Bill's Daylily Corner

Indoor Fogger.

2012-01-27T11:28:00.000-08:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

I have had "ant bites" on my legs over the past 8 to 10 days, and the bites really itch. I scratch through my blue jeans, but they still itch. I've even had a spot or two of bleeding from too mutch scratching. I decided that the ant bites must be coming from inside the Greenhouse, so I decided to take the advice of my good friend, David Arthur. David has said to me on multiple occasions, that I need to use "indoor foggers" inside the Greenhouse. I took David's advice and bought "Real Kill" from the Home Depot. It says on the can that it will kill ants, and so I sprayed it two days ago. I've not had any new ant bites since.

I've also been holding back on watering in the Greenhouse. It has been so cloudy, and there has been so much rain. I just didn't think that the plants were using much water. Then, this afternoon, the plants looked dry. So, I turned on the water. I was moving several of my plants that I am trying to convert because I don't want them to get wet. I put them on shelves just outside the Greenhouse. The first plant that I want to show you is TET. EVELYN GATES. My friend Larry Grace had previously converted Evelyn Gates, and I've used it several times, but I've had little success in creating a new flower. It bloomed again outside this past summer, and it was so beautiful that I decided to treat it for a second time. I'm pretty sure that it is well on its way to becoming an even more useful conversion.

The other plant that I noticed was SEBASTIAN THE CRAB. This particular plant is looking good. I have kept cutting into the thick foilage so that the growing tip can contiue to emerge. If the thick foilage is not cut, then most likely, rot will develop, and the plant will eventually die. It pains me to cut a treated plant, but it pains me even more when I lose a plant. We need only recall that SEBASTIAN THE CRAB still has a present value, as a diploid, of $50.00. Losing a plant hurts. Anyway, you can see that this particular plant is well on its way to becoming a tetraploid.

I'm planning on putting in a new, small Greenhouse next week to use in making conversions. It will be the "E-Z Grow" from Atlas Greenhouse in Alapaha, Georgia. The size that I have ordered is 10 x 16. My good friend Jeff Wade at Atlas is helping me. The Nugent Brothers will install the Greenhouse, and I hope that it will all be completed before the end of next week. I'm showing a picture of the E-Z Grow.

More news soon.

Bill

Please Mr. Spring, 2012, Come Soon!

2012-01-26T13:46:00.000-08:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

I have been doing things that have kept me busy, and I've even attended the Mid Winter Symposium in Nashville, Tennessee. I went to the MWS to see friends, and to listen, and hopefully learn. I was particularly delighted that one of the speakers was Ms. Nikki Schmith. Nikki works for Ford Motor Company, and is a genius in handling computer issues. Nikki has a degree with high honors from Florida State University, and she has a Masters Degree from The University of Michigan. Nikki's first topic was "world class instruction" on how to enter and use the AHS Members Portal. I now know how to enter the portal, write on the portal, and post pictures on the portal. Nikki's second topic was how to make a movie. I haven't made a movie yet, but thanks to Nikki I have the knowledge as to how to get it done. Thanks Nikki for your tremendous help.

When we arrived back home from the MWS I immediately went to my Greenhouse to look at my plants. All is good. I can't wait for summer, and so a few weeks ago I turned up the heat in the Greenhouse. I want blooms soon, and I want to get to work, making seeds. Indeed, I see a scape emerging on RED SAPPHIRE, and there are also scapes on RED TOP MOUNTAIN and on Seedling 9-105. The scape on RED TOP MOUNTAIN had 5-way branching, but the scape "cracked," and so I had to use "duct tape" to repair the problem. The scape on 9-105 is quite nice. Strangely, it is not as tall in the Greenhouse as it was when it bloomed outside this past summer. Still, I know the outside measurements, so I intend to use it to make seeds. I have hoping to be making seeds in March.

All of the work getting ready for summer, however, is not confined to the Greenhouse. The outside beds became "messy" from deterioration after this past summer, and all had to be cleaned. The weeds all had to be pulled, pine straw was applied over the beds, and wood chips were spead in the walking rows. I've been looking at the outside plants, and the new seedling blooms this summer should be wonderful. I can't wait. Apparently Little Lily Rae can't wait either. She is looking through the window, and she's anxious to see her very first summer.

Bill

CORRALITOS ROSE and a "Swing" for Lily Rae.

2012-01-12T10:46:00.000-08:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

This morning I went to the Greenhouse at about 9:30 a.m., and there was a lovely bloom on Bill Maryott's CORRALITOS ROSE. It had bloomed before, but the blooms were not as nice as the bloom this morning. This morning's bloom was a considerable improvement. I purchased CORRALITOS ROSE during the Auction at the Fall Fling on Saturday, October 15, 2011. It was bare root. So, for it to throw up a scape, and bloom here in January, in the middle of the winter, is quite a feat. I really like the flower.

I have to also tell you about Little Lily Rae. Our good friend, Marlee Price, gave us a swing for Lily Rae. It has a number of musical tunes that play when the musical device is touched. There are also flashing lights. Lily Rae likes to kick with her little legs, and she just has a wonderful time on the swing. After about 20 minutes she is tired. Thanks Marlee for this most welcome gift for Little Lily Rae.

Just had to tell you about CORRALITOS ROSE, and Little Lily Rae's new swing.

Bill

Conversion Work in "Full Swing."

2012-01-11T13:47:00.000-08:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

I have found that some daylilies are just darn hard to convert. PINK STRIPES is an example. It just throws up fans and more fans, and then even more fans. I can't tell you how many times I've had to trim away the runaway fans. As an example I'm showing a picture of PINK STRIPES taken back on November 17, 2011. You can easily see that there are too many fans. I've learned from experience that only one fan should exist during the treatment process. If there are two fans, the treated fan will falter, and the other untreated fan will get the energy go grow. I've even found that PINK STRIPES throws up more fans even inside the main fan. Odd behavior, but the plant must be limited to only one fan to have the best chance at conversion. I'm showing a picture of one of the fans of PINK STRIPES that I treated today.

You might notice that I started the treatment process by using my scissors to cut away the top of the fan. This is just easier. I then take a razor, and cut down to the area to where I will begin to carve toward the "growing tip." I'm also showing how I've cut the plant as best I can to get near to the growing tip. Of course, the growing tip is the place that must receive the Colchicine. The Colchicine that I apply contains a few drops of red food coloring. The Colchicine also contains 12 milliliters of DMSO. I learned the "hard way" to increase the amount of DMSO that I use from my good friend, Don Eller. Don uses 12 milliliters of DMSO for 380 milliliters of Colchicine. Don's method works very well.

I'm also showing the thirteen (13) plants that I treated today. Six (6) were PINK STRIPES, and seven (7) were MIMOSA UMBRELLA. I will keep trying to get these two converted until I get the task

accomplished. My friend Paul Lewis from Ohio gave me PINK STRIPES, and my friend David Miller, who is now deceased, gave me MIMOSA UMBRELLA. It is good to have good friends. Finally, I'm showing Little Lily Rae when she recently visited the Greenhouse. She had such a big smile and really enjoyed seeing the flowers on the hanging baskets. I am beginning to think that Little Lily Rae is ready for an elevation from Princess Lily Rae to Queen Lily Rae.

Well that is all today from the Kennesaw Mountain Daylily Gardens.

Bill

Hello 2012: Looking forward to your arrival!

2011-12-31T10:18:00.000-08:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

Got up this morning and my beautiful wife, Diana Rae, fixed "waffles" for breakfast. She used a "Bisquick" mix, and added walnuts to enhance the flavor. I kept watching as she worked. Then we sat down at the kitchen table, and we covered our waffles with syrup given to us by our good friend, Larry Grace. A great way to start the last day of 2011. Thanks Diana for the delicious waffles, and thanks to my good friend Larry for the wonderful syrup.

After breakfast I walked out toward the Greenhouse, and on the way I looked at some of our work from yesterday. First, there was the row that was prepared for winter, and then there was the row that I tilled. We started putting ground up "wood-chips" into the walkways, and there is more of this work yet to be done. Still, it looks good here on the last day of 2011. Then, as I walked closer to the Greenhouse, I took a picture of two more rows that I tilled with my John Deere tractor. It is so, so much easier to till the rows with the tractor rather than having to use a hand tiller. I believe that the tractor does better work!

Speaking of the tractor, I did a big time task. I certainly am not a mechanic, but being a daylily hybridizer requires having multiple abilities. My big time task was to replace the "starter." I left the tractor to sit for about 6 weeks before I decided what I would do to resolve my problem. Then, I ultimately decided to remove the starter, and have it rebuilt. I did this, but I had to buy a specific wrench to remove the starter. I then had to charge the battery, and then the tractor started with no problem. It ran just fine. If I had called the tractor dealer I would have spend about $600.00. Doing the work myself cost me a mere $176.00.

One of the problems that I've been experiencing in the Greenhouse is that there isn't enough sun. The problem has been that one of my neighbor's Pine trees is so big that it blocks the sunshine for about 3 hours every day. This causes 1/2 of the Greenhouse to have less than optimal sunlight. I mentioned this problem to my neighbor, Mr. Russell, and I offered to pay half of the cost if he would have his Pine tree removed. I pointed out to Mr. Russell that there was a large cankor sore in the tree. Mr. Russell did agree to have the tree removed, and then in addition to this, he removed three other Pine trees as well. Now my Greenhouse is much more beautiful with the morning sunshine just beginning to appear. Thanks Mr. Russell.

In the Greenhouse I was so glad to see that one of my attempts at creating a Tetraploid is now more hopeful than before. I treated GOODNIGHT KISSES, but I lost all of the plants, except one. The one plant that I thought might be converted, however, seemed to turn mostly brown, and I couldn't see any green in the growing tip. Well, I was sad, and yes, disappointed. I just prayed over the little plant, and then over the last several days I've seen green from the growing tip. What a surprise, and now, again, there is hope for a conversion. Seeing the green color gives me hope for a good result.

As I look back over 2011 there is so much for which we are grateful. A very good year. We had the Regional here this year. We had many wonderful speakers. We traveled to visit daylily clubs in Detroit, Virginia, Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, and to many places here in Georgia. We had a great daylily show at the Galleria Mall. So many friends came by and visited the garden. Christmas was wonderful, but the best event this year was the birth of Little Lily Rae. Oh what a joy it is to see her!

Well there is so much to look forward to in 2012. So many good things will happen. As my good friend Lee Pickles always says, "life is good"!

Bill

Christmas Day Bloom!

2011-12-25T09:07:00.000-08:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

My Seedling 1-300 bloomed this morning. While it is not as beautiful as it was blooming outside this past summer, it is still very nice. A wonderful bloom to see on a Christmas morning. Its teeth are not a prevalent or noticeable as they were with the summer heat, but I'm delighted to see a bloom at this time of year. Today it is really raining outside, but last year it was snowing on Christmas day. Since I mention the bloom of 1-300 from this past summer, I thought that I would also show that bloom as well.

We're waiting for Kelley Rae, Little Lily Rae, and father Jeff to arrive for Christmas. Diana has prepared a wonderful ham, and of course we can't wait to see Little Lily Rae. Perhaps more news later today.

Bill

Christmas is Coming!

2011-12-24T17:38:00.000-08:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

It is Christmas Eve, 2011, and I've had several wonderful days. It all started Thursday evening when we were visited by Jeff, Karen and Frederick Pansing. They drove from their home in Ohio, and were enroute to Homestead, Florida, for a family Christmas. On their way they stopped by for a visit at about 9:30 p.m. To our surprise, the Pansings brought a "Pink Sparkles" tree for us to plant in honor of our granddaughter, Little Lily Rae. We have it planted! Many thanks to the Pansings for this wonderful gift. I would note that Diana and I tried our best to convince the Pansing family to stay with us, but they were determined to drive, at night, to get to homestead at a time when they would avoid the holiday traffic. We even offered to have everyone stay in several empty bedrooms that we have, but to no avail. Jeff stopped because he wanted to add several of my 2012 introductions to his daylily garden. We talked for a while, and then we all went to the Greenhouse. When dayliliy gardeners get together in the morning, in the afternoon, or later in the evening, time is not an issue. We talked as much as we could until everyone knew that the Pansings had to get back in their vehicle, and proceed at an appropriate speed to Homestead, Florida. It is good, at Christmas, to see a family so committed to daylilies that they will stop to buy more daylilies, regardless of the time when the daylilies are purchased. Merry Christmas to the Pansings!

I now have to tell you about one of my conversions that I showed to the Pansings. It is SEBASTIAN THE CRAB. I saw it blooming in Diana's garden, and it was beautiful. So, I took several of her cultivars, and made the effort this past fall to get it converted. I'm so hopeful that I've accomplished this task. One of the biggest of the four SEBASTIAN's that I have growing, is the one that I'm showing in my first picture. I had to take a razor blade and cut the foilage to make sure that the "growing tip" properly emerged without any reason for rot. The second picture shows the first root from this conversion. When you see roots beginning to grow from your conversion work, you can be reasonably satisfied that you're on the way to having a true conversion. I think that Jeff was pleased to see SEBASTIAN THE CRAB being well on its way to becoming a useful tetraploid.

Now that it is Christmas Eve, I specifically got up early and went to the Greenhouse because I wanted to see a bloom that I expected on Seedling 1-300. Unfortunately, there was just a bigger bud, but no bloom. Seedling 1-300 is two years from being introduced, but it is truly a wonderful daylily. It is 37" tall with dependable, 4-way branching. Several weeks ago I had to move 1-300 from a 2-gallon pot to a 3-gallon pot. I am hopeful that the movement will not adversely effect the bloom that I now assume will come tomorrow, on Christmas day. Tune back to this website tomorrow to see the bloom.

Diana Rae has not felt well today; indeed, she has what I think is a 48 hour virus. I have this opinion because about a week ago I went through the same thing, and it lasted only about 48 hours. Since Diana Rae basically has a cold, our daughter Kelley Rae, her husband Jeff, and our gorgeous granddaughter, Lily Rae, all declined our Christmas Eve dinner invitation. This is the first time in 33 years when Kelley Rae has not been with us on Christmas Eve. So, Diana Rae fixed supper, just for the two of use. To my delight Diana Rae made her famous "Brunch Bread" that I like so much. Then, the two of us sat down for supper. However, Diana Rae declined to be in the picture because she said that she was not wearing her "make up."

Again I say, tune in tomorrow to see the Christmas bloom on Seedling 1-300!

Bill

What a Wonderful Week.

2011-12-16T11:54:00.000-08:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

The weather this past week has been like spring. Daytime temperatures have been at or near 70 degrees, and nightime temperatures have been above 50 degrees. As a result of these abberant temperatures, I am not getting the normal "cold chill" in the Greenhouse. Indeed, I can't even get the Greenhouse temperature below 50 degrees no matter what I might try. I am having scapes growing on several plants, such as on my Seedlng 1-300. Normally I would remove these scapes, but I've decided to let them grow, and try to use BAP on them, to hopefully increase my total number of fans. There was even a yellow daylily, BY THE GOLDEN RULE, that bloomed this morning. I am going to try to get it converted, but I will have to grow it for a while before I can make the attempt.

