Jamie Gossard Visits Georgia.

Hello Daylily Friends,

This past Saturday Diana and I got up early and drove from our home in Marietta to the campus of Macon State College in Macon, Georgia.  We went to the College to attend the meeting of Georgia's Region 5 where the speaker was Jamie Gossard from Ohio.  Jamie's program was excellent.  He is doing great work producing daylilies with "teeth."  After his presentation, one of the daylilies that Jamie auctioned was KING COBRA.  As I recall, it is a bi-tone, unusual form, with lots of teeth and clean color.  There were three hybridizers who tried to purchase KING COBRA, but the ultimate purchaser was Scott Elliott from Savannah, Georgia.  Congratulations to Scott, and thanks to Jamie for coming to visit.

This morning there were more new blooms in my big Greenhouse.  One of the new blooms was on my CHILLED ORANGE SORBET.  It is a daylily that I introduced several years ago, it is dormant, and it really doesn't like the Greenhouse.  Nevertheless, I put it in the Greenhouse so that I could collect pollen and put the pollen on one of my very tall TET. ORANGE VELVET seedlings.  I have not been able to set pods on CHILLED ORANGE SORBET, so it has to be a pollen parent.  CHILLED ORANGE SORBET is beautiful when it blooms outside, and is usually one of my first daylilies to bloom.

RED SAPPHIRE also bloomed, and it has begun showing its teeth and protruburances.  I gathered its pollen, and pollenated the three blooms with pollen from RED EYED RADIANCE.  RED SAPPHIRE is such a great daylily.  It is tall, it is well branched, and it is dependable with brilliant blooms.  The colors are just so bold and stark.  I'm pleased that I'm increasing the number of plants that I have.


Another of this morning's blooms comes from Stamile's WILD AND FREE.  It looks like a spider, but it is actually an unusual form.  It is pod fertile, and I intend to use it with Sandy Holmes' WALT LOWRY.  I plan to take the pollen from WALT LOWRY to WILD AND FREE.  I'm really hoping that my plan works.  Of all of the spiders and unusual forms that Stamile has produced, in my humble opinion, his WILD AND FREE is his best.

Well Little Lily Rae has begun eating new foods besides her milk.  She has begun to eat pears and sweet potatoes.  Diana fed her pears, but when she gets the spoon in her mouth she tries to take it as she would her milk from her bottle.  She really loves the pears.  It is such a joy seeing our wonderful granddaughter grow.

Well that is the news for today from our Daylily garden.

Bill

Hybridizing Starts Today!

Hello Daylily Friends,

This morning I walked to the Greenhouse with anticipation.  I knew that there would be new blooms from several daylilies.  The first bloom that I saw was on Bill Maryott's PRICKLY SENSATION.  A much better bloom that I saw earlier.  Although I have not seen PRICKLY SENSATION bloom outside the Greenhouse, I must say that if it blooms outside about 85% as well as it does in the Greenhouse, then, it is indeed a "must have" daylily.  I believe that it will do as well outside, so I'm making seeds with it.  I have saved the pollen, and I plan to use it on many of my orange daylilies.

I was also glad to see my own RED SAPPHIRE.  Wow, it is big!  Branches and branches and buds and buds.  It is such a grand daylily.  Unfortunately, it did not have the many bobs and teeth that it often has when it blooms.  Nevertheless, I saved its pollen which I plan to use on many, many seedlings.  It is my humble opinion that RED SAPPHIRE is a "must have" daylily.  When it was first registered I didn't have but about 15 plants which sold fast.  Then, last year I had more plants.  Now I am increasing my supply, and this summer I hope to increase distribution.

The most fun this morning was seeing the first bloom from a seedling from my good friend, Paul K. Lewis from Mayfield Heights, Ohio.  Paul sent several daylilies to me to grow, and this was the first bloom from Paul's seedlings that I have seen.  In my opinion Paul has a champion.  I like the carving, I like the size, I like the edging, and I like the color.  Paul has done a good work.  I am privileged to have been asked by Paul to grow his seedling.  I again saved the pollen, and will use it in my program. 

