Winter has arrived much too early. The past two days have been so cold with well below freezing temperatures, and my plants this morning showed the effects. Now the real test comes for the seedlings. Can they survive the winter, and then bloom with new amazing colors and shapes? The answer is "yes," and I say yes based on past experience.
Well you might ask why I haven't posted in the past number of weeks. My friend Lee Pickles sent me an e-mail, and asked if I was alright. I told Lee that I was ok, but I've just been so busy getting ready for the winter that came Friday evening.
One reason that I've been so busy is that I've been working very hard to get the garden ready for the coming 2015 National Convention. One area of the garden has particularly bothered me because roots from a nearby Hemlock tree have grown into my rows where I have many really good daylilies. So, I went to Home Depot and rented a "Trenching Machine," and used it to cut the tree roots. Diana examines where the roots are cut, and you can see the roots along the top of the trench. Then we put the dirt back into the trench, and then covered the area with wood chips. No one will ever know that the roots were causing a problem, and next summer the daylilies there should be wonderful. Another reason that this trench work had to be done is because so many guest plants are in the adjacent rows.
Another reason that I've been so busy is that I've been trying to get the Greenhouse ready for the winter. In the past I've just filled it up with plants, and this made it difficult to spray, and in the spring it was just difficult to move around among the plants. This year I decided that I would only bring the very best of my plants into the Greenhouse, and that I would drastically reduce the number of seedlings in the Greenhouse. Right now I would estimate that I have about 400 seedlings in the Greenhouse. I like what I've done! I'm showing a couple of pictures to show the appearance of the Greenhouse.
Speaking of the Greenhouse, I am delighted to report that I have 25 plants of my 10" double, CHEROKEE GOLD (reserved name), growing very nicely. I am just determined to get this massive double to the market. My target is to get it out during the spring of 2016. I would like to see it go through another winter just to make absolutely certain that I have the correct measurements, i.e., height, branching, flower size and bud count. I want to see it growing in many regions because, to my knowledge, it is the largest tetraploid double that has ever been grown.
I also want to report that I've planted a few more seeds in the Greenhouse. I've found that my very best seeds are made at or near the end of the growing season. I wanted to have the seeds refrigerated, and so the seeds stayed in the refrigerator for about 4 weeks. Then, I went ahead and planted the seeds in three trays. I wasn't even sure that the seeds would sprout, but they did. I've now had the vast majority of the seeds growing well. I would like to somehow get these seeds to bloom, perhaps late next summer. 
I showed a picture of little Lily Rae earlier, helping her Grandmother with watering in the Greenhouse, and I have to add that she knows so many people. We sometimes go shopping and visit stores, and either she calls or points to someone, or they come over and visit with her. This happened again recently when we were at Wal-Mart. Lily Rae suddenly pointed and called to Ms. Linda who was her Pre-School Teacher, and of course we were thrilled to chat with Ms. Linda. Lily Rae is the best.Looking forward to Thanksgiving.
Bill
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