no deadheading allowed...I have a messy garden. Setting pods is hard enough, so I don't even look at them sideways.

I understand it to take several hours for fertilization to take place.if you want seeds you can't deadhead that bloom.The thrill of seeing your seedling's first bloom far exceeds the annoyance of a few untidy plants.Go for it!

I noticed during my trip to Mecca that many will cut the dead bloom off.. leaving about one quarter to a half inch of the bloom.. Do any of you do this..and if so - when - the next day?
Shelly

Shelly, It's interesting that you noticed them cutting the flowers off partially. I have been doing that this season, hoping that I'm not ruining the chance of the pollination/fertilization occurring. Following the advice above, I think I will leave the flowers on, and wait for them to drop naturally. Thanks for the answers. You guys seem to know everything!

Mark the flowers well as you pollinate them.

While dead-heading the next day, cut the marked flowers off just beyond the neck of the flower. That would be the bottom of the flower if you were looking down into it. Cut a little beyond the bottom. I would say about an inch from the stem connection. After a week or so the pod will form and the remaining flower will fall off.

Seeds mature in about 6-7 weeks. When the pod just starts to open, cut it off. Put it with your marker to identify the seeds.

I harvested my first seed pod today from a cross made 4/27/07.

Seems like the partial cutting method of flowers may also be an acceptable way to get seed pods. I will try both methods, and see what type of results I get. Thanks to all. Susan

The vast majority of my daylilies are in the front yard due to the way our lot is laid out, and I like to keep it clean-looking, so I have been cutting the spent blooms off for appearance-sake - - for the neighbors more than for me. I try to cut at or a little above the area at the base of the flower where it begins to broaden out and have had no ill effect to setting pods. (If there is any doubt about the areas I am talking about, look on the AHS web site daylily dictionary at the picture of a "spent bloom." The area of 'widening' should be easily seen in the picture.) I do the cutting the evening of the next day after the flower opened. If anything, it helps me from knocking into the dried bloom when I am working around the flower area over the next couple of days until the time that it would have normally fallen off anyway. If fertilization has occurred, the pod will grow and push the remainder of the dried blossom off in just a few days.
Larry

So, when you guys cut the flowers they are still soggy?

I had never heard of other people cutting the flowers before but was considering doing that this year myself. Mostly because I can't tell you how many times I (or my hyperactive cat) have brushed by a dying, drying bloom that is clearly starting to form a pod at the base and accidentally bump the bloom which is still firmly attached to the forming pod, resulting in the pod tearing from the base. I thought maybe cutting the flowers back to a half inch or so the next day or two might help stop that from happening since there's no dangling dry blossom to snag on your clothing.

Squirrellypete

When I cut them, they are usually quite juicy.
Sounds like Larry cuts them very much like I do.

I'm still pretty paranoid about setting pods. I do a hocus pocus every morning. I don't even take the skin off until the pod is pretty big. Mostly because my bloom season is usually so late that I am pollinating in June most of the time.

Shoot, my bloom season has already peaked. I don't know if it is because they are all in pots or I have early bloomers now. I think I'm close to 300 pods already. I will try to ease into trimmming the spent blooms...or not. I'll take it day by day.