Thursday, January 21, 2010

Winter Report

Hello Daylily Friends,

Last night and this morning it rained, and rained and rained. I thought that there was more than one inch, but indeed one inch is the reading on our scale. It is just that we have had so much rain this fall and winter, that one inch seems like a lot of rain. The ground is moist and one inch makes the soil almost muddy. Well, I haven't let the rain slow down my work. I took in twenty-two plants that I believed were dormant and put them in the Greenhouse. I had left the plants growing outside in pots, with the pots buried half-way in the ground. I brought them inside the Greenhouse because I want to use the dormants for hybridizing. I'm showing a picture of the 22 plants.

Two (2) of the 22 plants that I had thought were dormant were really evergreens. BUT, they are "tough-evergreens." The color of the two plants is purple, and I must say that I really like the deep color. I call these two plants Seedling 8-225. The cross is as follows: [(Ebony Jerel x Apocalypse Now) x Heartbeat of Heaven] x Vintner's Choice. I like Seedling 8-225 because it is 32 inches tall. Also, it has five (5) way branching and 6 inch flowers. There are about 25 buds. These are just sensational statistics. So, I have put 8-225 into two separate 7-gallon containers. I'm not sure how it will be used but I know that it is a special plant. I'm showing a picture of the flower.

I continue to be delighted and pleased with the winter performance of my grand Seedling 9-38. I have shown it several times on this blog, and I have previously mentioned that it has not shown any signs of being an "evergreen." This is good. Indeed, it has shown itself to be a semi-evergreen, leaning seriously toward dormancy. You may recall that the cross is as follows: (Irish Halo x Kaskel's Seedling, BEST EDGE). Normally I have found that anything crossed with BEST EDGE produces tender evergreens. Not true with this particular cross. It is growing well both outside the Greenhouse and inside the Greenhouse. I'm showing a picture of Seedling 9-38 just for purposes of recollection. Inside the Greenhouse Seedling 9-38 has considerably reduced in size. However, it is still green and quite healthy. I have placed it in a 7-gallon container. Seedling 9-38 growing outside has likewise reduced in size and genuinely lacks color. This is not surprising since it has been so cold, and we have had so many nights with temperatures in the low teens. I expect that Seedling 9-38 will be a superior plant in my garden. I'm showing pictures of the plant both inside the Greenhouse, and outside in the garden.

Another task that I completed was to water all of the plants that I treated with Colchicine back in late October and early November, 2009. I am pleased that it appears that I will get a conversion with each plant that I treated. I then took nineteen (19) separate pots of dormants that I left outside over the winter, and I put these on top of my coolant tank in the Greenhouse. I took another three (3) pots of evergreens and also put these on top of my coolant tank. I plant to let these plants "dry-out" over the next two to three weeks. They should begin to grow and then they will be treated. I have found that for me this is a successful technique to follow this time of year. I'm showing a picture of the treated plants and the 22 plants that will also soon be treated.

Well this is the report for today. Tomorrow morning Diana and I are traveling to Nashville, Tennessee, for the Mid Winter Symposium. Looking forward to a great week-end.

Bill

1 comment:

  1. Bill,
    I can't get enough of looking at the photo of this Irish Halo x Best Edge seedling! Sounds like it will grow well in places like our cold mountain! Hope you introduce it soon!
    Linda Hassler

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