First Flower on Daylily Seedling. 5.30.17

First Flower on Daylily Seedling.  5.30.17

For the past 2 years,  I play mad scientist and transfer pollen from stamens of daylily flowers of one color, to pistols of daylily flowers of another color.  I try to stick to diploid with diploid, and tetraploid with tetraploid, which is basically the stouter more hefty looking daylilies tend to be tetraploid, and the more delicate ones tend to be diploid, although that is not a hard and fast rule.  Regardless, if seeds develop, and they usually do, I save them, stratify them using the damp paper towel in ziplock in refrigerator method, then germinate them using the damp paper towel in ziplock on windowsill method, then grow them as seedlings.  Usually, slugs, rabbits, and deer eat most of the plants, which I don't like.

This one was protected by growing with other daylilies in a barrel planter, and today it was the first of all of my daylilies to bloom.  It's not an idea spot - shady - but there it is.  Nice pinkish color.  The tepals are pointed.  That might change in future flowers, or not.  I didn't bother to label, but I think this is an offspring of a yellow that was incorrectly labeled, or more likely a correctly labeled tetraploid that reverted to diploid.  I actually like the unusual appearance and the subtle pink color, with green throat, and shape that makes me think of trilliums.   Another is making buds, so this is my year to see some results from daylily hybridizing.

Meanwhile, the first batch of daylily seedlings that I planted out from last year's hybridizing, were all eaten by slugs, except for one that somehow survived.  I left the second batch in containers that dried out, noticed this week that they started to re-grow, and planted among peppers and tomatoes in the vegetable garden.  If they grow, we'll see what happens.