I deadhead everyday. Everything that has a label, I leave as those are the ones I pollenated. If I should miss one, and it make a pod, I pull of the pod. They only way I leave the pod is if it's my work. Rarely, I leave one if it seems it may be interesting...Ellie

I'm confused.

I have been told it would be best to remove buds and/or seed pods the first year after transplanting, as the new plant needs all its energy to adjust. I haven't been able to follow that good advice, as I am far too curious to see a new plant bloom.

After the first year, removing the spent blooms would be purely cosmetic, or as my friend Ed has suggested, letting them fall to the ground is an invitation for snails and slugs.

The only seed pods that are growing on my daylilies are a result of deliberate hand-pollination.

Nancy

njmomma,
Most of the daylilies available in commerce today are hybrids, which have been created by someone selecting parent plants and then cross pollinating them. Sometimes the pollination results in a seed pod. Hybridizers try to keep track of parentage, plant the seeds we harvest and hope the resulting seedlings will look superior to their parents. Then we will give them a name and register them with the American Hemerocallis Society.
Some have estimated that a really superior daylily is one in a thousand seedlings. It usually takes one to three years for a seedling to first bloom. So you can see why we are particular about our seedlings.
Hope this gives you a little insight.
Ed

thanks!