BLAZING CANNONS is a Champion Daylily!

Hello Daylily Friends,

Last Saturday was a wonderful day.  We received our copies of THE GEORGIA DAYLILY, and on the back page there was a large picture of my 2013 introduction of BLAZING CANNONS.  To my delight, this beautiful red 7" daylily helped me win the 2017 Georgia Hybridizer's Award.  Some of our AHS Members will recall that in 2015 BLAZING CANNONS surprised us all by winning the AHS President's Cup Award by popular vote at the Atlanta National Convention.  Winning the President's Cup, and then winning the 2017 Georgia Hybridizer's Award, are results that I never dreamed would happen.  Then, in 2017, BLAZING CANNONS also received the Honorable Mention Award from AHS.  In fact, it was in position number 4 with 61 total votes. Thanks to everyone for making BLAZING CANNONS a nationally recognized daylily.

A new daylily that I expect to introduce next year (2018), will be Seedling 5-779,  It has incredible heritage, and it lasts and lasts and lasts and blooms and blooms and blooms.  The parentage is as follows:  [Vivid Butterfly x (Tet. Lavender Blue Baby x Tet. Crystal Blue Persuasion) x Blue Beat))].  In my opinion it is the Tet. Lavender Blue Baby that causes the plant to do so well in hot or cold climates.  When I first saw it bloom in 2015 I was amazed at its height and branching.  It is 28" tall, 5-way branching, with 18 buds.  The flower is 4.45" in diameter.  Just a beauty and it is both pod and pollen fertile.  I am so proud of this flower.  Any suggested names?

In 2018 Diana is also going to introduce Seedling 3-434, and it will be called LILY'S CURLS.  It will be named for our precious Grandaughter Lily Rae Whitfield.  Lily is in Kindergarden and she loves daylilies.  Lily also has such long, beautiful hair, and so the flower is properly named.  It is 27" tall, 3-way branching, 16 buds, and a 6" flower.  It is a dormant, which I've been trying to convert. We particularly like the recurve on the petals and sepals.  I'm also showing what it looked like in early June when the whole clump was in bloom.  The parentage is as follows: ((Lemon Curls x Ashee Dashee) x Bonibrae the Freak).

I'm also pleased that my LYDIA'S REGAL ROBE is a Candidate for the Stout Medal this year.  I made this beautiful daylily by converting INDIAN GIVER, and then crossing this with COSMIC SENSATION.  LYDIA is 37" tall with lovely purple color with a green eye and an ivory edge.  The most important point about LYDIA is that it holds its color throughout most of the day.  It doesn't lose its color at lunch.  Plus it multiplies quite quickly.  I hope that it does well when the votes are counted this fall.

In the garden I'm working as hard as I can to get the Greenhouse cleaned so that I can plant my seeds.  But it is so, so hot.

More news soon.

Bill