Another bloom that I had this morning was from my Seedling 1-300.  I have posted pictures from this seedling several times, and I'm always amazed at its height and branching.  There is always, always, 4-way branching, and the height is a reliable 37 inches.  There are many more teeth when 1-300 blooms outside during the heat of the summer, but there are still plenty of teeth in the Greenhouse in February.

I should also add that this past week my beautiful wife Diana Rae and I went on a Princess Cruise to the Bahamas.  We were gone for 7 days.  We had a wonderful time, and went on the cruise with 14 members from our Sunday School Class.  The first night of the cruise I had to pass up a "Prime Rib" supper because I was dizzy and did not yet have my "sea legs."  I really regretted missing the Prime Rib, but the remainder of the cruise was wonderful.  When we returned home this past Sunday, I immediately went to my garden and to my two Greenhouses to check on my daylilies.  I'm posting a picture of myself and Ms. Diana from the deck of our ship.

Bill

Atlas Greenhouse: The Very Best in "Customer Service"!

Hello Daylily Friends,

My new E-Z Grow Greenhouse is totally complete.  The one thing that remained to be done was to install a fan and a thermostat.  The box containing these items came on Tuesday, and on Wednesday morning I got up with a "purpose" of getting the installation complete.  Normally I would have asked my good friend Tommy Bell for help, because Tommy is a "real electrician."  However, Tommy and his wife are on vacation in Florida, and I couldn't wait  for Tommy to return to get the fan/thermostat installed.  I did have an "ace in the hole: Jeff Wade."  Jeff has been my personal friend at Atlas Greenhouse, and he led me through the installation process.  Jeff wrote instructions for me, he told me the equipment and supplies that I needed to purchase, and he answered at least eight telephone calls from me asking for "more direction and assistance."  Finally, the installation of the fan/thermostat was complete, and everything worked perfectly.  I then moved my "conversions" into the E-Z Grow, and now I wait to see how they progress.  Thanks Jeff, and thanks also to Atlas.

My beautiful wife, Diana Rae, purchased a Camellia several years ago from the American Camellia Society. In 2007 our Georgia Region 5 winter meeting took place at the Camellia Society's "headquarters" located at Massee Lane Gardens in Fort Valley, Georgia.  Diana specifically selected and purchased a beautiful white Camellia named "Emmett Barnes" which has grown very erect and strong.  So, I took a picture of Emmett Barnes, and also took a picture of the bush with Ms. Diana nealing close by.  Camellias are beautiful.

Ms. Lily Rae has had an interesting week.  She was here at the house this past Monday, and Diana took her out for a walk.  Lily Rae saw the daffodils blooming, and she picked one.  I'm showing her studying the flower.  This was Lily Rae's first encounter with a daffodil, and from this beginning experience I'm sure that she is on her way to becoming a wonderful Gardener.  As much as Lily Rae liked the daffodil, she also truly enjoyed her "new car."  Her Grandmother Mary Whitfield purchased Lily Rae a sports car, and you can see, Lily Rae is driving it all around her house.  Now that Mary has made this purchase, Diana and I are now comitted to finding Lily Rae a new Cadillac!  Little Lily Rae is so much fun.

Bill

Our New "E-Z Grow" Greenhouse.

Hello Daylily Friends,

Well I have been treating diploid daylilies with Colchicine in our basement, and then moving the plants from the basement to the big Greenhouse.  Of course I have to water several times a week in the big Greenhouse, and each time I have to remove the treated diploids so that they will not get wet.  It is quite a task to keep doing this, and it actually prevents me from doing all that I can to convert more diploids to tetraploids.  So, I decided to remove my old, fiberglass greenhouse, and replace it with Atlas' "E-Z Grow" Greenhouse.  You can see that the Ground had to be leveled, and that the Greenhouse was erected on 4 x 4 treated wooden boards. The most interesting aspect of the construction, to me, was the corner posts.  Very deep holes were dug in each of the four corners of the Greenhouse.  Very long poles were then driven into the holes, using a sledge hammer, and concrete was used to fill the holes.  The corner poles were then bolted together.  Believe me, this new E-Z Grow is not going anywhere, no matter how hard the wind might blow.

