Hi Keith, and
If you give us a list of the cultivar names you made crosses of, I think (in fact, I'm very sure) we can give you the answers you're looking for. List them in the following manner.
Pod parent name X Pollen parent name.
Always be sure to LIST THE POD PARENT FIRST. From this we can establish 1. what lilium Division each parent is, 2. The ploidity of each, whether diploid, triploid or tetraploid, as well other important information on each, such as whether the resulting seed's germination is likely to be epigeal or hypogeal germination, or whether it will germinate at all by usual means. This will tell us a lot and help us explain things better. In fact, we may even be able to tell you if those still green pods you've got have good seeds (with embryos) in them or chaff in them, right now.
When you ask the question of which germination pattern to follow--the pod parents or the pollen parents--there is no hard rule to follow, one or the other. The germination type is largely governed by the Division it belongs to and when two lilies are crossed between two different Divisions, each is a new experience in most respects. However, hybridizers have gained a great deal of knowledge about such crosses. For instance, in the case of germination type, Oriental (hypogeal) X Trumpet (epigeal), generally favors yielding epigeal seed while crossing Asiatic (epigeal) X Trumpet (epigeal) produces epigeal seed, it can only be grown through embryo rescue. That's why it's important we get your list of crosses you made. I appreciate your persistence in getting the answers you're looking for
All the information given by others above is still all very good information; it just didn't give you the answer you were looking for or understood clearly. Once we get that list we can pool our knowledge and give you the answers I think your looking for.
In the meantime, collect your seed. Make sure you dry it a few days by spreading it out on something like a sheet of paper (away from sunlight). Then freeze. Frozen seed will last 20 years or more and can be thawed for planting and the remaining seeds can be refrozen.
And don't forget--when listing crosses, pod parent is always first
