Seedfork said:Interesting, I would think if the seeds were shipped in the middle of winter they would have been harvested much earlier, and if so I would think those seeds had plenty of time to dry out. If the daylily seed were dried internally I thought they should easily be able to withstand freezing temps. I am willing to bet the well known seller does this all the time(shipping in the middle of winter) with very few problems or they would not do it. Could have just been bad seed, or I guess any number of problems but I am surprised that the issue is suspected to be "frozen to death". I have no experience with frozen daylily seeds would love to hear from some others who have dealt with the issue.

from what I understand, even if dry, daylily seeds will not survive freezing. I had read that several places when I first started into daylilies so I don't remember exactly the websites from back then I just remember that they can not be frozen.

I have winter sown daylily seeds before and we get temps in the teens and I have had seeds sprout in the spring.

Also (edited) I ship seeds all winter to Canada and I have not had one customer complain to me that they did not germinate. I do double bubble wrap and place in a bubble envelope. That could help insulate them I guess.

The seller I talked with told me one other person that had seeds shipped same time as mine had the same result. He didn't say where only it was a northern state.

I also read that seeds can't be stored in the freezer, and I would think that -27 is colder than what a freezer can get down to.

I would be curious to see if someone would or has run a test on seeds with northern genetics versus seeds with southern genetics. Take the seeds and put them in the freezer... say at 20 degrees...for a week...pull them out and see if you can get them to germinate. Maybe northerns have evolved to make their own type of antifreeze?

Winter sown seeds here are usually protected with a thick blanket of snow which keep the ground from freezing... even last winter with our brutal cold spell.

There was a person on here a couple of years ago that actually said that they stored their seeds in the freezer. Wish I could remember who it was. Mine are kept in the crispers.

I have a lot of seeds left over from last year, that's why the classified ad here to give them away. I would be willing to try an experiment and put them in the freezer and then see next spring if they will germinate. I probably should use both crosses from dormants as well as evergreens, and dips and tets, and we'll see what happens.

Seems like shipping seeds in winter wouldn't usually result in them being exposed to actual freezing temperatures. Most of the shipping would occur inside buildings or whatever is used to transport them. The vulnerable end would be those of us who have outside mail receptacles where the seed packet is left exposed to freezing temps. Otherwise it doesn't seem that winter shipping would result in seeds being exposed to below freezing temps. I'd think most of the time the LA seller could safely ship seeds during the winter.

I agree Donald, I have received seeds many times in the winter with no problem.
Just the one time with the minus 27 degree day, and the 8 hours of staying out in the mailbox.
Seeds were shipped from two separate sellers one from Connecticut and the other from Ohio
Not one seed germinated from either order, but the replacement seeds sent 3 weeks later from Connecticut seller, all but one seed germinated. Only difference was temps were above freezing.

Hemlady,
If you freeze the seeds, then when you take them out let me know and I will pay the shipping and try some down here and see if they sprout also.

Sure Seedfork, that would be great. I could send you the semi-ev and ev crosses and I could do the dormants.

Hemlady said:There was a person on here a couple of years ago that actually said that they stored their seeds in the freezer. Wish I could remember who it was. Mine are kept in the crispers.

Old age is getting to me, but years ago, I believe I had veggie seeds stored in the freezer.

Here's something on freezer storage:
http://www.underwoodgardens.co...

"....Your refrigerator or freezer is ideal;..."

I store dry bearded iris seeds in the freezer. For years. On occasion I'll take some out and plant them. The germination is the same as for any batch of seeds dried and then planted the fall/winter after collecting and drying- some germinate well and others not at all. But I think storing one species with success does not mean another species will have the same success. The experiment being proposed by Cindy and Seedfork is what needs to be done. If dl seeds are frozen and subsequently have germination, then lack of germination from seeds that have been frozen is probably due to another cause rather than freezing. It's really easy to misread cause and effect on this sort of thing. Storing in a hot shed where the seeds got too hot might be as likely a cause as freezing. Until it's tried and demonstrated, it will be an unknown.

Yes, many flower and vegetable seeds are stored for years in the freezer, but here there is specific question about the freezing of daylily seeds. There seems to be a question of whether daylily seeds in particular are suitable for being frozen.

That was interesting to read Pat. Thanks.

I went back and read alot of comments on this subject from garden web and other places. There are for sure people who freeze their daylily seeds. The real issue seems to be how long they leave them out to dry first. I guess they need to be ultra dry. Clearly the same goes for the fridge, but at least in the fridge, a small pice of paper towel will take up the slack.

Anyone bought from Pete Harry....Amazing daylilies on the LA?

Betty ( @Betja ) has I know that. I have not purchased from him directly.

I wasnt paying attention, and bid on a couple of his plants. I had a question, and I guess he just doesnt spend alot of time on LA stuff. f he send good plants, that will be 'the ticket' tho.

Pete Harry Daylilies (Amazing_daylilies on the Lily Auction) sends really huge, fantastic plants, just like Nicole DeVito (Ndl) does -- they are almost always leek-sized multiple fans that are freshly dug and beautiful, and they will state if what you are bidding on is a SF, DF, TF, 3F, etc. The only difference is that Amazing_daylilies does not send a bonus plant, whereas Nicole usually sends a bonus plant that is just as nice as the one you're bidding on.

Amazing_daylilies usually posts their auctions later in the week for Sunday closing. Last week they even waited until Friday night to post them for Sunday night closing, but usually they post them by Wednesday or Thursday night.

They're not big on communicating, though, so I always always include a note as to when I need them to ship and they always seem to come through.

I found this interesting study(it is pretty old back in the 1950's) but it brought something to my attention I had not considered. If I am understanding this correctly one reason freezing daylily seeds results in them not sprouting is that freezing actually does not serve to break the dormancy. The dormancy requirements are actually better served at just above freezing temperatures. They used the term after-ripened which to me indicates the stage of the seed after a stratification period. So if seeds are frozen then planted without the proper stratification they tend to just rot in the ground.
http://www.daylilies.org/AHSar...
Now maybe I missed something here but it also says that frozen seeds put in the ground may be subject to growing when the temps rise just a little then being killed when the next freeze comes. That sounds contradictory to the fact that freezing would not serve to break dormancy, but I can see frozen or not the cycle of freezing and warming could be very deadly for the little sprouts and they would just end up as rotten seeds.

I read that myself. I had a big problem getting the font small enough on my computer tho.