Speaking about the Greenhouse, it just looks beautiful. I have removed so many plants that will not contribute to my hybridizing work this coming spring, and the plants that I have kept have been repotted to larger pots. The seedlings are growing so well; they are really increasing in size with the wonderful weather we've had. Some of the seedlings are so big that they look like they are mature plants. I have kept one row completely open so that it can be used for a myriad of purposes.

Another aspect of my work has been trying to create new conversions. Last year I converted BIG KISS, but it was not a full conversion. So, I treated it again. Several of the treated plants look good, but one plant looks very, very good. There are four fans, and I have groomed, protected, and cut the fans, so that the growing tip will more easily emerge. When a plant is a chimera it is usually easier to treat a second time, and cause it to be 100% tetraploid. A second plant that I have treated is SEBASTIAN THE CRAB. It seems so "stiff" such that I'm encouraged that I'm making progress. I even see new roots forming at the base of the fan. I can add that shortly after the first of the year I'm going to begin to monitor and comment in a hybridizing column on the AHS Members portal. A part of this work will include giving much more insight into conversion work. The more members there are who can do this work, the better it will be for the AHS.

I must also report on Diana's Camellia Bush. It is just glorious. Tall, erect, and blooms everywhere. Normally our Camellia is nice for a short time, and then the winter arrives. However, as I've noted, we haven't had much of a winter. It has been as pleasant as you might want, like as in South Georgia on the coast. Camellia's have glossy foilage, and flowers that look like elegant roses. The plant just produces and produces and produces truly beautiful flowers. I'm showing two pictures.

Again, because of the calm weather, I went ahead and burned our trash pile of garden debris and dead trees and limbs. Before I started the fire I brought a water hose to to where I would be working, and I also brought a rake and a stiff hoe and a pitch fork. I just wanted to make sure that the fire did not get out of control because it would be so close to my Greenhouse. Once the fire started I had to stay close by all day, and into the evening I also stayed close. The experience reminded me of when I was a Boy Scout. Sitting by the fire with my Scouting friends and talking about things that boys talk about. A controlled fire of burning embers is a good place to relax.

Hope that you've also had a good week.

Bill

Enjoying Being Age 66!

2011-12-13T18:01:00.000-08:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

On Thanksgiving day, my precious wife, Diana Rae, lost her mother, Margie Giessinger. It was so very sad. We went to South Dakota for Margie's funeral. You may recall that back in January Diana lost her father, Willie. It has been very difficult for Diana to lose both of her parents this year. Now, there is so much for Diana and her brothers and sisters to do with their mother's property, and I hope the path for them is relatively manageable.

We're back at home, and this past Sunday, December 11, 2011, I became 66 years of age. I admit that occasionally I read the obituary columns in the newspaper, and I see that many others have not lived to age 66. Then, I also see that many have lived very long lives, late into their 80s and 90s. Of course I do not know how many years the good Lord will give me to live, but I am eternally grateful for every day. For example, this past Friday Diana and I went to meet Kelley Rae, Lily Rae and father Jeff at the Mall to see Lily Rae speak to Santa about her first Christmas. I took a picture. Lily Rae was wearing her red dress with her red slippers. Later we all went to Lily Rae's home, and had our family picture taken. Diana used these two pictures to make a Christmas card that she will soon send to many of our friends.

On Sunday morning, we all went to Church. Little Lily Rae was wearing her Georgia Tech socks that have a yellow jacket stitched onto them. After Church we walked through the door from the Sanctuary going toward Sunday School when we were greeted by our Preacher Sam Matthews. Preacher Sam reached for Little Lily Rae, and amazingly, Lily Rae lost one of her Georgia Tech socks. Can you see her face? She seems so exasperated. The question is this: Did Preacher Sam remove Lily Rae's sock? I must say that Preacher Sam is an ardent fan of the wretched dog team from Athens in northeast Georgia. Aren't Preachers supposed to be nonpartisan in athletics? It was all in good fun. We love our Church, we love our Pastor, and we were so glad that Little Lily Rae came to Church with us and with her Mom and Dad.

After Church and Sunday School we all came to our house, and Diana Rae fixed breakfast for everyone. The eggs were great, and Jeff particularly liked the deer sausage given to us by our friend, David Arthur. After breakfast we all went to see the home of Governor Roy Barnes and his lovely wife Marie. Roy and Marie built themselves a new home in Marietta, which is close to our Church, and there have been a few opportunities to visit the Barnes home. We were able to visit because the Women's Garden Club sponsored the event, and we just wanted to see the new house. We were warmly greeted at the door by Marie, and Lily Rae received the attention of a movie star. I liked seeing the house, and I'm showing the Governor's desk where he works when he is at home. The Governor is always busy, but he always has time to talk to everyone. Thanks Roy and Marie for letting us visit your incredibly beautiful home! At this point it was obvious that Little Lily Rae had had a long day. She was tired, and she needed her afternoon nap. So, Mom and Dad took Lily Rae home for her much needed rest.

Later Sunday afternoon we went over to visit with our life long friend, Jay Taylor. Jay truly adores his two children, Reid and Morgan. Jay sends cards to us many times over the year showing Reid and Morgan as they enjoy growing up with their Dad. At Jay's house we were also glad to see Jay's parents, Jim and JoAnn Taylor. It was such a wonderful visit. I regretted that the time of our visit passed so quickly, but time always passes quickly when visiting with friends. Thanks Jay for the invitation!

Did I tell you that I have a new camera? It is a Canon Power Shot A3300 IS. It has 16 megapixels, and 5 times optical zoom. Do you remember when the Canon Rebel was first marketed? I seem to recall that it had about 6 megapixels. Now, I have a point and shoot that is almost three times as powerful as the original Rebel. Diana wanted to make a purchase at Penny's Department Store, and I practiced using my camera as she looked at a black and white comforter. I am really going to like using my new camera.

More news coming soon from the Greenhouse.

Bill

Northern Virginia Daylily Society

2011-11-23T12:30:00.000-08:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

Diana and I have just had the most wonderful adventure. We were invited to travel to Washington, D. C., to speak to the Northern Virginia Daylily Society. Diana made the travel arrangements, and we did something very different: we rode the train! Our daughter Kelley Rae drove us to the Brookwood Station in Atlanta, and there we caught the train going to Union Station in Washington, D. C. The train ride was like going back in time by perhaps 75 years. The train was almost completely full, and there were so many sights to see. I took one picture of a gentleman wearing a suit getting his shoes shined in Union Station. Such an unusual sight.

One reason that I was so excited about going to Washington was so that I could take the time and go see the Burnside Bridge at Antietam in Maryland. I wanted to go see the Bridge because members of the Waldrop family were with General Lee when he took his Army of Northern Virginia to Antietam. About 500 men in several Georgia Regiments held the bridge while General Lee led the army back to Virginia. On the way to Antietam I saw an old house that looked important, and I pulled into the driveway. Then I saw this magnificant statute of General Lee looking toward Antietam. While I was at Antietam I noticed that there were no monuments recognizing Southern efforts, and even the statue of General Lee was put where it is by a private citizen. There wasn't even a fitting tribute to the Georgia troops who held the Burnside Bridge. So much for fairness at park battlefields.

The saddest thing that I saw at Antietam was the "Sunken Road." It was a road where wagons had traveled for years, and truly the road was "sunken." Because of the low endenture of the road, the Southern army used the road as the center of its line. Twice the Union charged the line, but sustained many casualties. Finally the Union troops, who were over 10,000 men, flanked to the right of the road, and gained the high ground over the 3,000 Southern troops entrenched in the road. The carnage was horrible. We lost 2,500 men. It was the end of the war even though the war lasted another two years. I'm showing a picture of the Sunken Road which is also called Bloody Lane.

While we were in Washington we were fortunate to stay at the new home of our AHS Registrar, Kevin Walek, and his lovely wife Dee. Dee recently retired, and Kevin is also close to retirement from his legal position with the Federal Government. Kevin previously served on the AHS Board of Directors, and he was subsequently elected twice to serve as our AHS President. Kevin's work as our President was a blessing to our Society. Kevin drove us to our meeting at
Maggiano's Restaurant where we met several members of the Club who we had met before in Valdosta, Georgia, including Ms. Janice Kennedy. Janice is a former Club President, and is an avid gardener. We also met Cyril Weller who is the Club's President and Kathleen Schloeder who is our new AHS Endowments Chair. The meal served at Maggianos was just fabulous! Then, I gave the program, auctioned some daylilies, and took a picture of members of the Club which I am showing.

On Sunday morning Diana and I went to Manassas to see where the Civil War started. We were particularly impressed with the explanation of the battle inside the Visitor Center. It was the best explanation of a battle that I have heard at any of the Visitor Centers. At Manassas it looked like all was lost, and that the Union had won the day. Then General Jackson and his brigade took a position on what is known as Henry Hill. Then Confederate General Barnard Bee rallied his men with the call, "There stands Jackson like a stone wall!" Because of Stonewall Jackson's leadership the first battle of the Civil War was won by the Confederacy.

The other place that Diana and I wanted to see was the Martin Luther King memorial. We made our way to the memorial, and we were impressed with what we saw. The memorial is much more impressive when seen in person rather than simply looking at a picture on the news. Diana's attention was drawn toward the sculpting of Dr. King's hands. The words written on the wall behind the statute also demanded attention. We had been to the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama, and had seen the words carved there that we also carved into the wall in Washington. So we took a picture. Dr. King was indeed a powerful man of God sent to lead our nation to the promised land, where, indeed, "all men are created equal."

It seems to me that Diana and I were blessed to have had a snapshot of realism of how we came to be where we are today as a nation. We began as a people joined together in freedom, except for black people. We fought a war that decided the issue, and established that all Americans are truly free: that slavery is wrong. Then, it took about a hundred years before true freedom was recognized in our laws. I must say that it pains me that we here in the South lost the war, but of course it is better for all of us that freedom prevails for everyone.

Thanks again to Kevin and Dee, and to the Northern Virginia Daylily Society, for inviting us to come to Washington and speak, and to also enjoy our nation's grand heritage. Happy Thanksgiving.

Bill

Sammy is Alert to "Fall Colors"!

2011-11-10T10:55:00.000-08:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

Walked outside this morning, and my cat Sammy was sitting on the deck. He seemed to be looking at our beautiful Maple tree in our back yard with its glorious yellow and gold leaves. We sometimes think of other places to visit to see fall colors, rather than where we live, but really, we don't usually need to go anywhere. Right here at home the fall colors are just amazing. I planted this particular Maple tree on Kelley Rae's 16th birthday. It has been beautiful at every time of the year: spring, summer, winter and fall. I need to clean up the accumulation of fall leaves in the yard, but I will probably wait until even more leaves fall.

I took a trip to Wood-Tech, LLC, to purchase several truck loads of soil. The particular soil that I purchased was "organic planting mix." The cost was only $50.88 per pick-up truck load. I'm showing several pictures. You can see where the soil was being made, and you can also see the loader that was used to move and load the dirt. Wood-Tech is located in Ball Ground, Georgia, and they not only have different types of soil for sale, they also sell many different types of "mulch products."

Even though I had a truck load of soil, I stopped by Griffin Greenhouse & Nursery Supplies to purchase more fertilizer and some Banner-Maxx chemical. I took a picture of Jerry removing the fertilizer from the warehouse shelf. I then had Jerry load it into the middle of my truck for better weight distribution. It is about a 45 minute drive from my house to Wood-Tech and Griffin, and these two companies are only about a mile from each other. The fertilizer that I purchased was Florikan 16-4-9, which is a slow release fertilizer that releases over 270 days at a temperature of 70 degrees. Each 50 pound bag costs $71.00. Quite an expense, but this fertilizer is absolutely necessary in order to grow "first class" daylilies.

My eighth and last introduction for the Spring of 2012 will be my MARIETTA MELON. The cross is as follows: (Leslie Renee x Kennesaw Mountain Hayride). I must say that MARIETTA MELON is the best daylily that I have grown when using KENNESAW MOUNTAIN HAYRIDE as one of the parents. MARIETTA MELON is 33" tall with 3-way branching, 14 buds, and a 6" flower. What I particularly like about this flower is its deep pink color, and the fact that it is so "flat." The sepals are very wide, the green throat helps intensify the pink color, and it is pod and pollen fertile. The cost for MARIETTA MELON is $100.00.

More news soon.

Bill

Sunday School Class Retreat

2011-11-07T08:48:00.000-08:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

Friday afternoon, just after lunch, Diana Rae drove us from our house here in Marietta, Georgia, to Lake Guntersville State Park in north Alabama. I used to think that our roads here in Georgia were much better than the roads in our surrounding states, but I must say that the roads in Alabama are very, very good. I have been to Alabama many times over the past five years, and from what I have seen, their roads are "first class." I would also say that their State Parks, from what I have seen, are also "first class." Our Sunday School Class had its annual fall retreat at Lake Guntersville State Park, and the view was awsome. I looked out from the balcony of our room and the lake was stunning. Just stunning. On Saturday morning I took a picture of the Class on a walkway in the Conference Center. We had 71 class members in attendance, plus Pastor Elaine Wilder and her husband Paul.

We drove back from the Retreat on Sunday morning just after breakfast. The retreat lasts until around 11:00 a.m., on Sunday, but we had to get back because I was scheduled to speak to our Cobb County Daylily Society about our gardens. We got back just before lunch, and the trees were just beautiful everywhere. I took lots of pictures, but then this morning here at the house there was a beautiful yellow and orange colored Maple tree in our back yard. So I took a picture. Fall is a wonderful time of the year. Everything changes again. We have to wear our sweaters and coats. Even Beautiful Lily Rae had to put on her lovely pink coat. Lily Rae has the proper wardrobe for the season.

I have just finished with a task that I normally have not done in the past. I have four particular rows of seedlings, and I saw many of the flowers from these first year seedlings this past summer. I wanted to make sure that these four rows have plenty of fertilizer, and I wanted all weeds pulled out and discarded. So, I cut back all of the plants. I then dug trenches between the rows, and applied 16-4-9 slow release fertilizer in the trenches. I then covered the fertilizer, and I put down some "Preen" to help prevent weeds from sprouting. I then covered the rows with pine straw. I took a picture. I hope this helps these seedlings be their very best this coming spring.

