Mike, yes I think the ones in vermiculite were a better colour. There'll be a slight difference in nutrients (what few there are) in any of those media, which would show up since I didn't fertilize so as not to influence the experiment.
For those of you with seeds germinating in the fridge, my suspicion is that they are not dormant. The definition of seed dormancy is that the seed doesn't germinate promptly when supplied with appropriate amounts of water, oxygen and the right temperature. Not everyone has dormant daylily seeds for various potential reasons not necessarily totally related to genetics or foliage habit, in which case they don't need to be damp chilled at all or mere storage in the fridge was enough. It's possible that may depend on where one lives (or where the seeds were formed). If the seeds are put in the fridge while still relatively hydrated after harvest, it's theoretically possible that that on its own might be stratifying them. But seed dormancies can also "wear off" over time.
I've had batches that were stored dry over winter and started in spring without any chilling and germination rate was high and quick, i.e. no seed dormancy. Other batches started in fall germinated over several weeks or months and therefore had seed dormancy. When you first start out doing daylily seeds you may not know what percentage of them, if any, typically have seed dormancy until you try starting them normally (i.e. at room temperature and unstratified). The experience may vary also with purchased seeds that came from another area from your own.
Christy, dry seeds don't respond to chilling so yes, they need to be soaked/dampened before going in the fridge, OR have a few drops of water added to their container, OR go in the fridge in damp medium in which case you don't need to add any more water. The latter is probably the safest method. They shouldn't go in the fridge in wet conditions, just damp.
Yes, it probably does matter how long the seeds are on the counter if they're there for weeks or months loose as they may dry out too much or get too hot if in the sun. It takes about three weeks, as far as I recall, to air-dry daylily seeds to dry storage level moisture. They do not need to be stored in a fridge unless you have very warm and humid conditions that would deteriorate the seeds such as in southern areas. Paper bags/envelopes at room temperature work but you can store them in the fridge which would prolong storage life if done correctly. Plastic would be better in the fridge, paper bags/envelopes if storing at room temperature. Otherwise, no, they do not need to be refrigerated immediately, or even at all until stratifying depending on climate. The seeds in my pictures were never refrigerated until I put them in the fridge to stratify.
Having said all the above, if none of Christy's seeds have germinated at all in the amount of time it has taken for the surface of the medium to develop mold (do we know exactly how long since they were sown?), then the problem may not be seed dormancy. Is it possible the medium was too wet?
One thing you could do, if the seeds have been sown a month or more and none have germinated yet, is extricate some of the seeds and put them to soak in a solution of household strength hydrogen peroxide and water, about 1:9 at room temperature, but out of the sun, to test viability. H2O2 also breaks seed dormancy of daylilies.
