Saturday, May 4, 2013

Green, Green and Green!

Hlorello Daylily Friends,

I thought that I had seen the best of the "green edged" daylilies, but then this morning I had a new experience.  I saw Seedling 3-409, and I couldn't believe that I was seeing a peach colored daylily with an obvious, clearly obvious, green edge.  At first I thought, well it's too short.  I must have walked past the plant several times, and then this afternoon I finally decided that 3-409 was just too beautiful to overlook.  In the Greenhouse it is 25" tall with 4-way branching, and 14 buds.  The flower is 5 inches in diameter.  The mature daylily may be much different depending on its ploidy.

I would add that the weather has been cool, and that in my Greenhouse I have not tried to keep it as hot as the daylilies would perhaps prefer.  So, I think that 3-409 did not fully open and show itself in its best form.  After the rain ends next week, I'm going to put 3-409 into a three gallon pot, and over the next year give it every advantage to show what it can become.

Well I've had more blooms on the seedlings from TET. SUNGLASSES NEEDED.  I've tried to cross these seedlings with each other, but this has not been successful.   There is the trouble of finding pollen and sometimes even finding pistols.  I think that I also mentioned that I've only had William's VIVA GLAM GIRL as a pod parent.  Well, this morning there was a new bloom on Bruce Kovach's AT JACK'S.  A wonderful double with teeth.  I found some pollen, and used it Seedlings 3-374 and 3-392.  I would also add that I entered AT JACK'S as a double last year in our daylily show, and that it won, best double.

I'm also selecting seedlings to keep
that are doubles, rather than just throwing them away.  Specifically, I've had two that I've kept that have had 1-414 as parents.  One is Seedling 3-393, and the other is Seedling 3-408.  I plan to cross these two together, and hopefully develop a big purple double with an attractive eye and edge.  Getting this done has been a problem over the past 48 hours because my  refrigerator in the Greenhouse stopped working.  I bought a new refrigerator, but sadly, I lost the pollen that I had been keeping in the fridge.  Oh well.  I've started keeping pollen all over again, and hopefully I'll make progress with the doubles.  I've seen the tip of a scape on my conversion, TET. SUNGLASSES NEEDED.  I'm going to use every bit of pollen that I produce.

I've also been trying to convert PAPA GOOSE for my friend, Charles Douglas.  PAPA GOOSE was hybridized by Heidi Douglas, and it was introduced in 2011.  It is a wonderful daylily because it is about 32" in height, and it has 8 inch flowers.  I tried to get it converted last year, but I "missed," so I'm trying again this year.  I have one plant that has thrown up a scape, and I can see two little buds that will hopefully bloom.  This will give me early insight as to whether I've made another conversion.  Looking at the two buds, what do you think?  Is it still a diploid, or has progress been made in turning it into a tetraploid?

It is a good thing to be able to make seeds in the Greenhouse.  I am never slowed by rain, the weather doesn't matter, and I get the seeds made so early.  All is well in the Greenhouse.  Outside I've seen many, many scapes.

Bill

5 comments:

  1. Just beautiful doubles Bill. Love those purples out of 1-414. I remember the first one from my visit. Maybe one day we can work out a deal to get some of the pollen from TET SUMGLASSES NEEDED over into my doubles beds. =)

    I especially like the second double that you posted. The edge is just so very nice.

    I am seeing some great scapes with fantastic branching in the double seedlings this year. All the fantastic rain hasn't hurt either. It looks like we got almost 4 inches yesterday.

    Heidi sent me PAPA GOOSE last week. It is happily growing. I plan to use it with some of my UF seedlings. It is a beautiful plant. She also got VIVA GLAM GIRL from me. I think it is a great double and really want it to be seen across the country.

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  2. Bill,


    I really like the green edged seedling! I remember when I first got Holy Guacamole the year it came out. I crossed it with everything in the garden. Problem was....everything in the garden didn't have a green edge. None of those seedlings turned out to be anything. My how times have changed. Now there are more daylilies to cross it with and it appears you have had some success! Nice going!

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  3. Thanks Paul. It is helpful to cross a "green edge" with a "green edge." So much progress is being made, it is difficult to say whether the green edge on Seedling 3-409 comes mostly from my side of the cross, or from the HOLY GUACAMOLE side of the cross. I am just glad that with teamwork we have crossed the green edged hurdle. Even better green edges are just around the corner.

    I wonder whether people have noticed that crossing my IRISH HALO with DIANA'S IRISH DREAM, is the combination that made Seedling 2-426.

    As always, thanks so much for your thoughtful post!

    Bill

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  4. Hi William,

    Thanks for your post. I will help you with TET. SUNGLASSS NEEDED. With only five seeds I have found that it is, indeed, a powerful weapon in making doubles. I am grateful for receiving your VIVA GLAM GIRL.

    At this point I surely am hopeful that I have PAPA GOOSE converted.

    Bill

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  5. Exceptional results!! Would any of these be available for sale ?

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