I want to show you one of my 2012 spring introductions. It is SNOW-BERRY SORBET. One of my friends in the Club in Louisville, Kentucky asked me, "What is a Snow-Berry?" I had to answer that it is a name that I "created" myself. The color of the eye in SNOW-BERRY SORBET looks like some of the berries that I see during the summer, and I thought of this when I originated the name. The one fact that I like most about SNOW-BERRY SORBET is the distinct change in color between the eye and the self. This distinct color shift is the one fact that make the daylily so attractive. It blooms in the midseason, it is 30" tall, it has 3-4 way branching, 20 buds, and a 4 1/4" flower. It is dormant, it is pod and pollen fertile, and the cost is $100.00. I'm also showing a picture of SNOW-BERRY SORBET growing in a clump.

More daylily news in a few days.

Bill

Little Lily Rae Visits the Panorama Apple Orchard

2011-10-27T11:45:00.000-07:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

This past Saturday morning was an exciting day. Little Lily Rae came over with her Mom and Dad, and we all traveled north to visit the Panorama Apple Orchard. Lily Rae wore her "Blue Jean Jacket," along with her matching "Blue Jean Trousers." She also wore her pink "Tobagan," and matching pink socks. I took a picture of Little Lily; isn't she just beautiful? When we arrived at Panorama there were pumpkins all across the front of the store. People were everywhere, and the parking lot was packed. Folks love to go to purchase apples in north Georgia during the month of October. But we had to get Lily Rae into her stroller for her stroll through the crowd.

The first place that I stopped was at the "home-made candy counter." There were wonderfully displayed "candy apples," and in particular, there were so many different brands of fudge. I asked to sample several of the different types of fudge, and then I chose the chocolate pecan. Oh it was so, so good! The thing is that although Diana usually monitors whether I am eating the "sweet stuff," she expressed no opinion as I ordered the small piece that I purchased and ate. You can see for yourself that the piece that I bought wasn't really that big.

Jeff and Kelley and Little Lily Rae shopped in the section where various "sauces" are sold. There was Vidalia Onion hot sauce, there was hot Steak Sauce, and then there were Syrups and various treats like "Apple Butter." Jeff couldn't resist the various offerings of multiple types of Steak Sauce. So he purchased several bottles. All the while Little Lily Rae was patient, she smiled at everyone, and was involved in the shopping with her mom and Dad. Soon, it was time to go. Jeff had to get back to see the Auburn football game. It was around lunch time, and Kelley selected the perfect restaurant, Bigun's Barbeque. We placed our orders, and after a short time the waitress arrived. Wow! The food that was served was just the best. I had three ribs and plenty of pork, with cold slaw and potato salad. As this Grandpa says, it was "yum, yum good!"

Saturday was a good day to spend with Little Lily Rae at the Panama Apple Orchard.

I also want to post about one of my new, 2012 Spring Introductions, which is KENNESAW SUNRISE. It is a dormant, and the parents are as follows: [(Petree Seedling x Pearl Harbor) x Moment in the Sun]. It is 32" tall, it has 4-way branching, 34 buds with a 6" flower. It is an unusual color of Lemon/Yellow. I gave it its name because it reminds me of the sun in the morning rising over Kennesaw Mountain. It is pod and pollen fertile, and I have priced it at $50.00 per fan.

More news soon from the Kennesaw Mountain Daylily Gardens.

Bill

The Daylily Society of Louisville; TWENTY CARROT

2011-10-18T18:30:00.000-07:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

Diana and I have just returned from a visit with our friends at the The Daylily Society of Louisville. Actually, we returned home from the Region 5 Fall Fling on Sunday afternoon, and then early on Monday morning we drove to meet our good friend, Brenda Macy, at the Hampton Inn in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. Brenda lives in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, and we rode together to later have dinner together at The Outback Steakhouse in Louisville. I would add that Brenda now serves AHS as the representative from Region 10 on the Board of Directors. I would likewise add that Brenda has also been selected to serve as our new Vice President of AHS. Diana and I were very honored that Brenda asked us to come and visit her Club. Interestingly, the Club meets at The Republic Bank in Louisville. Certainly a very prestigeous location for a daylily Club to have its meetings. I'm showing two pictures. One is in Tennessee just looking at the highway, and the changing leaf colors. The other shows the turn we took in our car on our way to Louisville, Kentucky.

When we arrived at the Club meeting there were so many friends there that we knew. There was Rich Rosen who used to live in Texas, and who served as the Awards & Honors Chairman for the AHS from Region 6. Rich now lives Frankfort, Kentucky, perhaps seeking to escape the heat and drought that has lasted so long in Texas. As the AHS Awards and Honors Chairman, Rich truly changed, reformed and improved the world of daylilies. It was Rich who "created" the award for the 7" daylily. Rich changed the rules having to do with fragrance, and considerably improved the criteria for awarding several additional daylily honors. Thanks Rich for all you have done and are doing for the world of daylilies.

We also saw our friends Mort Morss and David Kirchhoff. Mort and David took their time to come and see our presentation, and we are so pleased that they did. Daylily friends are loyal.

We made several new friends including Debbie Monbeck. Debbie had a brand new Canon camera that has 18 megapixels. Big time camera! I showed Debbie my small Canon Power Shot SD 1300 IS. Debbie was surprised that I take all of my pictures using this small camera. We then exchanged notes about the use of our cameras, and we both nodded to each other that we like Canon cameras. I took Debbie's picture.

When I finished my program I asked the Club President, Bill Gidaniec, if I could take a picture of the Club: He agreed that I could, and I did. It was somewhat of an effort to get my Canon camera properly set. I had it set on "sunshine" in the program mode, but fortunately I noticed this, and changed it to the flourescent light setting. You can see the name of the Bank behind the Club. You can see David Kirchhoff who is seated in the third chair moving from left to right on the front row. I am standing beside Mort. You can see Rich whose head is just to the right of the letter "A" in Bank. Debbie is seated in the far right chair on the front row. Debbie also took a picture of her Club. Again, I must say that it was just a welcome trip to see the Louisville Club.

I would like to also show another of my 2012 spring introductions. It is TWENTY CARROT, and it was named by my beautiful wife, Diana Rae. Most people own jewelry that is either 10 Carat, or 14 Carat, or perhaps 24 Carat. However, nobody owns anything that I know of that is 20 Carat, and if they do, they do not use the word Carrot for Carat. I really like the name! TWENTY CARROT is 38" tall with 6-way branching and 34 buds. The flower is 7" and it is dormant. TWENTY CARROT should be a superb parent for gold daylilies because of its height, branching, bud count and 7" diameter. It is only $100.00.

Hope to make another post soon showing Beautiful Lily Rae who is coming over to visit tomorrow.

Bill

The Region 5 Fall Fling in Atlanta, and Visiting Louisville, Kentucky.

2011-10-16T17:25:00.000-07:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

I have just returned home from our Region 5 Fall Fling in Atlanta, Georgia. It was a wonderful adventure. Our AHS National Officers and Staff met Thursday and Friday at the hotel, and I was invited by our Region 5 President, Ms. Barbara Kirby, to attend the evening gathering and auction. I assume that I received Barbara's invitation because I previously served with the Officers and Staff as our AHS Attorney for 5 years under three AHS Presidents. It was very good to see so many Staff members that we know, to see Officers that we know, and it was particularly good to meet our incoming AHS President, Ms. Julie Covington from Roanoke, Virginia. Julie gave a presentation on photography, and indeed, Julie is a "photography expert." Julie said we should not have "hands" in our pictures, ugly foilage should not appear, that focus is very important, and that some photo repair is sometimes needed to remove these unwanted elements. Apparently Julie is very good at using Photoshop, and her purpose in using this program is to show the true beauty of the daylily. Julie's pictures are everywhere, and over the years I have noticed many of them in our AHS publications. Everybody enjoyed listening to Julie.

I have to mention my friend Don Eller. Everybody knows that Don is an outstanding hybridizer, and he is also outstanding in the work of daylily conversions. Don was speaking about his introductions when he showed one of his seedlings named DUCK UNIVERSITY. Don said that his wife, Nancy, also a very talented "doubles hybridizer," had cautioned him against using language that might be offensive, so he said that he usually referred to his flower as "DUCK U." Everybody understood the homonym. That Don Eller is a man of considerable humor! We truly enjoyed also seeing Nancy's doubles. WOW! What more can be said? Would you believe that Nancy has four of the top 5 daylilies in our Region 5 Popularity Poll? In fact, one of Nancy's doubles is the most popular daylily in Region 5. The "Duck" family is indeed very, very talented.

I was also glad to meet my friend, Bill Maryott, from Freedom, California. I have sold daylilies to Bill, I have swapped daylilies with Bill, and I have come to genuinely admire Bill's work. At the plant auction I purchased two more of Bill's daylilies: CORRALITOS ROSE and SULTRY SPANISH EYES. I also wanted RED CHILI RENDEVOUS, but I didn't place a sufficiently high bid. Bill's daylilies are much desired. I understood from Bill that his high temperatures in California are about 82 to 85, and that his evening temperatures are hardly ever below freezing. So, Bill grows his daylilies in basically perfect conditions. Perhaps at some time I will be able to personally see Bill's operation.

Our Auctioneer was Ms. Nikki Schmith, who used to live in Dearborn Heights, Michigan, but who has now moved with her husband to live in Indiana. Nikki gave us so much information about how to put on a "Daylily Show," and basically Nikki said that if a Club is not working toward improving, and particularly with presenting a Daylily show, then the Club is pronouncing an unfortunate sentence upon itself. Nikki says that a Club should be active, and that Daylily Shows are a "must." I was particularly pleased that Nikki had photographs of many daylily shows including our joint show here in Atlanta. Oh, Nikki is a superd Auctioneer. My good friend Nicole Harry really received tremendous attention during the plant auction: her daylilies went for "top dollar."

Of course I enjoyed every Speaker, and I particularly enjoyed hearing from our AHS President, Mary Collier Fisher from Walpole, Massachusetts. Mary spoke about the Doorakian daylilies. In my humble opinion I would say that perhaps the most important Doorakian daylily is ROSE F. KENNEDY. When Mary spoke she showed two Doorakian seedlings that I "must have." My good friend Claude Carpenter, our Region 5 President, has promised to send me a copy of Mary's presentation so that I can find the numbers of the two seedlings that I desire to own, and Mary says she will try to help me obtain them. I want to convert these two diploid seedlings.

During our Fall Fling I learned from our AHS President that I earned three more "Honorable Mention" awards. My three winning daylilies are as follows: KENNESAW MOUNTAIN LEMON SORBET, DIANA'S EVENING GOWN, and LYDIA'S REGAL ROBE. It is such an honor to win the Honorable Mention awards for these three daylilies. I certainly do not have the ability to circulate these daylilies, and I am always surprised to hear that someone in another state is successfully growing one of my daylilies. I usually have no idea as to how my daylily found its way to its owner. I can only say how humbled and pleased I am that so many votes were given to my daylilies. Thanks to all of you who voted for my introductions.

Speaking of introductions, I want to show you one of my new, 2012 daylilies: RED EYED RADIANCE. It is one of my best. It has four conversions in its parentage and includes the following: Tet. Siloam Ralph Henry, Tet. Connie Burton, and Tet. (Last Midnight x Peppermint Delight). RED EYED RADIANCE is 32" tall with 3-way branching, but I have seen it with 5-way branching. It has a minimum of 22 buds with a 6" flower. The beauty of RED EYED RADIANCE is seen in its distinctive red eye and red edge, with a deep green throat. Since it has so many conversions in its parentage, it is a difficult pod parent, but it is pollen fertile. The cost is only $100.00.

Tomorrow morning, on Monday, October 17, Diana and I are driving to go and visit the Daylily Society of Louisville, Kentucky. The meeting begins at 7:00 p.m. at the Republic Bank, 9600 Brownsboro Road in Louisville. We're looking forward to seeing our good friend, Brenda Macy, and the members of the Club. I thoroughly enjoy meeting daylily friends wherever they meet. Tomorrow will be another good daylily day.

Bill

A Wonderful Sunday Afternoon

2011-10-09T11:43:00.000-07:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

Just returned from Church a few hours ago, and to our wonderful surprise, our daughter Kelley Rae and our adorable granddaughter, Lily Rae, were here to visit with us. We were so glad. Little Lily Rae is so beautiful. Kelley had put Lily Rae into the "Playard," and she was asleep. We just stood and admired Lily Rae because she is so gorgeous. In a few minutes she was awake. I've just got to show you a picture of Little Lily Rae smiling on this wonderful Sunday afternoon. Now, I would ask, have you ever seen a more beautiful face?

I can also note that we are now ready for the deep fall and for winter with our seedlings. First I want you to see the seedlings that are growing in the Greenhouse. There are only about 650 plants growing in one-gallon containers. These were selected with considerable thought because I believe that these 650 daylilies are the best of what we have. The other seedlings are all planted outside. Another daylily devotee might say to me, "Well Bill, you don't have many seedlings." I can only respond in the words that I recall from my good friend Larry Grace" "It isn't how many you grow; it is only a question of the parents that you used." My friend Larry is correct. If I had 10,000 seeds using RED VOLUNTEER and ORANGE VELVET as parents, it wouldn't matter. I would not make any progress. Progress is made using advances in hybridizing, and using converted plants. It is so good to look at the seedlings everyday and see them growing. It is a pleasure to look ahead to next April, and think about the new daylilies that will bloom.

Do you want to see a new daylily that will be introduced this coming spring? Well, here it is: KENNESAW HORIZON. It is 29" tall with 3-way branching, 21 buds, and a 5 1/2" flower. It is semi-evergreen, and it is a bi-tone. The petals are coral in color, with perhaps some pink highlights, and then the sepals are a much lighter shade of coral. The difference in the color of the petals and sepals is very noticeable. There is carving on the face of the petals, and there is a wonderful, lemon colored edge on the petals, with some teeth, and a few tubular projections. Just a wonderful flower in the garden. Very noticeable. The cost for this creation will be only $100.00.

More news very soon.

Bill

The World Changes in September!

2011-09-26T13:46:00.000-07:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

Diana and I returned from visiting our daylily friends in Detroit, Michigan, and then on Thursday, September 15, 2011, we got up early, loaded our car with auction plants, and drove southeast to visit the Savannah Daylily Society. We were met for dinner by Scott and Dominique Elliott, and we ordered "all you can eat" from the shrimp menu. Oh was it good! I would have eaten more, but I didn't want to fall asleep during my program. I am pleased that Scott and Dominique will be growing RED SAPPHIRE, and they say that they are coming by to visit our garden just before our Fall Fling that takes place in Atlanta on October 14-15, 2011. Looking forward to the visit, and to the Fall Fling. I took a Club picture.

On Sunday, September 18, 2011, Diana and I drove across north Georgia, west across Tennessee, and then south to Huntsville, Alabama, where we visited with the North Alabama Daylily society. The meeting was wonderful. As we drove into the front gate of the Botanical Garden, where the Club meets, we say a very large cat wearing a hat sitting beside a pumpkin, and Diana wanted her picture taken with the cat. So, you can see the picture here of Diana and the cat. We met Randy Whitt, the Club President, set up our equipment, and talked all afternoon about daylilies. Diana and I did not stay overnight; instead, we drove back home. Regretfully, I didn't get a Club picture. I wish that I had.

