Hello Matt. Where in zone 6a are you located? Congratulations on your plans to start your daylily farm.
To solve your seed myth
of finding daylily seeds. Go here :
https://daylily.com/cgi-bin/au...
There are also plants for sale on the same website. Some of our fellow gardeners here also sell in the classified section very reasonably. I have seeds from my own garden that I can share for the cost of shipping. Ruby a seller on the auction have hybridizing supplies to get you started.
It seem to me that most are pining for some of the newer daylilies to add to the proven older cultivars. Some like the newer ones. You will be able to get the older ones for a reasonable price. You can gauge from the daylily auction what is selling and take notes. Variety rather than specific colors are the norm. Eventually you can start your own hybridizing program and create your own masterpieces. Create something unusual and "they will come.
Prepping you planting area well should help control weeds. For seedlings the spacing can be tighter. Before they get to a bigger size most hybridizers move the standout seedlings to a "evaluation bed" to further evaluate seedlings. The weaklings are composted to make room for the next crop of seedlings. Seedling spacing can be anywhere from six to eight inches depending on your available space. Deadheading is optional. If you are hybridizing you would want to leave the flower to see if the pollination process is a success. Bear in mind that some plants are pod and/or pollen sterile. You definitely want to check the fertility of the plant before you buy it. You would also have to check your own seedlings for the same. That's a separate subject. Seedlings are usually not moved until they have bloomed. You don't want to set them back. Some multiply faster than others. Rows make it easier to keep up with the seedlings. Irrigation is another thing in itself. Most seedlings will need supplemental water during the first year if you don't get sufficient rain. I am sure once others see this post they will chime in with more suggestions. Good luck in your endeavor.
