If you really want to grow a huge number of daylilies, you should definitely understand how to follow different daylily propagation methods. Some of the best methods that you can try to learn are dividing, seed propagation, proliferation and tissue culture.
The methods in the propagation of daylilies can be divided into two methods which are the sexual and asexual or what is also known as vegetative method. In the asexual or vegetative method, the new plants grown is considered as identical to the parent plant. On the other hand, sexual method involves the combination of the genes of two parent plant which can be evident in the new plant grown.
Division
The first method of propagation of the daylily plant is the process known as division. This is considered to be the easiest way and most natural way to grow daylilies. This is also a common method because this is something that is needed to be done through time as the clumps of daylilies eventually form. If you are not able to divide the clumped daylilies through time, they would be able to produce lesser flowers and they would look less attractive. Dividing the clumped daylilies through time should definitely be done. The best time for you to be able to divide your daylilies is during the earlier parts of autumn. It would often also include the later parts of the summer time as well.
You have to make sure that when you divide them, you will clearly be able to see the fans so that you can do the procedure properly. It would also be best to divide them once the sprouts have already appeared. It is highly recommendable that you do the division process during the time when the daylilies are in rich growth. In this way, you should make sure that the plant can recover easily and quickly. You also have to make sure that the soil in which your daylilies are planted would be kept damp so that it can also facilitate quick recovery of the plant after division. It would usually take a few weeks before the daylilies can eventually grow and be established properly.
As you divide the daylilies, it would be best if you make sure that they are broken down into about two to three fans so that they would grow quickly. The larger number of fans use, the more roots that they have which can definitely facilitate growth effectively. Through this, you would not need to wait for a longer time just to establish your new clumps of daylilies. In dividing the clumps of daylilies, you can choose several ways like using a garden fork, shovel or even a sharp knife. By soaking the daylily roots in water for two or three hours before hand makes the whole process a lot easier to break the roots apart.
After finishing off dividing the clumps, it would be best to apply a fungicide solution to the part of the plant where you took the fans to heal the wound made. You can then add some low nitrogen fertilizer after a few weeks once the new fans have started new growth in their new planting spot.
Seed Propagation
Another common way which you could grow your daylilies is seed propagation. This is considered as a sexual method in creating new daylilies. This means that the new plant would have to take the characteristics of both parent plants. Through seed propagation, you have to perform hybridization in which you could form new plants with specialised characteristics. Hybridizing can be truly interesting because you need to choose the two plants that you would need to breed together through crossing. From the two parent plants, you would need to choose the pollen and the pod parent. Those will determine the characteristics that the new plant would definitely have.
The process of cross breeding can definitely be very easy because you just have to take the pollen of one plant. After that, you just have to place the pollen that you took onto the pistil of the second plant. You have to make sure that the pod parent or the plant that accepts the pollen is ready enough to accept the pollen from the pollen parent. This will ensure that the process of hybridising will definitely be successful. After crossing the two plants, you have to wait for the flower of the crossed plant to bloom. You have to wait until the flowers fall after a few days. You will also have to wait for the pod of the seeds to form. It would usually take a maximum of 8 weeks for the pod of seeds to form. When the seeds are ripe enough, the colour of the pod would be brown as the seeds would appear shiny black in colour. Once the pods split, you can start taking the seeds, cool them in the fridge for about three to four weeks so that you can give them the right moisture that they need for planting.
Proliferation
Another way for you to be able to grow daylilies is through proliferations. These proliferations are known as small plants that grow along the scape of the daylily plant as it blooms. They are considered as smaller daylilies that have small leaves and crowns. Once you see that the proliferation has developed their roots, you can take them together with seedling mixes and grow them in a greenhouse. You have to make sure that you maintain a great environment for the daylily proliferations to grow effectively and quickly. You have to make sure that proper temperature and moisture is maintained for optimum daylily growth.
These are some of the best ways that you could grow more daylilies. These methods prove that you do not really have to be an expert cultivator just to be able to produce more daylilies. You just have to make sure that you follow the procedures for every method properly. If you are able to learn about these methods and perform them properly, you can truly be sure that you will be greatly successful in producing huge amounts of healthy and attractive daylily plants.
Another Way of Propagation: Tissue Culture Propagation
One of the most unexplored ways of propagating the daylilies is tissue propagation. There are a lot of other ways of propagation that are commonly used for daylilies like seed planting, division and even proliferation. Tissue culture is considered as one of the most interesting ways of growing multiple daylily plants. You do not really have to be an expert just for you to be able to grow a lot of daylilies. As long as you understand the process and do it properly, you can truly be successful.
Understanding Tissue Culture
First of all, you need to understand what tissue culture is all about. Tissue culture is not only applicable to animals and humans but it can also be done to plants. Tissue culture has been taking the interest of the gardeners nowadays. This method of daylily propagation is considered to be very effective because it is able to produce hundreds of new daylilies. Sometimes, it can even produce about thousands of the said plant as soon as the procedure is done properly.
How To Perform Tissue Culture
The tissue culture can be a very challenging procedure at first but as soon as you are able to master the steps properly, you can definitely be able to produce the number of new daylily plants that you want. For tissue culture, you will need to prepare a small part of the plant, primarily the growing bud. After acquiring such small piece, you would need to sterilise it. You can then soak the plant in sterile nutrient solution through a test tube. You have to make sure that the sterile nutrient solution is properly mixed for the type of plant that you have. The solution that you will use should definitely be compatible to your daylilies. You also have to make sure that the environment where you will perform the tissue culture is always made conducive for growth.
There are several factors that you need to consider in creating a growth, conductive environment for tissue culture. You have to make sure that the temperature is maintained carefully. The humidity together with the pH should also be properly monitored. All the substances that come in contact with the area where you perform your tissue culture must be sterilised accordingly. These include air and even water.
If you are able to control temperature, humidity and pH properly, you can be sure that the tissue will grow quickly and effectively. You also have to make sure that you will prevent the plant material in contact with any kind of fungus or infective material that can cause significant plant diseases. If you are able to achieve the right size of the tissue growth, you can remove them from their tubes properly. After such, you can cut them into smaller pieces and transfer them in another medium that is large enough to facilitate their growth like beakers. The larger space will allow them to develop leaves and even roots which you can eventually take to plant in small pots.
These are some of the most important things that you definitely need to know about tissue culture.