This past Saturday afternoon, on September 24, 2011, our own Cobb County Daylily Society had its annual Fall Picnic. I'm showing Club Members around a sales table where we sold popular daylilies for the low price of only $15.00. We had our annual "Chicken Dinner Feast," and everyone brought a either a dessert or a casserole or a wonderful drink. I especially liked the "Peach" flavored sweet iced tea. Diana never lets me eat croussants, but there were so many on the table. I ate quite a few. Then, even though I ate too much, I had a big piece of coconut cake prepared by my friend Lois. We then had an auction where people mostly used points they had earned during the year to purchase daylilies. All went well, and I regretted seeing the picnic end. It means that a year of daylilies is past, but more will come after the winter of 2012.

On Sunday morning I got up early to go to the Greenhouse to see how things looked. The evening before when friends from our fall picnic went into the Greenhouse I was surprised to see that the lights did not come on when I turned on the light switch. I checked the power unit, and one of my "breakers" that controls the lights, had "tripped." I turned the breaker back to its "on" position, and things were OK. I just wanted to check on Sunday morning to see that everything was still OK. Well, the window over the coolant system was closed, the fans were not working, and the lights likewise were not working. What should I do? Well, I called my friend Tommy Bell, and meekly asked for his help.

Tommy came over at about 8:00 a.m., and checked my wiring. It was bad. Very bad. Tommy went to his truck to get some of his tools, and I took the opportunity to take a picture of the burned wires. I don't know what happened to cause the wires to spark and burn, but Tommy and I surmised that moisture got on the wires, and after 7 years, the wires just got too hot. Or maybe the wires came into contact with each other as a result of vibration in the Greenhouse. I'm very fortunate that the breaker tripped like it was supposed to do. Otherwise there could have been a much more serious situation. Well, Tommy worked on the system for about an hour or more, and got it all repaired. Then, everything worked fine, and I took Tommy's picture. Thanks Tommy!

Diana went to Church while Tommy and I worked on the Greenhouse wiring problem. When she came home she prepared a wonderful breakfast, and afterwards, we drove over to Jeff and Kelley's house to see beautiful Lily Rae. She was sleeping. While we were visiting, Jeff's sister-in-law Stephanie came over with her two wonderful children, Jack and Cameron. Stephanie held Lily Rae, but Lily Rae kept on sleeping. Jack and Cameron held Lily Rae, but still she kept sleeping. Then, Diana held Lily Rae, and still she kept on sleeping. Finally I had the chance to hold Lily Rae, and everybody thought for sure that this would cause her to "wake up," but still, she kept on sleeping. Little Lily Rae is just the most wonderful child. I'm showing a picture of myself and Lily Rae.

This past week the AHS Daylily Journal came, and I must say that the Executive Editor, Meg McKenzie Ryan, is doing a truly outstanding job as our Editor. Meg works with my friends, Brenda Macy and David Kirchhoff, and together they are indeed a great team. One of the flowers that I particularly noticed in the Journal was Bill Maryott's PRICKLY SENSATION, which is on page 36. I received this from Bill, and it bloomed several times this past week. It has an "applique throat," and a lightly colored purple eye. Then, there are the tenacles on the edges of the petals. A very unusual daylily. I took the pollen and froze it so that I will be able to use it this coming April in the Greenhouse. I'm showing a picture.

Lots of daylily fun is happening here at the Kennesaw Mountain Daylily Gardens.

Bill

Lily Rae Whitfield is Born Today!

2011-09-15T09:08:00.000-07:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

Diana and I had a call at 3:15 a.m., and it was Kelley Rae who said she felt "terrible." That she and Jeff were getting dressed, and were going to the hospital. Then, at about 5:45 a.m., Kelley Rae called again, and said that she had a fever. That her Physician said that Lily Rae had to be born by C-section. We then got dressed and hurried to the hospital. Before we arrived Kelley Rae called again and said that Lily Rae had been born, and that she and Lily Rae were fine. Such good, wonderful and great news! We arrived at Kelley's room and I took a picture of Father Jeff, Kelley Rae, Lily Rae and Diana Rae. Such a fantastic start to a great day in September.

Grandpa Bill

Little "Lily Rae."

2011-09-13T09:58:00.000-07:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

Many of you have grandchildren, but my precious wife Diana and I do not. So, we are extremely excited that our daughter Kelley Rae and her husband Jeff are going to have a daughter sometime soon, and it should be today or tomorrow or even just this moment. Kelley Rae's due date is September 14, 2011. Yesterday Kelley went to the hospital thinking that the time had come, but alas, it had not. I might note that Diana's middle name is Rae. So, this is why we named Kelley, Kelley Rae. When we found that Jeff and Kelley's baby would be a little girl we went to work to find a magical name. Our decision was that our new grandaughter will be named LILY RAE WHITFIELD. Now I must ask, do you know of anyone, anywhere, who could possibly have a better name?

I must also report that Jeff bought Kelley Rae a new pair of tennis shoes. Diana Rae saw the shoes and liked them so much that she announced that I would be purchasing her the same pair at Dick's Sporting Goods store near the mall. So, that is exactly what I did. I'm showing a picture of Diana Rae wearing her new tennis shoes, and then I'm showing a close up view of the shoes. I would note that the shoes are a bright pink on one side, and then they are black on the other side. There are black stripes across the pink, and there are pink stripes across the black. Our daylily friends all noticed Diana's new tennis shoes when we went to our Club's meeting on Sunday afternoon.

Speaking of our Club meeting on Sunday, our guest speaker was Mr. Mark Carpenter, who operates "The Lily Farm" in Center, Texas. As most everyone knows, Jack Carpenter sold his tremendous gardens to his nephew, Mark. Our Club listened intently as Mark showed many of his new introductions over the past two years, and also showed other daylilies that will be future introductions. It was good to hear Mark tell how he moved from being a very successful executive to become a successful daylily farmer. The story about Mark's first encounter with an Armadillo was interesting. Mark particularly noted that he has become a mechanic, a water systems specialist, a chemical expert, doing all these things in the 100 degree plus hot Texas sun, and work long, hard hours, but Mark says he enjoys all of this. Thanks Mark for taking the time to come and visit our Club!

Do you want to see a coming introduction? Well I will show you one. It will be called MYSTIC AMETHYST. It is a cross between the following parents: (Leslie Renee x Tet. James McCaskill). It is 28" tall, 4-way branching, 20 buds, and a 5 1/2" flower. It is dormant. I just adore MYSTIC AMETHYST because it is lavender in color, and it has the dark colored stamen with a green throat. It is difficult to achieve a really good lavender, but I have done this with MYSTIC AMETHYST. I have 20 plants, and the cost will be $100.00 per plant.

This coming Thursday evening, on September 15, 2011, Diana and I are going to Savannah, Georgia, to speak to the Savannah Area Daylily Society. Many, many years ago I met Inman Joiner at his gardens in Savannah, and of course, I purchased a number of his daylilies including MADGE CAYSE and VANILLA FLUFF. So, it is a joy to have the opportunity to go to the Savannah Club to speak to its members.

Hope that you are having a wonderful daylily day.

Bill

Visiting the Southern Michigan Daylily Society

2011-09-12T10:40:00.000-07:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

This past Friday morning Diana and I were up at 5:30 a.m., and we went to the Atlanta Airport for a Delta flight to Detroit, Michigan. The flight was very nice, and we were met at the Detroit Airport by Don and Marietta Crabtree. Marietta is the Club's President, and she and Don took us from the Airport to the General Motors building in downtown Detroit. We were then treated to a wonderful lunch at Andiamo Riverfront Restaurant which is on the first floor of the General Motors building. Before we went into the Restaurant we had our picture taken together in front of the Detroit River, and just across the river is Canada. We were surprised to learn that several Club members drive over from Canada to participate in Club events. The General Motors building had an unusual glass sculpture at the entrance to the building that I thought you might like to see. It is called "Borealis," and was designed by Danny Lane from London, England. Very interesting. There were also many General Motors vehicles displayed in the building, which, in and of itself, was quite a sight to see.

We eventually went to our Hotel where Diana and I both rested from our journey. I also continued to work on my presentation because it is my first new presentation that I have prepared for this coming fall and winter. Soon, Barbara and Armand Delisle came and gave us a ride to a wonderful Restrant where we met other Club members, and had a delightful dinner dinner. Dinner friends included Bill and Arlene and Kathleen Dargel at the exquisite Kruse & Muer Restaurant. Can you guess the subject of our dinner conversation? Well, daylilies, of course! There is nothing better for dinner conversation than the subject of growing this wonderful plant.

Eventually we were at the Club meeting, and everyone treated us as if we were "Royalty." Before we went to Detroit we had been told that they would have a projector available for us to use. I nevertheless took my own projector because I have seen other projectors used, and the colors were somewhat distorted. Well, Gary Faust helped me with my equipment, and he simply plugged my computer into the projector. To my surprise the picture was wonderful, so I used the Club's projector. I'm showing a picture of the Club that I took from the nearby "stage." I just couldn't get everyone rounded up for a single picture. It was simply too late, but you can see that the Southern Michigan Daylily Society is a large Club. In fact, this Club hosted its Region 2 Convention this past year, and several years ago this Club also hosted the AHS National Convention.

At the meeting I showed my 2012 introductions, and so now I want to show one of these flowers. I call it LEMONY WHISKERS. It is 27" tall, 4-way branching, 19 buds and a 5" flower. It is a semi-evergreen, and the cross is as follows: (Leslie Renee x Angels Gather Around). I really like the "whiskers" on the edge of the petals; this makes the flower unusual. I was asked if this is a common trait when the flower blooms. The answer is "yes,"; it is a common characteristic of the flower. I'm also including a second picture that shows the growing scape with its 4-way branching. This is a lovely daylily, but I only have 20 plants remaining, and the cost is $125.00.

Thanks so much to the Southern Michigan Daylily Society for inviting us to come and speak. We also thank Elaine Schultz for getting up so early on Saturday morning to drive us to the airport. We particularly thank Nikki Schmith who encouraged the Club to extend their invitation to us to come and visit.

Bill

Seedlings; Getting Ready for Winter.

2011-09-03T10:37:00.000-07:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

I have been working both in the Greenhouse, and in the outside garden, getting ready for winter. In the Greenhouse I look every morning to see which new seeds have sprouted. On August 7, 2011, I had 95% of all of my seeds planted in 3" peat pots. Many seeds came up within about 10 days. Then, over the next 20 days, more seeds sprouted. Now, 27 days later, I still have sprouts emerging. I would also note that my rate of germination is about 80 to 85% percent. Good germination, but in years past I have done better. I thought that you might like to see what the new sprouts looked like this morning.

Ms. Diana also has seeds growing in the Greenhouse. She has an odd method for planting her seeds, and she makes odd crosses, but she has two sets of crosses that have attracted my attention. The first set of seeds that I noticed was ROSE F. KENNEDY x THE FREAK. I like this cross because both plants have very strong, deep green colored throats. The second set of seeds that caught my attention is PAPA GOOSE x THE FREAK. I really like PAPA GOOSE because the flower is so large. While this is a cross that I would not have made, it still offers promise because both parents are wonderful daylilies. Charles and Heidi Douglas gave us PAPA GOOSE when we visited their club in Georgetown, South Carolina, this past winter. Our Friend, Barry Mathie, gave us THE FREAK when we got to know each other in Canada.

I may have THE FREAK converted, but I will not know for sure until I see the pollen this coming spring. This coming winter I'm going to also convert PAPA GOOSE.

I am ready to show my introductions for 2012. They have been dug, cut, planted outside, and some of all of them are growing in buckets in the Greenhouse. I simply have to get the names reserved before I show the plants.

More news coming soon.

Bill

Karol Emmerick's GNASHING OF TEETH

2011-08-21T08:47:00.000-07:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

This morning I went to the Greenhouse to check on my seedlings to see how many more had sprouted. Most are doing quite well, while others are languishing because they have not sprouted. I'm still hoping for a very good percentage of new sprouts. Then, I saw a bloom on Karol Emmerick's GNASHING OF TEETH. What a wonderful daylily, that for me has been a very good parent. I'm showing a picture so that you can see what I saw. I didn't get as good of a picture as I wanted because the edge is more yellow than white, and my picture shows more white. I recommend GNASHING OF TEETH to any hybridizer: it produces wonderful seedlings.

Bill

Seedling 11-50

2011-08-19T13:25:00.000-07:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

This morning I had to be at my Barber's Shop to get a haircut, and my appointment was for 8:30 a.m. Well, I needed to make some soil, and I didn't do it yesterday afternoon because it was so, so hot. So, this morning, at about 6:45 a.m., I went outside to prepare the soil, planning to get this finished, then shower and shave, and arrive at Ms. Lynn's Shop as scheduled. As I went out to prepare the soil I saw this lovely red-eyed bloom, and I had to go and take a closer look. It is Seedling 11-50, and the cross is as follows: (Mountain Wildflower x Red Top Mountain). Just a stunning flower. I do not know the measurements because the bloom is a re-bloom, and I can't be sure about height and branching until the plant is better established, and has endured a winter. However, the height of 11-50 in the Greenhouse was 26" while the outside height was 20". The flower is 5 1/2" in diameter. I have not seen any branching, and I have counted only 10 buds. I'm showing a picture of this Seedling.

After I wrote the above paragraph I found a picture of 11-50 on my computer that I originally took in the Greenhouse back in March of this year. Both pictures, of course, show the flower, but the outside rebloom is different from the Greenhouse picture. For one thing, the red eye does not seem to be quite as large as it was in the Greenhouse, and the rounded petals in the Greenhouse are not as round on the outside rebloom. The intensity of the red color was more intense outside when I would have thought that the more intense color would have been in the Greenhouse. Interesting. I might also note that original Greenhouse photographs are not usually the final appearance of a new bloom. It usually takes some time to see how a flower will ultimately present itself.

I would also note that I am really becoming "invested" in growing red eyed daylilies. It started with RED SAPPHIRE (See Blog entry for June 28, 2011), and this coming season I'm going to introduce Seedling 8-244 (See Blog entry for June 30, 2011). I have also shown pictures of Seedling 1-317 (See Blog entry for July 29, 2011), Seedling 11-135 (See Blog entry for July 10, 2011), and Seedling 11-317 (See Blog entry for July 15, 2011). Sometimes the blooms in our gardens dictate the direction we take as hybridizers. This is certainly happening here at Kennesaw Mountain Daylily Gardens.

Oh, I should also mention that Seedling 11-50 was my first recorded seedling for 2011.

Have a great daylily week-end.

