds in a 3.5" square pot, but have grown as many as 25. Crowded seeds actually seem to sprout and grow better than those in sparsely sown containers. Far fewer problems with damping-off.

Edited to add;

I've posted these pics before, but I forget which thread. The seedlings were all grown together under lights and taken outside on most days to get sunshine. I've grown up to 25 seedlings in a 3.5" square pot, and they looked as thick at the base and as healthy after 6 months as their neighbors with the more typical 6-8 seedlings per pot.


It's OK if daylily seedlings are crowded, they'll grow fine as long as they have enough water and food. I prefer Dyna-Gro Foliage Pro, because it's a complete fertilizer designed for hydroponic use, and because it's low in phosphorus. It also contains calcium and magnesium, which are essential for healthy growth in soilless medium. (particularly coir). Any good soluble liquid fertilizer is OK though. Miracle Grow makes a lower-phosphorus soluble fertilizer, I think it's their Tomato Food. Peters has something like that too. Whatever you use, dilute it to half-strength and use it more often. You can tell if you're overfeeding if new growth is pale green & floppy. Strong light is essential.

When the seedlings get bigger, the pots will be a tight mass of roots. They'll dry out very quickly, and be difficult to re-wet, so they'll appreciate standing in a little water most of the time.

Here is what I use to protect outdoor seedlings, everything is a threat to the small ones.

Wow, Ken! Gorgeous seedlings, in what I would have assumed, too crowded conditions. Good info to know! I will probably start out with the plastic trade gallon pots, 10 sprouted seedlings per pot, cos I'm not prepared to lose "all" this seed for an experiment. But any extras will be moved to the cloth root pouches after germination. From what I can see, from the comments, attention to hydration will be key with those. I appreciate the tip on fertilizer, will see if I can source it online. Used reg potting Miracle Gro (the blue stuff) at 1/4 strength last year. Every other watering. Seemed to work well enough, but we are all looking for the best. My seedlings are always the safest, the quicker I get them into the ground. Mother nature is a much better grower than I. Thank you for the info..

Scored some Dyna Pro Foliage Pro, 8 oz on Ebay. From all the reviews I've read, this is good stuff! Thank you for the tip, Ken.