Learning new things brings me great joy. I'm enjoying this new hobby of mine since there is so much to know. Right now, I'm trying to learn the art of sprouting. I haven't taken pictures of the process, but there are several videos on YouTube showing the paper towel method. One day, I might add photos to this post for those who are visual learners like I am.
Daylilies need to be stratified for at least a month. That means they need to be cold. An easy way to stratify is to put the seeds in a wet paper towel and throw them in the fridge. Here's what I did:
I marked ziplock bags with the name of the pod parent and pollen parent (if known) and the date. You only need to mark with the pod parent and pollen parent if you want to keep track of the parentage. If you don't care, then only the date is needed.
I wet the paper towel and placed the seeds in one quarter of the paper towel. Notes on this step:
- The paper towel needs to be DAMP, not soaking. Make sure to squeeze the excess fluid out. If your paper towel is too wet, the seeds will sprout, but the excess water will cause it to get mushy and it will not survive.
- Mold is an issue because of the wet environment. Add a little basking soda to a large bowl of water (1 tsp to about a quart of warm water) and dipped the paper towels in. This kept most of the baggies mold free.
- Use a sturdy paper towel. I tried some thin napkins on one batch and getting the sprouted seeds out of the flimsy material was a pain.
I folded the paper towel in quarters and placed it in the marked bag. After sealing, place in the bottom of your fridge and don't think about it for a while.
After at least 30 days from the date on the bag, pull it out of the fridge and place in a warm, sunny place. If you're sprouting in the winter, place in a south window. If you're sprouting in the spring, you can have it outside in a warm spot with sun. In the summer, sprout on the north side of a building so the seeds get sun, but not direct sun.
About 3 weeks later, open the bags. Some seeds will have roots started and several will have their first leaves. Transplant those into a small (3" diameter) pot with potting soil. I haven't tried putting the sprouts directly into the garden bed. It might be possible, but I prefer to give them extra TLC until they are stronger. Allow those to establish in the smaller pots for several months.
When they have 8+ healthy grown leaves, transplant into a garden bed. I have found that when the base of the daylily is around 3/4" in diameter, the plant's root system is filling the container and is ready for more space.
- Dig a hole wider than the roots (about 6" wide).
- Fill the hole with a either rich compost soil or use a commercial potting mix. The soil needs to be full of nutrients to give your plant the best possible environment. If needed, add a fertilizer, but be careful not to overdo it. Too much fertilizer can damage the roots of plants.
- Heap the soil in a cone about 3" higher than the surrounding soil.
- Water thoroughly. If needed, pile the wet soil back into the cone.
- Pull the plant out of the pot and rinse the roots. Healthy daylily roots will have some smaller, thin, branching roots and some fatter roots that look like skinny potatoes or a thin ginger root.
- Spread the roots over the cone of soil and add more soil on top of the roots until they are completely covered.
- Wet the new soil. Add more if any roots are exposed during watering.
- Heap mulch over the top of the soil cone and about a foot radius around the plant. The mulch will preserve the water and will break down into plant food over time.
Stenciled Infusion