The next "big event" in the erection process was for the men to apply the plastic.  On the front and back of the new Greenhouse the plastic is "clear," just like I have on my big Greenhouse.  However, over the top and sides of the new Greenhouse the plastic is a "white."  The white plastic has about a 30% protective element from the heat of the sun.  This should help to keep the Greenhouse cooler in the summer, and should remove any need to have a shade cover.  I had at first intended to install "manual covers" on each side of the Greenhouse, but I realized that I would always have to be present to open and close these covers, especially when the temperatures were hotter in the middle of the summer. So, I changed my mind.  My good friend Jeff Wade at Atlas allowed me to return the manual cover parts, and instead purchase a fan that will operate from a temperature controlled thermostat.  When the new Greenhouse becomes too warm, the fan will then begin to opeate, and keep the Greenhouse cool.  I would note that Jeff called me before the men arrived to install the Greenhouse, and at the end of the day he called to ask if I liked the result.  I should point out that when the Greenhouse was installed, Jeff was off duty that day, but he still made the calls.  I must also quickly say that I like my new Greenhouse, and that Jeff and Atlas are a great team.  In my humble opinion there is not a better company for the installation of a Greenhouse in Georgia than Atlas Manufacturing.

After the Greenhouse was installed I had to have a picture of myself made with the three men who did the installation.  You previously met Roger Nugent who worked with his brother Owen to put the new plastic on my big Greenhouse.  You can look back to my post on September 9, 2010, to see what they did.  Owen did not come to work on installing the E-Z Grow because he has gone back into the wood finishing business.  The two men who helped Roger were Jeremy and Sam Hyers.  They are also brothers.  Atlas Manufacturing is obviously a good place to work, and to see brothers working together is a good thing.  After the installation was finished Little Lily Rae came back out to the Greenhouse to see the "final product."  I am pleased to report that Lily Rae approves!

Meanwhile, back in my big Greenhouse, I have still had a few problems with a few pests.  So, I went to the Home Depot and purchased a new "fogger" product.  I chose "Hot Shot."  It has a different set of chemicals than "Real Kill" which I used about 7 or 8 days ago.  To use the product I had to turn off the heater, and I had to disconnect the fans.  I then put the containers of the product on several benches, and opened each of them.  I did this quickly so that I could get out of the Greenhouse as soon as I could.  I left the Greenhouse closed for about four hours, then I returned and discarded the containers.  I turned the heat back on, and plugged in the fans again.  The Hot Shot is supposed to kill Gnats, Fire Ants, Flea Eggs, and a host of other pests.  I will let you know how things turn out when I again post.

Well that is about the news for today from the Kennesaw Mountain Daylily Gardens.

Bill

Indoor Fogger.

Hello Daylily Friends,

I have had "ant bites" on my legs over the past 8 to 10 days, and the bites really itch.  I scratch through my blue jeans, but they still itch.  I've even had a spot or two of bleeding from too mutch scratching.  I decided that the ant bites must be coming from inside the Greenhouse, so I decided to take the advice of my good friend, David Arthur.  David has said to me on multiple occasions, that I need to use "indoor foggers" inside the Greenhouse.  I took David's advice and bought "Real Kill" from the Home Depot.  It says on the can that it will kill ants, and so I sprayed it two days ago.  I've not had any new ant bites since.

I've also been holding back on watering in the Greenhouse.  It has been so cloudy, and there has been so much rain.  I just didn't think that the plants were using much water.  Then, this afternoon, the plants looked dry.  So, I turned on the water.  I was moving several of my plants that I am trying to convert because I don't want them to get wet.  I put them on shelves just outside the Greenhouse.  The first plant that I want to show you is TET. EVELYN GATES.  My friend Larry Grace had previously converted Evelyn Gates, and I've used it several times, but I've had little success in creating a new flower.  It bloomed again outside this past summer, and it was so beautiful that I decided to treat it for a second time.  I'm pretty sure that it is well on its way to becoming an even more useful conversion.

