Southeastern Flower Show

Hello Daylily Friends,

We went to the Southeastern Flower Show and right away we were pleased to see our friends, Virgil and Carolyn Herndon. Virgil and Carolyn were passing out brochures, and encouraging visitors to join the daylily society. They were also showing a very interesting slide show from Claude Carpenter's computer. Also, they had plenty of reading material and they obviously liked talking to everyone who stopped to look at the presentation. Once we were inside the Galleria Mall the flowers were oh so beautiful. I could show many pictures, but I choose to show just one. It is a purple plant in a large container. I don't know what it is, I just thought it was very attractive and beautiful.

Well people call me frequently about IRISH HALO. People love this daylily. One question I am often asked is whether it will grow up north. I always answer "yes!" I believe that it will because, although I registered it as a semi-evergreen, it actually leans toward dormancy. I thought that people might like to see what it looks like growing outside in my garden. As you can see, it has gone practically all the way down, but there is still green showing. It is definitely not an evergreen, and it is not a dormant because some green still shows. It is simply a semi-evergreen, but as I say, it leans toward dormancy. The IRISH HALO that won "Best in Show" that I speak about on my website was grown outside just like the plants you are seeing in the picture. In my humble opinion, IRISH HALO will grow practically anywhere. I would also humbly say that it is the best daylily that I have yet produced.

In my Greenhouse I decided that I just couldn't have any more low temperatures. So, I turned the heat up to 60 degrees. This is causing the evergreens and the semi-evergreens to really jump. They are growing so fast. You may also recall that several weeks ago I moved many dormants into the Greenhouse. I had left these outside, but I brought them into the Greenhouse to ultimately use to make seeds. I have learned the hard way that you can't grow dormants in the Greenhouse; they have to go through the cold weather, and then they can come into the Greenhouse and grow early. I have likewise learned that matching evergreens with evergreens only produces weak plants. If you want to produce a new plant that will survive across the country you have to have dormancy in the line. The plant itself does not have to be dormant, but there must be dormancy in the line, just like there must be anti-freeze in the water in your car. I'm showing several pictures.

Well I understand from the weather reports that tomorrow it will snow here in Cobb County. If it does snow I will take pictures in the garden.

Bill Waldrop