Bill

Tet Orange Velvet and Seedlings

2011-08-15T23:29:00.000-07:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

This afternoon I'm going to write about my work in both my conversion and use of Inman Joiner's, ORANGE VELVET. I converted ORANGE VELVET several years ago, and I used ORANGE VELVET as a pollen parent. The pod parent was my own VARSITY ORANGE. You might recall that on June 30, 2011, I wrote a post reporting that VARSITY ORANGE was chosen "Best in Show" at our "Annual Daylily Show." I'm showing a picture of both TET. ORANGE VELVET and VARSITY ORANGE. The AHS data base does not show what branching there is on the diploid, ORANGE VELVET, but from my own experience it has 3-way branching, and it is usually about 32" tall. My own VARSITY ORANGE has 3 and 4-way branching. So, to produce a very tall seedling from these two parents, with 5 and 6 way branching, would not necessarily be expected.

The first seedling that I want to show is Seedling 11-284. It is 40 inches tall. My thought to myself when I first saw the first bloom was, WOW! I hope that you will agree that 40 inches is tall. Then, 11-284 has 5-6 way branching, with 40 buds. The flower is 5 3/4" in diameter. This seedling is pod fertile. I certainly intend to use this seedling, but I only have six fans. The second seedling that I want to show is Seedling 11-285. It is 37 inches tall with 4-way branching. The flower is just a little larger than 11-284, but the height of the scape is just a little lower. If I didn't have 11-284 I would be totally delighted to only have 11-285.

Seedling 11-294 is my next "keeper." It is 32" tall with 5-way branching. The best thing is that it has a stronger concentration of color, and the flower is 7" in diameter. It is pod fertile. This could be an introduction, but then the orange daylilies that are being introduced today may be more exotic with eyes and with teeth. I would note that 11-294 has nice ruffling. The next keeper is Seedling 11-300. It is 36" tall with 5-6 way branching. It too is pod fertile. Also, it has many buds, and the color is very nice. Thirty-six inches tall makes 11-300 an attractive pod parent.

My fifth keeper is 11-301. Only 31" tall and only 4-way branching. Now doesn't that sound silly, using the word "only." 31 inches of height and 4-way brancing is what we all want to have when we register an introduction. I would note that the petals on 11-301 are nicely rounded, and again the color is good. I do not know if it is pod fertile. My last keeper is Seedling 11-318. It is 35" tall with 4-way branching. It has a 7" flower. However, this is because the sepals are so narrow, and so the ruler verifies the 7 inch measurement. I kept 11-318 because it grows very fast. Right now I have eight fans. I also like the color.

I will probably use all six of my selections to make seeds. Right now I like 11-284 the best, but I may change my mind. I should also note that all six keepers are "dormant." They go completely down to "not visible" in the winter time. This is to be expected since VARSITY ORANGE is dormant, and although ORANGE VELVET is registered as a semi-evergreen, it too is a dormant here in North Georgia. I am looking forward to using these selections to really make progress with orange daylilies. I will ultimately have eyes on these daylilies with big, big teeth. It will be a fun project.

Bill

LACY ALL OVER and Diana's Squirrel.

2011-08-13T13:58:00.000-07:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

I got up this morning, and walked out to look at the garden. I have only 3 or 4 blooms now, and one of the blooms is from Stamile's LACY ALL OVER. A beautiful, beautiful white flower. I am showing a picture. I can affirmatively report that right now, here in the middle of August, 2011, LACY ALL OVER is 32" tall with genuine 4-way branching. There are 20 buds, and the flower is 6 1/2" in diameter. In Stamile's registration he reports 35" in expected height, and 4-way branching with a "w" at the terminal point. Stamile reports 45 to 50 buds. I do not have Stamile's height or bud count, and my flower is not as beautiful as Stamile's flower; nevertheless, LACY ALL OVER is the best of Stamile's white daylilies that I own. I am going to take LACY ALL OVER back to the Greenhouse again to use, particularly with other converted yellow and cream colored daylilies. That Great Gardener Pat Stamile has done a wonderful work in producing LACY ALL OVER. I would recommend this daylily to anyone.

Diana does not like our squirrels. They scurry about our yard, they mess up our grass with shredded pine cones, and they chew big holes in our bird houses. Diana has tried to control the squirrels with her B-B Gun, but she is not a good "marks-woman." That is to say, she can't shoot very straight. So, when she shoots at the squirrels they just sit and look at her, and scowl. They are not afraid.

Diana does like our "Praying Mantis." Yesterday he was out on one of Diana's flowers, and I took a picture. I thought for sure that when Diana reached to hold him on her glove that he would surely jump to get away. However, he was very submissive. Very gentle. He just sat and looked. I would note, however, that the Praying Mantis is an aggressive predator. He will eat anything that he can subdue. They camouflage themselves very well, and are not usually seen. They blend in with green foilage. Although the Praying Mantis eats other insects, they themselves are very susceptible to sprays that kill other insects. So, if you want to see the Praying Mantis you have to withhold the chemical sprays.

I can also report that this morning I saw the first seed sprout from my newly planted daylilies. The first sprout is from this cross: [Irish Halo x (Irish Halo x Fringy)]. This particular seed was planted on August 5, 2011, and now, 8 days later, on August 13, 2011, there is growth that I can see! I am sure that over the next 10 to 20 days my seedlings will all sprout. There may be a few stragglers beyond this 20 day time period, but as I say, most all of the seeds will sprout within this time.

Have a great daylily day.

Bill

Soil Mixture; Planting Seeds; DAVID ARTHUR

2011-08-11T10:45:00.000-07:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

I have been so busy this past
week working toward getting all of my seeds planted. I like to use a particular soil mixture when I plant my seeds, and so it takes me a little longer to get it all done. I start with several loads of soil from my friends at "Wood Tech Mulch & Soils." Here is their website address: www.woodtechmulch.com/. Wood Tech has a very interesting operation, and I may write about this over the next several days. I buy a truck load of soil mixture from Wood Tech that costs $50.88. A great buy! In my first picture I'm showing two loads of soil that are out behind my Greenhouse. I fill my smaller wheel barrow about

2/3rds full of the Wood Tech soil. I then add 4 hand fulls of Magnesium Sulphate (Epson Salts), and 1 cup of Florikan 16-4-9 fertilizer. Next, I fill my small wheel barrow with "Aged Pine Bark" from Fafard. Then, I mix the materials together using my 10-prong fork. I like the 10-prong fork because from experience I have found it to be the most helpful in mixing everything together.

Then, I take my small wheel barrow, and empty the contents into my bigger wheel barrow. I then mix everything again. I keep mixing everything so that the Aged Pine Bark, the Magnesium Sulphate, and the Fertilizer are equally distributed in all parts of the soil. I am often asked about the Florikan Fertilizer that I use. In my opinion, it is the best fertilizer that exists on the market today. Here is an important fact: it does not burn seedlings. If you are really interested in the Florikan, you can visit them at their website which is as follows: http://www.florikan.com/.

I like to plant my seeds into 3" Jiffy peat pots. These peat pots are readily available, with trays. You should purchase the peat pots and plastic trays together. Now I realize that three inches isn't much for a growing daylily seedling, but in about six weeks, I will move these peat pots to larger containers. I will be careful not to disturb the roots. The remaining peat pots will be planted outside the Greenhouse.

I thought that you might like to see my Greenhouse with all of my seeds planted. Actually, the last seeds were planted on Sunday, August 7, 2011. I like growing seeds in the peat pots, with the soil mixture I've talked about, because this process helps assure that I see blooms in one year. It is important to see blooms in one year so as to try to keep pace with the South Florida hybridizers. Oh, one other thing. My daylily, DAVID ARTHUR, has just been blooming and blooming and blooming in our back yard, with tall 4-way branching. In this hot summer weather it keeps blooming as a double. Thought that you might like to see DAVID ARTHUR.

Bill

Breakfast at "Douceur De France."

2011-07-29T10:12:00.000-07:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

Here at the Gardens we are making progress in preparing for the Spring of 2012. We have "discarded" rows and rows of plants that did not make the grade. Nice plants, but not introductions. I regret having to discard these plants, but we must be diligent in looking for the new daylily that everyone wants in their garden. Speaking of new plants, I had one to bloom yesterday that was different because of the tubular protrusions on its petals, and because it had very wide sepals. It had bloomed earlier this summer on a small scape, creating a proliferation, but I really didn't notice the flower. This time it bloomed on a rebloom scape, and what a difference. I immediately took the proliferation and planted it in the Greenhouse. I'm showing a picture. What do you think? Another daylily that I haven't mentioned is Seedling 1-317. I have already dug it up, and moved all that I have to the Greenhouse. Two lovely new daylilies!

This morning Diana and I and David and Camilla, all went to have breakfast at the newly opened French Restaurant: "Douceur De France." As we walked in there were cakes and pies and pastries, and all sorts of good things to eat, displayed in large glass display units. Immediately I was very hungry. We made our way to the table, and very soon our orders were placed with the waitress. David said that "real men do not eat quiche," but I had one anyway. So good.

While we were at the French Restaurant, our turtle, Randy, Sr., was having a tomato breakfast. Randy, Sr., just loves tomatoes. Believe me, he doesn't go far from the tomatoes during the middle of the summer. The tomato that Randy is eating was put there for him by Diana. It had been just a little too high for him on the vine, but Diana fixed the problem. I understand that box turtles are "territorial." That is to say that they normally stay in the area where they are born. Randy, Sr. and Randy, Jr. are both right here, and we certainly want them to stay here, in our Garden.

Have a great daylily day!

Bill

Sammy and Freddie.

2011-07-22T11:30:00.000-07:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

Most all of you know our beloved cat, Sammy. Sammy has his own time schedule. For example, he likes to sleep in the house most of the day. Then, around 4:00 p.m., Sammy is encouraged to "go outside" for stretching and walking. Around 5:00 p.m. Sammy is ready for his supper. After his supper he goes back outside, and he likes to hunt until 9:30 or 10:00 p.m.; and sometimes even later. You never know what Sammy will catch. Last night I called for Sammy to come in for the evening, but there was no reply. I called several more times, and then Sammy mysteriously appeared. He had caught a baby rabbit. I just petted him, then picked him up, and brought him in. I assume that the rabbit lived because we never saw him again. Sammy just call this his "Catch and Release Program."

This morning I reluctantly went outside to walk through the garden, knowing full well that there would be nothing to notice. Again, as has happened before, I was wrong. There was this beautiful yellow daylily that last spring I marked as Seedling 1-353 (Varsity Orange x Seedling). I had seen this beauty before, and the picture that I am showing is on a rebloom scape. The first flower on the new scape was two days ago, and that flower was beautiful. This flower, this morning, was just a beautiful. 1-353 is 24" tall, 4-way branching, 24 buds, and a 5 1/4" flower. I like the smooth color, and the way that the petals fold. I also like the shape of the round sepals. I doubt that 1-353 will grow taller than 24" because if it could, it would have done it by now. The 24" height, however, is just fine because of the arcing foilage.

I came into the house to download my pictures of Sammy and Seedling 1-353. Soon, Diana came in and wanted to use my camera. "Freddie," our frog, was perched on a rock next to our pond, and she wanted to take a picture. Diana first got a picture of Freddie from a distance, and then she got a close-up shot as well. Freddie doesn't sleep. All night long he croaks, and croaks, and croaks. Frankly, I am surprised that Diana got several good pictures. She explained that Freddie was posing for her.

I found that I had the same daylily growing in two separate locations. Wonderful bloom. It is Seedling 9-105, and the cross is as follows: [(Cherry Burst x Crazy Ivan) x Jelly Maker]. The reason that I made this cross, using Jelly Maker, was to gain some height and branching. The plan worked. 9-105 is 29-30" inches tall, with very good 4-5 way branching. There are about 20 buds, with a 6 inch flower. 9-105 is a semi-evergreen. I will have between 20 and 25 fans, and because it has such good height, good branching, and good bud count, I may introduce it this coming spring. I'm showing not only a picture of the flower, but a picture of the branching as well.

I think that I will go to the Greenhouse, and begin preparing my peat pots for seed planting.

Bill

Diana back home at 310 McDaniel Road.

2011-07-21T08:37:00.000-07:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

As you know my beautiful wife, Diana Rae, has been visiting with her Mother in Milbank, South Dakota. Diana is very pleased with her tomatoes, and so she took two of her 2-pounders with her to show her mother. Everybody was quite surprised because Diana's tomatoes are so large. Diana's niece, Heather, has a lovely little daughter, and her name is "Amirrah." Well, Diana took a picture of Amirrah holding one of her tomatoes in front of her mother's daylilies. Wow. The tomato is a big as little Amirrah's head! Diana really grows whopper tomatoes, and this is a puzzle to me since she prides herself on being an "Organic Gardener." Oh, remember her Seedling 11-297 that I showed on this blog back on June 23, 2011, well it started blooming with three petals and three sepals. I know that Diana will never be able to grow 11-297 at its full strength, so, while she was gone I dug it up and planted it in a pot in the Greenhouse where it is graciously receiving a full measure of real, Nutricote 16-4-9 fertilizer.

I mentioned Diana's Mother's daylilies. Diana's Mother's name is Margie. Perhaps 7 or 9 years ago I gave Margie a few daylilies, and she planted them beside her garage. Since then her daylilies have grown, and so, over the years, I have added to Margie's daylily collection with some of my best dormants. Margie's collection includes RED VOLUNTEER, VANILLA FLUFF, INDIAN GIVER, MADGE CAYSE, BARBARA MITCHELL, ONE NINETY SIX, DIANA'S EVENING GOWN, and even LYDIA'S REGAL ROBE. Let me quickly say that I have never seen daylilies grow like Margie grows them. Perhaps South Dakota has a climate that is similar to the climate in China, where daylilies originated. Perhaps this is why Margie's daylilies are so tall and lovely and gorgeous. I'm showing a picture of Diana and her Mom standing in front of Margie's daylilies. I'm also showing one of our little turtles, Randy, Jr., named after his dad, Randy. So, with our turtles being so friendly, I wasn't completely alone while Diana was away.

Well, on Monday evening, I went to Atlanta to pick-up Diana at the airport. I was so glad to see her. She wanted to stop at the OK Cafe just off I-75 for supper. We talked about her trip, and all of her adventures. I was just glad to hear her voice again. Five days is too much for Diana to be away. I'm showing a picture of Diana as she approached the car as the airport. Oh, the police are always trying to keep the traffic moving in front of the airport so it isn't easy to pick up someone, even if your car stops for only a few minutes.

I may have pointed this out, but I have been selecting orange daylilies that I made two years ago by crossing my own VARISITY ORANGE with pollen from a conversion that I did, TET. ORANGE VELVET. I have chosen to keep only the tall daylily seedlings with height, branching, bud count, and beautiful flowers. The one new seedling that I liked the most because of its rapid growth was always nice, but until this morning it did not have an assigned number. Well, I saw it yesterday on a rebloom scape, and the bloom was gorgeous. A 7" flower. Then, this morning it bloomed again. Sadly the area around this seedling is not as attractive and clean as I would like, but I took a picture that I am showing. This is just a delightful daylily that I will use to make many more oranges with many different appearances. It is now, officially, Seedling 11-318.