The other plant that I noticed was SEBASTIAN THE CRAB.  This particular plant is looking good.  I have kept cutting into the thick foilage so that the growing tip can contiue to emerge.  If the thick foilage is not cut, then most likely, rot will develop, and the plant will eventually die.  It pains me to cut a treated plant, but it pains me even more when I lose a plant.  We need only recall that SEBASTIAN THE CRAB still has a present value, as a diploid, of $50.00.  Losing a plant hurts.  Anyway, you can see that this particular plant is well on its way to becoming a tetraploid.

I'm planning on putting in a new, small Greenhouse next week to use in making conversions.  It will be the "E-Z Grow" from Atlas Greenhouse in Alapaha, Georgia.  The size that I have ordered is 10 x 16.  My good friend Jeff Wade at Atlas is helping me.  The Nugent Brothers will install the Greenhouse, and I hope that it will all be completed before the end of next week.  I'm showing a picture of the E-Z Grow.

More news soon.

Bill

Please Mr. Spring, 2012, Come Soon!

Hello Daylily Friends,

I have been doing things that have kept me busy, and I've even attended the Mid Winter Symposium in Nashville, Tennessee.  I went to the MWS to see friends, and to listen, and hopefully learn.  I was particularly delighted that one of the speakers was Ms. Nikki Schmith.  Nikki works for Ford Motor Company, and is a genius in handling computer issues.  Nikki has a degree with high honors from Florida State University, and she has a Masters Degree from The University of Michigan.  Nikki's first topic was "world class instruction" on how to enter and use the AHS Members Portal.  I now know how to enter the portal, write on the portal, and post pictures on the portal.  Nikki's second topic was how to make a movie.  I haven't made a movie yet, but thanks to Nikki I have the knowledge as to how to get it done.  Thanks Nikki for your tremendous help.

When we arrived back home from the MWS I immediately went to my Greenhouse to look at my plants.  All is good.  I can't wait for summer, and so a few weeks ago I turned up the heat in the Greenhouse.  I want blooms soon, and I want to get to work, making seeds.  Indeed, I see a scape emerging on RED SAPPHIRE, and there are also scapes on RED TOP MOUNTAIN and on Seedling 9-105.  The scape on RED TOP MOUNTAIN had 5-way branching, but the scape "cracked," and so I had to use "duct tape" to repair the problem.  The scape on 9-105 is quite nice.  Strangely, it is not as tall in the Greenhouse as it was when it bloomed outside this past summer.  Still, I know the outside measurements, so I intend to use it to make seeds.  I have hoping to be making seeds in March.

All of the work getting ready for summer, however, is not confined to the Greenhouse.  The outside beds became "messy" from deterioration after this past summer, and all had to be cleaned.  The weeds all had to be pulled, pine straw was applied over the beds, and wood chips were spead in the walking rows.  I've been looking at the outside plants, and the new seedling blooms this summer should be wonderful.  I can't wait.  Apparently Little Lily Rae can't wait either.  She is looking through the window, and she's anxious to see her very first summer.
 
Bill

CORRALITOS ROSE and a "Swing" for Lily Rae.

Hello Daylily Friends,

This morning I went to the Greenhouse at about 9:30 a.m., and there was a lovely bloom on Bill Maryott's CORRALITOS ROSE.  It had bloomed before, but the blooms were not as nice as the bloom this morning.  This morning's bloom was a considerable improvement.  I purchased CORRALITOS ROSE during the Auction at the Fall Fling on Saturday, October 15, 2011.  It was bare root.  So, for it to throw up a scape, and bloom here in January, in the middle of the winter, is quite a feat.  I really like the flower.

I have to also tell you about Little Lily Rae.  Our good friend, Marlee Price, gave us a swing for Lily Rae.  It has a number of musical tunes that play when the musical device is touched.  There are also flashing lights.  Lily Rae likes to kick with her little legs, and she just has a wonderful time on the swing.  After about 20 minutes she is tired.  Thanks Marlee for this most welcome gift for Little Lily Rae.

Just had to tell you about CORRALITOS ROSE, and Little Lily Rae's new swing.

Bill