tcmfish said:Those of you who get damping off has anyone tried the "on the rocks" method? Or anyone else for that matter try the "on the rocks" method?
I haven't tried it but I know someone who has and there were still some mold issues, plus the seeds/seedlings were slower (at least to start with) than a batch started at the same time in media. Since some of the organisms that cause damping off are "water molds" with reproductive units that can "swim" in water it's not a method that would appeal to me as I'd be concerned that any contamination could spread throughout the batch. The advantage as far as people who use this method are concerned, I believe, is that you can see each seed germinate. However, if daylily seeds are adequately stratified before starting them then they should be up and running within a few days to a couple of weeks of starting in regular seed starting media in any case, which avoids the protracted germination of unstratified seeds that have seed dormancy.
To avoid damping off, here are some things you can do. Of course we all take short-cuts but to go "by the book" where damping off is a concern you need a well-drained porous seed starting mix, not a regular potting mix. (If there's any doubt about the quality of the media then you might want to pasteurize it first but I've never found that necessary). There should be little to no fertilizer in it. Start with brand new OR well-washed (with soapy water possibly followed by a dilute bleach dip) containers. The seeds need to be well-spaced out to maximize air circulation (a fan can also help here). Avoid using an already opened bag of media, start with a new intact one. Don't mist the seedlings and, if possible, water from the bottom instead of overhead.
Be careful not to plant the seeds too deep (twice the width of the seed is enough, otherwise they use too much energy getting their first leaves above the surface which potentially weakens them), make sure they're getting enough light and, very important, don't over-water. The room temperature should be not too hot or too cold. If you start them under a lid or cover of some kind to avoid having to water the container, take it off when the first seed has germinated so that the humidity isn't too high for the subsequent emerging seedlings.
Here's a test (not mine) comparing "on the rocks" to a more conventional method:
http://www.ezdaylilies.com/OTR...
Daylily seeds can be very slow to germinate when they have seed dormancy (you can't tell from looking at them whether they are dormant or not). I suspect this is at least partly why there are so many different methods used for starting, but it would actually go further to speed things up if the seeds are stratified first and then started like you would any other seed.
If you wanted to go with a different method of starting and one where you can see them germinate, you could try starting them in 1:9 or thereabouts household strength hydrogen peroxide to water. You don't need to do this if the seeds have been stratified since it achieves the same goal of speeding things up unless you particularly want to watch what they're up to.
I would not soak them in plain water until they sprout because in my testing, and that of others, it actually slows down germination compared to starting in media. Edited to add that in my test the water soaking seeds had not been stratified first because I was investigating methods of breaking seed dormancy.