Remember that you can click on any picture and see an enlargement.

Thanks for visiting!

Bill

Potential New Introductions; Seedling 8-237 and 7-225.

2011-07-18T08:17:00.000-07:00

Good Morning Daylily Friends,

I keep thinking that I will not see anymore good blooms, and then I am surprised. Today I looked again at Seedling 8-237 (Leslie Renee x Angels Gather Around). The edges are what make me keep looking at this seedling. I kept several plants from back when I made IRISH HALO, and 8-237 is one of those plants. I must say that the many Leslie Renee x Angels Gather Around crosses are some of the best crosses that I have ever made. Both parents are nice daylilies, but I have to give a considerable edge to Angels Gather Around. This is the first summer when I have seen it at full strength, and it just is a fine, fine daylily. Leslie Renee is also a fine daylily. Both have added considerably to my program. The measurements on 8-237 are very nice: 27" tall, nice 4-way branching, 19 buds, and a 5" flower. It is a semi-evergreen, and it grows very well here in north Georgia.

Another yellow daylily that I have admired is Seedling 7-225 [Angels Gather Around x (Within the Veil x Tet. Love's Purest Light)]. This beautiful daylily is 34" tall, with astonishing 5-7 way branching, 32 buds, and a 5 1/2" flower. It also is a semi-evergreen, and it also grows very well here in north Georgia. It makes me think of the old Stella de Oro because it blooms all the time. Yes, it has astonishing branching, but it just keeps throwing up new scapes. Right now, on several of 7-225 seedlings, I am growing scape number four. I have not done anything with either 8-237 or with 7-225 because of the old refrain about yellow daylilies. Well, I have decided that the old refrain is just that: an old refrain. In my humble opinion, the truth is that people who love daylilies, started liking daylilies, because of yellow daylilies. You can quote me on this Monday morning point of insight. Here is a second picture showing 7-225 with some of its branching.

Well Diana is visiting with her mother in Milbank, South Dakota. She will return home this evening, and I will be so glad to have her back. For one thing I just miss her, and I'm supposed to be watering her plants. I keep finding that she has new plants almost everywhere that I haven't watered as I should have done. Also, Diana keeps the house just spotless. Notwithstanding my military training; I'm not in Diana's league of first class housekeeping duties. And none of this counts the wonderful meals she cooks. Tonight will be a wonderful evening here at 310 McDaniel Road.

Bill

Reaching 100,000 Entries.

2011-07-17T11:20:00.000-07:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

I have noticed that we now have had 99,982 visitors to this blog. That is only 18 short of 100,000. I'm not sure how I will know exactly who number 100,000 will be, but it should happen within the next few hours.
Stay tuned.

Bill

Do You Want to Know a Secret?

2011-07-15T07:55:00.000-07:00

Good Morning Daylily Friends,

Well, finally, we had some rain last night. Not much rain, but any amount of rain is helpful. It has been so hot, but the rain has reduced the temperatures. So, notwithstanding the heat, and with the help of last night's rain, I have continued working in the garden trying to get it ready for 2012. As I have done this I have continued to see "new blooms" on the seedlings that I haven't seen before. One such bloom is from Seedling 11-315. The cross is as follows: [(Diana's Evening Gown x Judy Farquhar) x (Grace 578 Seedling x Tet. Connie Burton)]. The height of the scape is 25" inches which is very, very good considering that the pollen parent was so short. Also, there was/is 4-way branching with 17 buds. The flower is 6 1/2" in diameter. The best thing about 11-315 is its beautiful yellow color with that astonishing edge. This is just a beauty that I believe many friends will want to ultimately have growing in their gardens. I took two pictures so that 11-315 could be seen from two different angles.

I was also surprised two days ago when I first saw a bloom on Seedling 11-317. I am comitted to growing "better red" daylilies, and 11-317 is evidence that I am making progress. When that Great Hybridizer, Pat Stamile, put WALTER KENNEDY on the market I immediately liked the flower, but I wasn't really convinced that it would produce a better flower. I crossed WALTER KENNEDY with my 8-244 seedling, and the result was 11-317. How delighted I am with the result. This particular seedling was planted outside in the ground last year on September 30, 2010, and in a little over 10 months, it has produced a scape that is now 24" tall with 4-way branching. I know that 11-317 will grow to an even greater height. I counted 18 buds, and measured the flower as being 5 3/4". Seedling 11-317 has a real future, and will immediately enter my hybridizing work this coming spring. As I indicated, I took one picture on July 13, and the second picture was taken this morning, July 15, after the rain.

I would also add that there is more information about the pollen parent, Seedling 8-244, on the post that I made on June 30, 2011. I will introduce 8-244 during the spring of 2012.

To continue my morning report, I must say that I have been so, so surprised at the beauty of new blooms from having used Ted Preuss' introduction, BLUEGRASS MEMORIES. If anyone is trying to produce new seedlings, and you do not have BLUEGRASS MEMORIES, then I would suggest that you consider acquiring BLUEGRASS MEMORIES to use in your program. Here is a picture of my new bloom on Seedling 11-304, and the cross is as follows: [(Shirley Anne McCord x Marietta Heartbeat) x Bluegrass Memories]. I like the slate blue and grey color of the eye and edges on 11-304. I like the clean color. I see a future for 11-304.

I have worked harder than anyone would know trying to create better orange daylilies. I purchased TET. TERRY LYNINGER from that Great Hybridizer, Pat Stamile, and my Seedling 1-301 is the best that I have produced using Pat's conversion. The cross was as follows: (Varsity Orange x Tet. Terry Lyninger). My VARSITY ORANGE does not have an "eye." So, it was more difficult to produce a good daylily using TET. TERRY LYNINGER, but VARSITY ORANGE was the best daylily that I have seen with good height and branching that is also a dormant. Now that I have 1-301, I have the opportunity to add edges, to improve the eye, and to use to pass along the good height and branching to other seedlings. 1-301 is 30" tall, with 4-way branching, 24 buds, and a 5 3/4" flower.

This news about these new seedlings should perhaps be kept a secret. However, I just can't keep a secret about good news. So, I'm showing what I am seeing.

Bill

I Adore New Seedling Blooms!

2011-07-10T13:03:00.000-07:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

This past week I have begun, in earnest, to transform our daylily gardens. Here in North Georgia the season is technically over, and while it is best to wait until September to make serious changes in the garden, I can't wait until September. From experience I know that if I wait until September to do this work there will be so much that will remain unchanged, and this just can't be accepted in our hybridizing garden. So, I have cleared a number of rows of daylilies, and I have begun using my John Deere Tractor to till the rows. When I had more time I often used my Sears Tiller, but I don't have the time, and as I've said, there is much to be completed.

I might also add that I am seeing a number of reblooms in the seedlings that I removed last month from the Greenhouse. Indeed, I'm showing a picture of the row where the Greenhouse seedlings are planted. Actually, I think it is quite a story to see this row of Greenhouse seedlings, knowing that they have already been seen and selected, and were replanted into the outside garden in early June.

I am pleased to report that this morning there were two seedlings in this row that just could not be ignored. The first seedling has a wonderful eye and edge, and the cross is as follows: (Ruby Storm x 8-244). I will introduce Seedling 8-244 this coming season, and I will talk more about it in a later blog. The second seedling is a cross using a Jeff Salter introduction. So, the cross is as follows: (Unburied Treasure x Chilled Orange Sorbet). I made this cross beceause Jeff's daylily has "carving," and carving can also be found in my own CHILLED ORANGE SORBET. I am so pleased with the result. May I also add that the picture that I took was of the last bloom on the rebloom scape. I will not know anything of the ultimate size or branching on the Greenhouse seedlings until next spring. So much to look forward to!

You have to "be informed" about our beloved cat, Sammy. Sammy is a hunter. Indeed, after I gave a daylily show, and included several episodes from some of Sammy's adventures, someone asked if Sammy was "for sale." I answered, "Ccertainly not, but he is available for a minimum stud fee of $10,000.00." Well, anyway, this morning Sammy came to the door with a Chipmunk that he had caught. Diana believes that we have too many Chipmunks, and so we always congratulate Sammy for any "kill" that he accomplishes. We adore our cat Sammy.

I have wonderful news about one of my seedlings. For such a long time we heard about, and we were offered the opportunity to buy new daylilies that had "green edges," that were produced using Matthew Kaskel's seedling known as BEST EDGE. I actually was one of the first to own BEST EDGE outside of the select few that were the initial owners. I admit that I bought BEST EDGE for the whopping sum of $1,500.00. And, I had to agree to give back any increase in the number of fans back to the seller, who was my good friend, Linda Agin. That Linda drove a hard bargain, but I had to have the plant. To shorten this story, I crossed my own IRISH HALO with BEST EDGE, and the best seedling that I had was 9-26. In the greenhouse it is very nice, but I never saw it bloom outside at near full strength until this morning. I'm showing a picture. You may be interested to know that Seedling 9-26 is 29" tall with 3-4 way branching, 29 Buds, and a 6 1/2" flower. It is a semi-evergreen, and is a very strong daylily; it withstood our winter this past year, which is quite a good report. I think that since it grew well here in our climate, it should grow well most anywhere.

Well I could write much more, but will save some of the news for another post.

Bill

July the 4th!

2011-07-04T18:11:00.000-07:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

I went to a celebration of our Nation's birthday where there was a birthday cake with the icing reading, most appropriately, as follows: Happy Birthday America! It is indeed a glorious national birthday when we can celebrate by saying anything we want, eating what we want, and where the celebrants wear those wonderful, nostalgic costumes from the1700s. Diana and I went up to the Marietta Square to see what was happening on this special day. There were flags everywhere. Indeed, there were so many flags that I somewhat felt the need for a constant, military salute.

They were selling sausages, hamburgers, hot dogs, ice cream, funnel cakes, and anything else that you might think of that you would want at a party. Diana finally decided to purchase a "funnel cake," and I decided to have some home made peach ice cream. We walked all over the City Square, quite pleased that we can celebrate this day when our Declaration of Independence was signed back in 1776. Today, in our world, other countries talk about gaining independence from their rulers, but not many want to take up arms, defend their homes, and commit all that they have to bring about the change they say they want. As Americans, we just have to be proud that our forefathers did what they had to do to make us an independent people.

I must say that July the 4th would not be complete without the bloom of a heretofore unseen, daylily. Early this morning, I did not walk a row in the garden because I believed that I had seen all that was going to bloom in that particular row. It was not until about 11:00 a.m. when I saw Seedling 11-309 blooming in that row. Oh what a beauty! It is a cross between the following: (Wild Hair x Malcolm David Booker, Senior). It is dormant, and it is 24" tall. There is 3-way branching, 18 buds, and a 5 1/4" flower. I can use this cross to keep working on producing teeth in my introductions.

I should also note that Diana and I did not go to the Marietta Square this evening to see the fireworks. It rained. We love the rain, but we didn't want to sit in the rain to see the show. So, we decided to stay home. It has been a great national holiday, but tomorrow morning I must go to the office to go to work.

Remember that you can click on any picture, and see the picture even better.

Bill

June Has Come and Gone!

2011-06-30T14:25:00.000-07:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

So much has happened this June. First, our Sunday School Class came over, and we had a wonderful patio breakfast, and walked through the garden together, just enjoying the company of each other. The next Saturday, on June 11, our Region 5 Annual Conference was held here in Cobb County. We saw so many friends, we enjoyed the "Region Auction," and we certainly enjoyed the meals with everyone at the Hotel. The third Saturday, on June 18, we had our joint "Daylily Show" with the Atlanta Club at the Galleria Mall. Then, the following Saturday, June 25, we had our first "open sale" in the garden. Again, friends from everywhere. Yesterday, on Wednesday, June 29, we had our second and last open sale for this year in the garden. I would emphasize that we have certainly enjoyed the visits of our friends, and among the friends who came yesterday were Mera Crews and Becky Parr from Birmingham, Alabama. We were delighted that they drove such a distance to come and visit, and Diana and I had our picture taken with Mera and Becky.

At the sales table yesterday there was always plenty of conversation. I took one picture where Diana looked at me as I snapped the shutter button. In the same picture you can see our good friend Camilla Arthur who was obviously, genuinely astonished, at the information she was receiving from our daughter Kelley during their converation. We have been so blessed to have so many friends help us with the open sale, and withour their help there would be no open sale. I might also add that I learn much from our daylily friends. They give me insight as to what my focus should be in my hybridizing work.

Speaking of my hybridizing work, my good friend Mera has encouraged three of her friends to purchase RED SAPPHIRE. I am so delighted that Mera likes the RED SAPPHIRE, but I previously noted, sadly, that I had not made a new daylily using RED SAPPHIRE as a parent. Then, this morning, there were two blooms that I had completely overlooked. They come from a cross where I used RED SAPPHIRE as a pod parent, and the cross was as follows: (Red Sapphire x Aerial Display). I can't say that I understand how I obtained a dark eye and edge using the parents that I used, but there the new daylily is, with the dark and light colors. The self is more cream yellow than the white shown in the picture. I really like the throat. I may use this daylily again, but then again, it may be registered and offered for sale.

Another daylily that I plan to introduct this coming season is Seedling 6-124, and the cross is as follows: (Leslie Renee x Angels Gather Around). It is a bi-tone, with a nice self, a lovely ruffle, and an engaging eye, with some sculpting. This seedling is like several that I've had that I just believed were good seedlings, but I did not have the third lateral. Then, this spring, after two stationary seasons, there was the third, and sometimes even a fourth lateral, Patience is a virtue in trying to grow new introductions. The measurements for 6-124 are on the photograph.

The third and final daylily that I want to mention, that I may also introduce this coming season, is Seedling 8-244. The cross is as follows: [(Grace 578 Seedling x Tet. Connie Burton) x Tet. (Last Midnight x Peppermint Delight)]. The Grace 578 Seedling had Tet. Siloam Ralph Henry in the parentage. I converted the Tet. Connie Burton that I used, and the flower produced from the cross was beautiful, but very short. My good friend Larry Grace crossed the diploids, Last Midnight and Peppermint Delight, and produced fine seedlings. I was fortunate that Larry let me grow one of the seedlings which I ultimately converted. This is the second half of the cross. So, the cross actually contains four diploid conversions. I should note that I initially grew 8-244 under a plastic hoop, and the measurements were astonishing. I had a height of 35" inches, and 4-5 way branching. I could never duplicate this without the plastic hoop. Growing 8-244 under normal, north Georgia weather conditions, the measurements are different. Only 32" in height, with 3-way branching. So, I would think that 8-244 will do very well south of where I live here in north Georgia. Sadly, 8-244 is a difficult, but not impossible pod parent. This daylily pleads for introduction, and will probably have its way.

