Flower Sex | Daylily Haiku Thursday!

That's flower sex for daylilies.  

If the pollination was successful, and fertilization occurred, a seedpod will form and produce seed.  As with people, many factors contribute to the successful fertilization of a daylily, none of which I will explore here.  I just wanted you to know enough to be dangerous.

If you want more information on this process, please visit the Daylily Dictionary for terms like anther, filament, seed .  Here are also some of my past ramblings about seedlings here and here and here.

Once the pod ripened in late summer, I harvested the seed, stored them in a cool, dry place until February.  I then planted the seeds inside.  Once the winter broke, I transplanted them outside and waited at least one full year to see these flower faces.

Now we've had "the talk."  I feel better.

Here are some seedlings that bloomed this summer in Illinois.  A seedling is a daylily plant that has been grown from seed that has not been registered with the American Hemerocallis Society.  Once it is registered, it has a registered name and is referred to as a cultivar.  Until then, we refer to them as "seedlings." 

These flowers came from seed made by me using the method described above.  I like them and I thought you would, too. 

The last one on the lower-right above is a favorite of mine and reminds me of stormy, steamy nights spent on Singer Island in south Florida.

He will be registered and introduced in Fall 2013 as 'Ghosts of Singer Island.'  He's tall, dark and handsome. He smells very good, too.

In my mom's Illinois garden (seen below), the scapes reached 48" and most all blooms were in the 7" range.  The surface is mysteriously (and wonderfully) matte and color is clear raspberry-plum.  Here he is towering over the rest of the seedling bed.  

I love the form on this one below, but am not crazy about the color combination.  Maybe Ill use it on some bolder colored things next year.  Im thinking of my pending registration H. 'Girl on Fire.'  If this one would keep the form and teeth, yet absorb the girl's color, I would be in love.

This one below got lots of attention at a 2012 exhibition show.  There he is on the left, misbehaving with his form in the early morning garden.  Then on the right, he showed up with perfect form and bright yellow sepal edges, INSIDE at the flower show.  

I love it.  A lot.  It wowed at the show!!  But its still only two fans after three summers. Boo.  Hiss.

I have a VERY SMALL seed growing operation.  Heck, the first seeds I ever made I sent to someone else to germinate (Thanks, Frogs.)  I don't like growing things from seed.  Too many variables.  But, I got better at it over a few years and now like having the little tabletop greenhouses inside during the late winter months.  Some grow 20,000+ seeds.  I grow about 200.  

Small time.  VERY small time, but I'm having a very BIG good time.

summer's out of reach-

brown, green and orange fall in swirls

too fast and too soon.