A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2005 Iris Seed Propagation

Does anyone know how to propagate iris seeds quickly??? I have 30,000 iris with two unique specimens that I crossed. I had about 20 that I crossed but my dad likes to kill things that are beautiful.

What I was wondering is does anyone know how to propogate them quicker than a year!?!? I am also having problems with starting Daylillies, hops and ylang ylang from seed.

This year I had about 10,000 blooms at the same time!!! That was too cool!

HI i dont know of any fast way to propagate iris seeds. Harvest the seed and allow them to dry out for a couple more months. In late October plant the seed about 1/2 to 3/4 of a inch deep and 10 inchs apart in well drained soil. The planted seed should spend fall and winter outdoors.you will not get your true unique specimens from seeds because of cross pollenation. the seeds you plant will not produce the same plants they come from.but you might get a new varity of iris from them.some seed can take a couple of years to grow.you might try scarafacation.sand the seed lightly or put a small nick on the seed.this should help them germinate quicker.your couple of unique specimens would do better from cutting the risome root into a few pecies and planting them to get more plants of those types.do your day lilly seeds the same way. hope this helps.your friend in gardening.mike57

I was reading up on the ylang ylang. Sounds like a real pain to grow.

Good luck with it. You should have a real cash cow if you can get it to grow in Michigan.

HI again the information i have read abought growing hops from seeds is to Propagate by seed sown in spring at a maximum temperature of 40 degrees and 1/2 inch deep. Soak seeds in water for 24 TO 48 hours then mix them with moist peat moss in a plastic bag and refrigerate them for 4 to 6 weeks before sowing. Germination is very difficult and may take several months. but usually it will occur within 4 to 6 weeks. Do not over water the seeds or seedlings. plant in loose rich well drained soil.you can propagate plants by root cuttings or from cuttings from new growth taken in early spring its best to take from the female rootstock. In the spring divide the roots plant root cutting with buds facing upwards.with about 1/2 of inch of soil covering the top of the buds in rich loamy soil. plants will die down in the winter but will appear again in the spring. Protect the roots with mulch in the winter months. In the fall when they die back cut back all the growth to the ground. Hops grow well in full sun or partial shade. and it will tolerate a wide range of soil and hot windy conditions.they prefers a moist humus rich.light loamy soil that drains well. Keep the plants well watered during hot weather.they Can become very invasive. Male plants are not needed for pollination and are best removed. Unpollinated female flowers produce the most desirable fruit. hope this helps.your friend in gardening mike57

Thanx Mike, yeah that's how I've been starting my iris seeds. I have about 1500 day lillies all together, I havn't tried growing them from seed yet... I have a few thousand seeds though. Thanx for the help with the hops, I had ordered seeds from 2 different companies. We have the tree form by our home here but I wanted to grow a couple vines in the home...
We all get kinda depressed durring the winter ya know. I started growing indoor coleus and a few other indoor plants this winter. Made me forget about the nasty white snow for a while.

As for the iris I grew from seed. I have 2 really cool looking ones! One is bright yellow with a cinnimon speckled throat and the other has light purple standards, dark purple and lavendar falls, and a white/purple beard. I had a white and a pink but those were killed.

Thanx for all the help, I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Your Very Welcome Any Time I can Help.Your Friend in Gardening.Mike57