I've probably written too much for this session, but I "got going," and had to say what I said. Thanks for reading this epistle.

Bill

RED SAPPHIRE; TET. BIG KISS

2011-06-28T13:45:00.000-07:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

Late this past winter I had the good fortune to be asked to speak at the Birmingham, Alabama, Daylily Club. When Diana and I visited the Club we took along several of our introductions for sale at the Club auction. I think that we took 8 or 9 daylilies. One of the daylilies that we took was RED SAPPHIRE. Our new friend, Ms. Mera Crews, is a member of the Birmingham Club, and she purchased RED SAPPHIRE at the auction. Now, I have always thought that RED SAPPHIRE was a fine daylily; however, I admit being surprised by the initial demand. My best witness, to date, as to the quality of RED SAPPHIRE, is our friend, Mera. In her e-mail to me on June 23, 2011, she wrote as follows:

"[M]y love[,] RED SAPPHIRE, what an amazing plant! . . . I am thankful every morning when I visit the garden of our purchase . . . [I]t began blooming[,] put on new scapes[,] and continues showing off . . . Every single morning I take pictures of it . . . I can't help myself. . . . I should say that it has tentacles as well . . . Size, color, form, teeth, tentacles, the amazing lush green foliage[,] and growth habits . . . with such branching . . . Can you tell that I love it? . . . Maybe this one should be a Stout contender?"

After Mera's message I looked at RED SAPPHIRE again, and took a picture in the Greenhouse. I have never used it as a parent to make another daylily; I simply have not seen anything that I thought I might use as a match. Then, as many of you know, I was able this past winter to convert TET. BIG KISS, which bloomed this morning. I took the pollen to check it under my microscope, and what I saw was all tetraploid pollen. So, considering Mera's message, I decided to take the pollen from TET. BIG KISS to RED SAPPHIRE. TET. BIG KISS has a lovely pink eye, which should match well with RED SAPPHIRE'S red, triangular eye. The color of the self on the two daylilies is a sufficient match. If the tenacles on RED SAPPHIRE could transfer, oh what a wonderful result this could be. So, I've made the cross, and now I'm waiting to see if a pod is formed.

I talked with Mera by phone, and she noted that what I had called "teeth" on RED SAPPHIRE, were not actually teeth, such as are seen on other, newer daylilies. Mera, instead, called the teeth, "Octopus Tentacles." I looked again at what I thought were teeth, and I agree with Mera. Yes, there are a few teeth, but by a substantial measure, there are many Octopus Tentacles. Thanks Mera for your e-mail, and for your insight about RED SAPPHIRE.

This morning we had a special treat in the garden. Our good friend, Ms. Jean Hartley, came over to the house, and she brought her Club with her, which is the YWCA Exercise Club. Everyone walked through the garden, we all talked about daylilies, and Diana gave the tour of the garden, and specifically highlighted her "Ivy Bed." Diana's Ivy Bed is made of iron. The bed was given to us by our good friend, Ms. Marlee Price. I told Diana that the bed was rusting, and needed to be painted. Diana did not like my idea. So, she used four different varieties of Ivy, and grew Ivy all over the frame. She put several daylilies inside the frame, but as of now, these have mostly bloomed through their regular couse for the season. Still, Diana is pleased with her Ivy Bed, as she should be, and anyone can see that it is a real addition to the garden.

More news soon.

Bill

What a Wonderful Rain!

2011-06-23T09:20:00.000-07:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

So much has happened in the past few weeks: The Georgia Regional, and our Joint Daylily Show. It has truly been "daylily heaven in 2011." Now, today, I am still analyzing daylilies. This morning I got up, knowing more rain was coming, and walked through the garden as quickly as I could. Diana wasn't up yet. I would note that when we were at the Daylily Show, she insisted that we pose together in front of Dennis and Sue Calbreath's blue vase of daylilies. I'm showing the picture. When Diana did arrive in the garden she called me to look at her new bloom. When I arrived I was "MOST SURPRISED" at what I saw. Just a gorgeous bloom. I'm showing two more pictures. Then Diana noticed that her flower was different. Can you see the difference? It has only two petals, and only two sepals. I was surprised by the lack of the third petal and sepal; I was also surprised by the odd combination of colors. The green throat, the unusual form, and the coral colored self. You might also notice that there is three-way branching. Now I must note that Diana uses very little, if any, fertilizer. Perhaps this explains the lack of all petals and sepals. I will let you know if this little beauty soon grows with all of its petals and sepals.

I would also note that I was surprised by the parents Diana used to make her cross. The cross is as follows: [(Magic of Oz x Rose F. Kennedy) x Ashee Dashee]. I'm sure that this new beauty will improve as it grows. I hope to get a picture soon showing all of the petals and sepals.

Back to viewing a few of my creations. I have a new bloom that just can't be ignored any longer. I have skipped this flower; I have not looked at it much; it hasn't been fertilized this year; it hasn't been sprayed for thrips or spider mites; but yet, what a beauty. The parents are as follows: (Shirley Anne McCord x Desire of Nations). I must say that of my two purple introductions this year, SHIRLEY ANNE MCCORD has been the most productive. I call this new daylily, Seedling 11-293. It is 28" tall, 3-way branching, 18 buds, and a 6" flower. I would think that it may even grow more impressively with fertilizer, chemicals and more water.

I also have to point out my new, big yellow. It is Seedling 8-196, and this is the first time that I have seen it at full strength. I took it to our Daylily Show, and entered it as a seedling. You would think that Judges would have paid more attention. It is 32" tall, 4-way branching, 23 buds, and the flower today was 7 inches. The flower that I entered in the Daylily show was 7 1/2" inches. Now, there are yellows, and then there are yellows. This is a magnificent yellow. I've started using its pollen to create other, lovely big yellow daylilies.

The last flower that I will mention is one of my whites. It does not now qualify as a potential introduction, but I must say that I am pleased with the result of the cross, which is as follows: (Lacy All Over x Tet. Heaven All Day). Today it is 27" tall, but with only 2-way branching, and with only 10 buds. I will ultimately cross it back against LACY ALL OVER, or perhaps against another white, to recover the branching and bud count. I hope that the new flower will be much improved, having TET. HEAVEN ALL DAY as part of its parentage. You may recall that HEAVEN ALL DAY is dormant. Having dormancy in the background of any daylily improves the daylily so much that the importance of this cannot be overstated.

Well, time to go back outside again and look at my daylilies, now that the "wonderful rain" has stopped.

Bill

Our Joint "Annual Daylily Show."

2011-06-20T14:53:00.000-07:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

This past Saturday morning, June 18, 2011, the Greater Atlanta Daylily Society, and the Cobb County Daylily Society, held their joint "Annual Daylily Show" at the Galleria Mall. It was a wonderful, delightful affair, and we had 392 daylilies entered for display. There were just gorgeous blooms of spiders, minatures, and doubles of every type and description. The daylily that won the "Best in Show" was VARSITY ORANGE, and it was entered by my good friend, Mr. Harold Verner. You may not know VARSITY ORANGE. I introduced this beauty back in 2008, and I always thought that it was one of the best that I had. However, I only had about 20 plants to sell, so I thought that not many people had it available. Wrong. A number of friends are growing VARSITY ORANGE. I'm happy that it is being noticed, particularly as the Best in Show out of 392 daylilies. Thanks to Harold for bringing and showing VARSITY ORANGE, and congratulations to Harold for his magnificent award.

I was so pleased that we had so many flowers entered because I thought that we would be limited by the number of flowers that would be of "show quality." Wrong again. The flowers that were entered were of very, very high quality. I'm showing a picture of the Judges as they walked through the daylilies making their decisions in the course of their work. There were 12 Judges, and we thank each and every Judge who gave of their time to make the show a success. Without good Judges there is no show! While the show was in progress guests were greeted by Dennis Calbreath at his display of how to "grow daylilies." Just a wonderful display, particularly with the blue vase filled with daylilies.

Ordinarily we would have had our Show on the week-end of June 11-12, 2011, but as you know from my last post, our Cobb County Daylily Society was hosting the Georgia Regional Conference. When we hosted the Conference one of our responsibilities was to have daylilies available for purchase by those who attended the Conference. We had a number of daylilies left after the Conference, and so these were sold at our Show. I'm showing a picture of Steven Verner and Brittany Mitchell as they sold all the remaining daylilies to those who were at the Show. A job well done!

One of the best treats at our Annual Day Show is the Luncheon that our Clubs Provide. This year we had 92 members and Judges get together to enjoy what was a delicious meal. Our two members who make all of the arrangements for our Luncheon are Jack and Cynthia Rigsby. They meet with the Chef at the Galleria Mall, and always choose the best lunch that can be had anywhere in the City of Atlanta. The Luncheon is always this good! Our Judges are each personally introduced, they are thanked for their service, and we tell them they are appreciated. We also name the winner of the Best in Show at the Luncheon, and our Show Chairman, Mr. Claude Carpenter, personally thanks those who worked to make the Show a success. We also thank Claude for his service. Claude is a wonderful leader, and we are fortunate that he is a member of both of our Clubs.

Our Show was open to the public until 4:00 p.m. During this time we had many pictures taken, and much more conversation, but I particularly noted my good friend, Ms. Cynthia Rigsby. Yes, Cynthia did work very much to make the Luncheon a success, but she has also been working in her garden. In fact, she won the blue and purple ribbons for her entry of RED SQUIRREL. Then, RED SQUIRREL was chosen as the best small daylily. After Cynthia gathered all of her ribbons and awards, she had more than she could carry. Congratulations Cynthia!

When we arrived home after a wonderful two weeks of daylilies, I must say that Diana and I were exhaused. I can't think of a better way to spend two weeks.

Bill

Region 5 (Georgia) Regional Conference; Seedling 11-279.

2011-06-13T09:12:00.000-07:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

This morning I had to be up early to be at Dr. Halpern's office at 7:00 a.m., to have my left eye examined. I am so pleased that Dr. Halpern "announced" that I no longer need to have Diana put four separate drops of medication in my left eye, four times a day. I might note that Diana is also glad about this announcement. On the way to Dr. Halpern's office Diana asked me what I liked the most about the Regional Conference being hosted by our Cobb County Daylily Society. Immediately I thought of the evening dinner on Saturday night when Ted Petit spoke to everyone. I also thought about the visitors to the gardens. But then I thought of the hard work done by members of our Club on Wednesday morning, and then again on Wednesday evening.

On Wednesday morning we had a crowd of about 9 to 12 members who worked from 8:00 a.m. until almost Lunch. They dug and sorted plants. Hard work. Then, at 6:00 p.m., another 24 members arrived, and worked until almost 10:00 p.m., digging, sorting, naming and boxing plants. Again, this is hard work. To me, this was the most exciting part of the convention: Team work! Nothing happens without team work. I will always be grateful for our Club members who gave up their time to do this hard work, and who also made the Conference a wonderful occasion for our Region. On Friday afternoon Diana and I were at the Hotel, and greeted our special guests, Ted and Susan Petit, when they arrived.

I have been so busy with digging, growing and getting plants ready for the Conference that I have not had as much time to pay attention to my seedlings. Our good friends, Mike and Sandy Holmes, came to our garden, and Mike was delighted with our new plants. He particularly liked one plant that I have since named Seedling 11-273. After I got back to the house this morning, after seeing Dr. Halpern, I went out to see if 11-273 had bloomed again. Then, what a surprise. The plant next to 11-273 was blooming, and it was better than 11-273. So, the new plant is now Seedling 11-279. I am so thrilled with this new daylily. I must say again that it has been growing outside, through our cold winter, for only nine months. I am astonished at this new, wonderful daylily. I hope that you like it as well.

Hope that you have a great daylily day.

Bill

Getting Ready for Georgia's Region 5 Conference.

2011-06-08T14:28:00.000-07:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

I am so pleased that the best of the spring is here, even though it is so hot. Every day there is something new to see in the garden. More about this in a moment. What I want to talk about first is that we had so many friends come by at 8:00 a.m. this morning to dig daylilies, and prepare them for our Region 5 Annual Conference beginning this Friday, June 10, 2011. I was so pleased that our "crowd" was diligent and determined to do their work well. In the far, far back, of the first picture, just in front of the Greenhouse, is my good friend Gene McCord washing daylilies. Here in the foreground you see Mitch Buehner. To Mitch's right is my friend Ilene, To Mitch's left is John Norlander. Somewhat not clearly visible are David, Rita, Katy Lou, and Luke. More friends are coming over this evening to prepare other daylilies for the Conference.

One of my new introductions this coming fall will be my Seedling 8-64. The parentage is as follows: (Leslie Renee x Tet. James McCaskill). I had wanted to introduce this beauty last year, but I cold not justify the lack of branching. Then, this spring when it bloomed, there was three and four way branching. There are about 20 buds on each scape, and the flowers are 5 1/2" in diameter. Importantly, this introduction is dormant. It will grow most anywhere. I will "invent" a good name. It is my understanding from the Robin that only AVA GARDNER has been introduced using Tet. James McCaskill as a parent. I hope that everyone likes my new seedling.

Another daylily that I had to bloom is Seedling 11-266. It is just a wonderful, wonderful red. I'm showing a picture. It is another introduction that I planted in a peat pot on August 19, 2011, that was then planted outside on September 30, 2010, where it went through our winter. Of course, if Seedling 11-266 were just red it would not be that much different. However, it has nice "teeth." Very nice teeth. I fully expect Seedling 11-266 to grow and be a champion. I would note the long parentage that created 11-266. This parentage is shown on the photograph.

The last daylily that I will show is another "peat-pot-beauty." It has the same August 19/September 30 history that I just recounted for Seedling 11-266. Here is the picture. The parentage of this beauty is also most unusual. The pod parent is one that I created several years ago, and then grew in the Greenhouse during the spring of 2010. This parent is (Tet. Lavender Blue Baby x Tet. Crystal Blue Persuasion). The pollen parent is Ted Preuss' BLUEGRASS MEMORIES. I saw Ted's flower at my friend Lee Pickles' garden, and I was fortunate that Lee let me grow it last spring. What a combination of colors! The colors are as you see them. Another Champion is coming. I will try to get a proliferation from this beauty to grow in the Greenhouse because I intend to leave the seedling where it is growing now for the year 2012. I am just so fortunate to have Seedling 11-270.

Well friends are now arriving for the "evening shift" to prepare more daylilies for our Region 5 Annual Conference. I will let you know how things go over the week end.

Bill

Oh My: The Second Bloom is Beautiful!

