July Surprise

Hello Daylily Friends,

This morning my good friend David Arthur came over to help me split plants that have been growing in the Greenhouse. No one can understand the difficulty of this task unless it is something that you have to do. Everything in the Greenhouse must go. I try my best to take only plants into the Greenhouse that I will use for hybridizing, along with about 600 to 800 seedlings. Still, I make many mistakes. I keep trying to improve, and this year I did better than I have in the past, but I still made mistakes. For example, I threw away a daylily that has a beautiful bloom that had been growing in three separate 3-gallon containers. It was nice, but alas, it had very little branching. I didn't tell anyone that I discarded the plant because so many friends had admired the bloom, but without the branches, it just had to go. Frankly, I don't know how I would get the Greenhouse cleared without the help of my friend David. David comes early for Coffee, and stays as long as he possibly can.

Just after David left, around 10:30 a.m., to go to work in his Real Estate Business, my friend Mitch Harmon came by to visit. Mitch and his wife Rita have been so, so helpful, especially during our plant sales. Mitch and Rita help customers, and it is good to have their help because they have so much daylily knowledge. Mitch is retired from the U. S. Navy and he flies planes "full time" for Federal Express. Rita taught school for many years. They are tremendous members of our Cobb County Daylily Society. It is good to have such close friends.

David will be surprised when he comes back to help in the morning. He will be delighted to see that a full 1/2 of the Greenhouse is "clean." This means that in a short time I will be able to plant my seeds and get them growing. Last year I planted seeds on August 10-11, 2008. The year before, in 2007, I planted seeds on July 11-12. This year I hope to get the seeds planted by July 30-31. I believe that planting on July 30-31 will help beat the first frost, and will help get the plants just a little bit larger than they might otherwise be. I will pick up my 3" square "Jiffy Pots" from Griffin Greenhouse and Nursery Supplies on Friday, July 24, 2009.

I might also add that Griffin now carries a wide selection of Florikan Fertilizer. Indeed, I bought 3 bags of 15-4-9 that is "slow release." It releases over a period of 270 days, provided that the temperature is a constant 70 degrees. Since it is not a constant 70 degrees here in north Georgia, the 270 day fertilizer actually lasts about a year. I put it in the soil when I plant seedlings. In my humble opinion, anyone growing daylilies should be using Florikan Fertilizer. And, Griffin Greenhouse is easy to reach. You simply take Exit 24 off I-575. It is a short distance from the highway. Also note that the cost of the Florikan at Griffin is $57.25. This is a very good price.

Well, one of my seedlings bloomed this morning, and I am showing a picture. It is a cross between CERISE MASTERPIECE, and Kaskel's Seedling commonly called "BEST EDGE." I planted about 60 seedlings from this cross, and so far the cross has produced beautiful seedlings. The new daylily is now called Seedling 9-108. It is 28-29" tall, it has 4-way branching, 19 buds, and a flower that is 5 3/4" in diameter. I might also note that this seedling bloomed outside just over 11 months from when it was planted as a seed. I am also posting a picture to show the branching. It is nice to have such a beautiful new daylily from such a wonderful cross at this time of the daylily season. The color of the new seedling is not simply pink, but instead has a lavender appearance. I may be able to use it with some of my lavender seedlings from TET. JAMES MCCASKILL, which have very little branching. Seedling 9-108 is just a "July Surprise."

Bill