Prickly All Over

Hello Daylily Friends,

Got up this morning and started to walk through the garden, when suddenly, I saw a glorious bloom on Genni Kleckner's, PRICKLY ALL OVER.  I wrote about Genni's double after I saw it blooming in Paul Owens' garden at the AHS National Convention in Asheville.  Although my plant is small, having only 3 buds, the first bloom is nevertheless, so lovely.  There are now several doubles on the market that have teeth, but I understand that Genni's plant is dormant, that it is pod fertile, and that it has height.  I'm going to enjoy working with PRICKLY ALL OVER for the next several seasons.  In fact, I'm already working with it.  Indeed, I pollenated Genni's double with pollen from my own Seedling 2-455.  Wouldn't it be nice to see a wonderful orange double with bright green teeth?

Another bloom that I saw just yesterday was on CHEROKEE GOLD.  I've made a number of posts about this new, large double, (See July 22, 2013 and Sept. 18, 2013), and I want to show yesterday's picture, and give an update about measurements.  Here are the outside measurements:  26" tall, 4-way branching, 18 buds and a 9" flower.  You may recall that in the Greenhouse the following were the measurements:  33" tall, 6-7 way branching, 26 buds and a 10" flower.  Of course, the plant has only gone through one winter outside, and after a second winter it may have even more significant outside measurements.  I would just add that it is a difficult pod parent, but I was able to make two F-2 pods.  Can't wait to see the F-2 blooms next spring.

While I'm talking about doubles, I have a report that I know will please my good friend, John Wagner, in Kingsport, Tennessee.  Several years ago John sent BIG KISS to me to have it converted.  At first I was sure that I had it converted, but then it seems I "lost" the conversion.  Then, about three weeks ago, I noticed a "difference" in some of the flowers on BIG KISS.  I began to frequently check the pollen, and I can now confirm that I've "found" the conversion,  The plant is tall, the pollen is large, and next year I will find out whether the pollen will set seed.

I've also started to clean out the Greenhouse.  This is a lot of work.  It seems like the task will never end, but for a serious hybridizer, it is an important work.  I've got to take plants from the Greenhouse and plant them outside, and soon I will be growing new seedlings in the Greenhouse.  To start the new seeds I must have good potting soil.  Fortunately, I found a new company that has sold me a great product.  In fact, I had a massive load of soil delivered to the garden just this past week.  I have to show a video of the soil delivery.

When Little Lily Rae was with us over the fourth of July holiday, it was so much fun to walk together with her in the morning through the garden.  Lily Rae loves the flowers, and I often let her pick the ones that she particularly likes.  Some of the flowers are so big, and I think that she picks certain flowers because of their color.  Anyway, she picked two flowers and Diana snapped her picture as she was enjoying what she had.  She is such a little angel.  We even took Ms. Lily Rae to the OK Café where she enjoyed the Chicken and the vegetables.  She enjoyed seeing all of the pictures on the walls, and she particularly liked visiting with the waitresses.  She conducts herself with such maturity, and she talks like she is ready to start school, but of course she is still only 2 years old. 

Bill