I Wanted to Till my Soil, but its just toooo HOT!

Good Afternoon Daylily Friends,

I have several beds cleared of daylilies that I have discarded, and I wanted to start with one row and get it tilled. I pulled the remaining weeds, and put the string in place to mark the boundaries of the row. But then, sweat was just running through my eyes. It is only 96 degrees and I just couldn't see. So, my dear wife Diana Rae suggested that I come inside for the afternoon. I "reluctantly" agreed. I am therefore now updating my blog.

I have seen the double that I am showing bloom several times before. Indeed, it initially bloomed three or four times on one short scape, and the blooms were doubles. Diana and I hoped that it would continue to bloom as a double. Then, this morning, there was a new bloom on a much taller rebloom scape. Behold, it continues to bloom as a double. It is 29" tall, but with no branching. I am hopeful that next summer it will produce branching. The cross that made the seedling is as follows: (Enchanting Smile x 8-160) {Sherry Candy x Tet. Out of the Blue}]. The flower has a similar color to my 8-160 seedling, but the eye of the new daylily is basically purple, and not aqua blue. So far, the good news is the double blooms, and the height. I might also add that when I registered ENCHANTING SMILE I listed it as having 2-way branching, but actually, I have found that it has 3-way branching. In hindsight the cross that made my new seedling appears to have been a good cross.

I also decided to give a number to one of my seedlings that bloomed outside, that has wonderful teeth. This new daylily is Seedling 1-419, and the parentage is as follows: 7-192 {[Spiney Sea Urchin x (Heartbeat of Heaven x Johnny Cash)]} x Randy Stephens. I do not know what the height of this little purple will be, and I am pleased to say that the bloom came in a short 10 months. I kept waiting for a rebloom scape, but since I didn't see one, I decided to dig it up and repot it and put it in the Greenhouse. I will just have to wait to see the true height, but I must have this beauty to use with my hybridizing next March and April. I really like working with the new daylilies with teeth. It's like having a much desired birthday present.

I am very pleased with my Seedling 1-337, that I first showed on this blog back on May 10, 2010. In my review of my new daylilies that have bloomed so far in 2010, Seedling 1-337 is probably the best that I have. I made two seed pods on it, and both pods were an F-2 Cross. That is, I crossed it with itself. I was fortunate to obtain 11 seeds, and these were put in the refrigerator where they stayed for three (3) weeks. I took these seeds out this morning and planted them in peat pots in the Greenhouse. I made a number of other seeds with other daylilies using 1-337 as a pollen parent, and I hope to get these other seeds planted within about two weeks. You might wonder about my peat pots. These are 3" square, and they are planted in plastic trays. I like to use this method to start new seeds.

I want to also show Diana's new spider. It has a very nice bloom, and the cross is as follows:
(Lemon Curls x Ashee Dashee). It is 33" tall with 3-way branching, 15 buds, and a 7" flower. I expect that it will be taller as it matures through another year. We think that it is distinctive because of the twisting of the sepals, much like LEMON CURLS. This may be Diana's second best new seedling of the summer.

Well, I think that I will go back outside and see if there has been a cooling of the afternoon temperature.

That is all of the news up until now from the Kennesaw Mountain Daylily Gardens.

Bill