Our Hybridizing Philosophy
We have been hybridizing for about a dozen years.I was once told by a prominent hybridizer that when you see something in the seedling beds worthwhile you will know it instantly. I think this is true ,with a few exceptions. Sometimes a seedling will "grow" on you! How do you hybridize? It is quite easy, and probably the single most rewarding experience I have gotten out of gardening. Simply put, you take the pollen from one daylily and place it on the pistil of another daylily. If the pollen “takes” a seed pod will form and ripen in 7-8 weeks. The seeds inside the pod can be refrigerated for a few weeks (or months) and started indoors under lights, or planted outside. In two-three years you will see the first flower bloom. This plant will exhibit a combination of characteristics of both parents. When you see a flower bloom for the first time that you created, it is indescribably elating. This is the process by which new daylilies are bred. There is much more to this topic!! If you are interested, perhaps you should consider joining AHS or a local club to learn more. If you are interested you can find info on seed starting by clicking here. We will frequently sell daylily seed on the Lily Auction under the user name "Rich". Our Hybridizing Goals I have never been real focused in my goals. I am not trying to make a ton of money but rather want to enjoy what I am doing and maybe create something beautiful along the way. We want to produce beautiful, hardy daylilies with good plant habits. I know many Northern growers who won’t order a new plant or hybridize with one unless it is a dormant. This is a conservative approach. I have seen and grow too many beautiful Southern bred (but hardy) Evergreens and Semi-evergreens to discard them as garden subjects and potential parents. Many crosses we make involve a southern bred plant with Northern one. This is not because I am trying to create a plant that will grow everywhere. It is usually because I want to capture a trait in a southern plant, such as a complex pattern,and have that trait appear on a Northern hardy daylily. It seems that what I like is always changing. I would like to breed some cool colored Tet unusual forms and some Northern hardy toothy daylilies. Recently my interest has been piqued by patterns and I will play with this genre for a while. We do abide by some rules. I rarely will cross two plants from the same hybridizer. I try not to cross colors on opposite sides of the spectrum. I realize there is far more that I do not know then what I do know about hybridizing daylilies. I plan to have some fun along the journey of learning. |