2011-06-05T13:13:00.000-07:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

I recently complained about the oppressive heat here in Marietta, Georgia. Every day is hotter than the day before, and every day is 95 degrees and smoldering. Notwithstanding my best effort, I can't produce seeds. However, if I do not have another new daylily of significance to bloom this summer, and even if I can't produce more seeds, I will still be satisfied. On my post on June 2, I showed the initial bloom of Seedling 11-264. Today I am showing you the next bloom. What a difference! I took this picture this morning at about 8:15 a.m. I could not believe the improvement. What an astonishing flower. This seedling has moved in importance from a bridge plant to an introduction. It has superior branching, a superior scape, and a superior flower. I cut off the anthers, put them in a matchbox, put the matchbox in the refrigerator, and tomorrow morning I will freeze the pollen. I am going to use 11-264 extensively this coming spring in the Greenhouse.

Another bloom that I couldn't ignore this morning is from Seedling 9-103. The parentage is as follows: (Bluegrass Music x Blue Desire). This little 4 1/4" beauty stands 30" tall, with 3 and 4 way branching. Each scape has about 20 buds. My log book informs me that 9-103 is dormant. What I like about the flower is the contrast in the color. There is the white self, with the lovely blue and purple eye, and of course the deep green throat. Since 9-103 is so tall its color really adds a wonderful dimension to the garden. But when I say that 9-103 has the branching, perhaps the branching must simply be "seen." So, here is a picture of the branching. I may very well introduce 9-103 this coming season.

My good friend Larry Grace introduced a daylily named for one of his daughters, Heather Grace. I crossed HEATHER GRACE with my own VARSITY ORANGE, and the result was an 8" flower. I'm showing a picture. I wish that all of my seedlings could be 30 inches tall, but alas, they are not. Seedling 1-376 is only 20" tall, but it does have 3-way branching, along with 15 buds. I believe that there is surely a place for this massive daylily in our gardens. I just adore the colors. I must also admit that its height kept me from initially seeing it because it was in the back of the row where it was growing. I will never miss it again.

Another beauty that was blooming this morning is my KENNESAW MOUNTAIN HAYRIDE. I have only a few of the HAYRIDE, and this flower was just so gorgeous. I have tried many times to improve the HAYRIDE, but I have never succeeded. I now believe that with Seedling 11-264, I have the plant to use to again make the effort. Surely the size of 11-264 will match with the HAYRIDE, and the result will be a bigger, better HAYRIDE.

May I mention one more bloom? I saw a red blooming outside from the following cross: (Barbara Mandrell x Talledega). This seed that produced this beauty was planted in a peat pot on August 19, 2010. The peat pot was then planted outside on September 30, 2010, and the seedling went through our very difficult and cold winter. So, the seedling is very tough. Can you imagine crossing this seedling with 11-264. I am just so thrilled with the possibilities that I have in being able to use 11-264.

We had to come in from the garden at 9:00 a.m. so that we could make it to Church by 10:00 a.m. I might not have gone to Church today, but then I can't make seeds, and I enjoyed seeing my friends, and hearing preaching from the scriptures.

Well that is the news for today from the Kennesaw Mountain Daylily Gardens.

Bill

Lee Comes to Visit.

2011-06-03T12:33:00.000-07:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

This morning I was a little "slow" in getting out of bed, but I did have a good night of sleep. I am recovering from my "Macular Hole Eye Surgery," and Dr. Halpern says I'm doing well. I knew that my friend Lee Pickles was coming over this morning, and so I went outside to "deadhead." I saw this little beauty on the left, and I thought to myself that I should stop and take a picture. Instead I kept going. Then I thought to myself that Seedling 8-99 was as beautiful as I can ever remember. So, I went back and took this picture. Here is the cross that made 8-99: [(Leslie Renee x Angels Gather Around) x ((Mandalay Bay Music x J. T. Davis) x Winter Springs)]. What I like about 8-99 is the bi-tone. The petals are a soft pink whereas the sepals are the perfect ivory color. Then, there is the very attractive green edge on the petals. I have wonderful measurements for this beauty in my log book, but I am not inclined to introduce the flower until I see the measurements repeated. This morning the flower was 5 1/2" in diameter, and it was 27" tall with only 2-way branching. My log book, however, shows 32" in height with 4-5 way branching. These were not Greenhouse measurements. I really like 8-99, and I hope to get it introduced soon.

At about 10:00 a.m. Lee arrived with his friends Bob and Barbara Pappenhausen from Moline, Illinois. Is Moline an important place? Yes! It is the home of John Deere Tractors, of which I own three. We walked all over the garden, and I know that I "wore-out" both Lee and Bob and Barbara. They requested a siesta/rest on the bench in the shade. My good friend David Arthur came over, and as you can see from David's shirt, here in Marietta it is HOT. At our Kennesaw Mountain Daylily Gardens, it has been 95 degrees every day this week. Under these conditions, it is difficult to work outside and make seeds, but I keep trying. Oh where oh where is our May and June weather that is traditionally in the 80s?

That is the news for today.

Bill.

Randy Comes "Running"!

2011-06-02T10:59:00.000-07:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

I have been wanting to take a good picture of Seedling 1-409, and I finally got this accomplished. Here is what she looks like. A very interesting cross. The parents are as follows: (Varsity Orange x Tet. Spalding Memories). 1-409 is 24" tall, and the flower sits well above the foilage. It has three and four way branching, with a six inch flower. There are 19 buds. I may introduce this beauty this year. It is a different type of color, and I haven't decided how to describe these colors.

Then, I had a new yellow to bloom. Actually, today's bloom is the fourth bloom. When Seedling 1-342 first bloomed it was after we had an awful week of very cold weather. This caused 1-342's sepals to be a little unsightly. Actually, the sepals are still somewhat unattractive, but I believe that anyone could agree that 1-342 is just about as perfect as it can be. The cross is very unusual. I particularly like having Tet. Emerals Splendor as part of the parentage. The second fact that I like is that 1-342 is 30" tall and has a 7 1/2" flower. There is 3-4 way branching, and 16 buds. Just about the perfect number of buds for such a large, large beauty.

I was going about my work this morning, and I almost missed seeing one of my very best accomplishments. A "really big" accomplishment! When I saw it I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Very, very tall scape; in fact, it is 33 inches tall. The flower is a big pink, and is 7" in diameter. The branching is almost perfect; 4-way branching. There are 31 buds. Here is an important fact: Seedling 11-264 is "dormant." I really like its large, thick scape. I am not saying that the flower is the best bloom that I have seen, but its dormancy and height and branching and size, make this flower a really important addition to the garden. I expect 11-264 to be a great parent.

I was so pleased when I saw 11-264 that I called Diana, but she didn't answer. I kept calling her, and then to my surprise, I saw Randy our wonderful turtle coming to see 11-264. I haven't seen Randy this past winter, but I could tell that he has grown quite a bit. I know that Randy will be keeping a "close check" on Diana's tomatoes. It is good to have Randy in the garden.

Daylily Gardening is fun.

Bill

Ouch!

2011-05-30T11:05:00.000-07:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

I am making progress with "yellow teeth." Last year I had a new daylily to bloom that I named Seedling 1-300. I posted my first picture of it on this Blog on April 20, 2010. When it initially bloomed it did not have teeth on the sepals. Well, I took 1-300, and planted it outside to see how it would handle the winter. It bloomed this morning, and it is just wonderful. The measurments have changed from those taken in the Greenhouse, and now the measurements are as follows: 37" tall, 4-way branching, 24 buds, and a 5" flower. Just really wonderful measurements. I'm showing a picture of Seedling 1-300.

I used another seedling to create another flower with wonderful yellow teeth, and I'm also showing a picture of this new seedling. I call it Seedling 11-84. I have taken the pollen from 11-84, and used it on 1-300, and I've also made the reverse cross. When I'm finished with making these crosses with teeth, the finished product should transmit teeth to any other daylily. Anyway, that is my goal. I'm going to get the teeth locked in place just like the yellow ruffles have been locked in place.

Any ideas for names for these beauties?

Bill

Spring: The Best Time of the Year!

2011-05-25T07:58:00.000-07:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

I walked outside this morning, and as I looked around I saw so many beautiful plants and flowers that Diana has planted. Just gorgeous. I particularly like the massive hosta called "Sum and Substance." It is so big and enormous; it must be noticed! Then, Diana has hanging baskets, she has colorful mushrooms, and an assortment of little angel statues. So much to see, and as my friend Lee Pickles would say, "It is all very good." Then I walked out to the garden in the back, and it is clear that there will be full bloom in only a few days. I am particularly watching the seedlings because I want to see the daylilies that "are brand new." That haven't bloomed before. I am showing a scene looking back across my seedling garden, looking toward our barn. The morning is always so beautiful. So perfect.

Well, one of my new daylilies is Seedling 11-243. Very nice daylily. One of its parents is Seedling 1-337, which I call "PEARLY WHITES." I must give my good friend Karol Emmerick considerable credit because her daylily, GNASHING OF TEETH, has made so many beautiful purple daylilies for me that have teeth. This particular daylily just offers so much promise, but alas, it will have to grow outside in our cold winter climate for several years before any final judgment can be made. Today, however, Seedling 11-243 stands tall, beautifully formed, and receiving our admiration.

I have shown you a few of my new, green edged seedlings, and today I want to show you another one: Seedling 11-244. Its edge is very green, but not very large. I like this particular edge, however, because it has so many "knobs and hooks," and other alluring features. In fact, I took a picture of the edge so that you can see the knobs and hooks. It seems to me that the emphasis in what is being grown in new daylilies is revolving around green edges, and white edges, and plants that stand the winter very well, but look like they are plants from Florida. It is all very exciting.

Well, I went back to the house to get another cup of coffee, but my cat Sammy had taken my chair. Diana and I have become used to granting Sammy the chair of his choice. Sammy took my chair, and I consider this as a compliment. Sammy thinks my chair is a very good chair, and that is why it is also his choice. My cat Sammy is a precious cat who walks with us in the garden, but when he gets settled into a good chair, he just sleeps there all day.

Bill

Two Conversions!

2011-05-13T11:34:00.000-07:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

I mentioned on this blog, back on November 3, 2009, and again on February 2, 2010, that I was trying to convert Joiner's SUNGLASSES NEEDED. Last year I firmly believed that I had it converted, but I kept it in its black bucket on top of my "coolant system" in the Greenhouse. This was a big mistake. When it got too hot, the roots in the pot just couldn't avoid the stress, the plant reversed, did not recover, and died. All that work was lost. However, I am not a person who is likely to quit, and so this past fall, and during the winter, I again tried to convert SUNGLASSES NEEDED. I treated only three (3) plants. As the plants grew out of the treatment process, I noticed that Plant #2 looked converted, and that plants #1 and #3 might be converted as well, but yesterday, I had a bloom on Plant #2 such that I could check the size of its pollen under the microscope. WOW! I was so surprised when I saw the pollen. Big pollen that measured 14 and 15 on my measuring scale. There were some smaller, round pollen, but it is my opinion that these are also Tet. Pollen. What a thrill to see. I'm showing a picture of TET. SUNGLASSES NEEDED.

I've decided that TET. SUNGLASSES NEEDED will be a perfect pollen parent to use with my "green edged" daylilies. To my surprise, there is a lot of green in TET. SUNGLASSES NEEDED. I am hopeful that I can make green edged, yellow self, doubles. I'm already making the seeds.

I have another conversion story to tell. Back on June 9, 2010, I reported in this blog that I had converted TET. DREAMWORLD. I also reported that I had made seeds using Seedling 9-73, which is a cross between Cerise Masterpiece and Emerald Lace. Just a few days ago I had my first blooms from this cross, and I'm showing a picture. I just can't tell you how glad I was to see my first new bloom. I like the bloom, but certainly it is not an introduction. More work will be required. I started crossing it with my Seedling 1-341, which is shown as the first picture on my futures page on my website. I think that the light pink and the lavender will merge well together. Then, I started crossing it with a deep, deep, beautiful red seedling that has a very saturated green throat. The nice thing about my new flower is its height, branching and bud count. Also, the flower is very nice. I can also add that I can set seeds directly on TET. DREAMWORLD. The conversion is pod and pollen fertile.

When I was in the Greenhouse this morning I noticed a daylily with a new bloom. That is, this plant had not bloomed before. It is Seedling 11-234, and the cross is as follows: [(Tet. Lavender Blue Baby x Tet. Crystal Blue Persuation) x Blue Beat]. I like the flower very much. It is 4 1/2" in diameter, it is 30" tall, it has 24 buds, and most importantly, it has 5-way branching. Just astonishing branching! I had to take the picture at an angle, but you can see that the color is very nice, and is quite alluring. Indeed, Seedling 11-234 simply seems to call to visitors to come and look. Who would believe that anything like this could be accomplished in just nine months. Plant the seed in late August, 2011, and then there is the flower blooming in such a short time. What I am particularly please about is all that branching. The seedling, (Tet. Lavender Blue Baby x Tet. Crystal Blue Persuasion), had very little branching. I think that I may have accomplished the branching through Stamile's Blue Beat. This flower will have to stand the winter, and so it will be judged several more times over the next two years, but it has passed its first test, and has earned an A+++.

What about the Navy Seals v. Osama Bin Laden? I spoke to my friend Larry about this hot issue, and Larry's comment caught me by surprise. Larry observed that he didn't think that Bin Laden would have been such an "offensive fellow" if he had been able to joing a Daylily Club. What? Yeah! Larry thought that if we could have put Bin Laden to work growing daylilies, that he would not have been visited by the Navy Seals. I have to say, my friend Larry loves daylilies.

Well I have to go. More news soon.

Bill

2011-04-30T18:53:00.000-07:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

When I walked into the Greenhouse this morning, one of the first flowers that I saw I am herewith showing in this photo. The cross is unusual. It is as follows: (Desire of Nations x Seedling 1-337 {Shirley Ann McCord x Gnashing of Teeth})I was particularly pleased to see the purple color and the blue eye, but I was also intriqued by the burgundy color on the sepals. I am not sure how a flower of these colors would be described. Would this be a bi-tone? I was also delighted to see that edge on the purple petals was white and that this white edge included noticeable teeth. Since this is the very first bloom, it will be interesting to see if the color pattern continues.

The next flower that caught my attention this morning was not really red, but it was almost red, and it had very nice white teeth. Neither the purple seedling, shown above, or this new nearly red see

dling with teeth have been given a number, but it seems to me that these are two daylilies that will require continuing attention.
I think that I will make an F2 cross on both of these seedlings and see if I can intensify the color patterns and the obvious white edges with teeth.

I didn't stay at the Greenhouse very long because my dear wife, Diana, made arrangements several days ago for myself and our daughter, Kelley, to go and see the TV Italian cook, Giada, who was giving a presentation at the Galleria Mall. Kelley arrived at the house promptly at 10:00 a.m., and by 11:00 a.m. we were sitting in our assigned seats awaiting Giada's entrance before a crowd of thousands. I have always enjoyed watching giada cook on television and sometimes Diana prepares meals using Giada's recipes. The lady seated to my immediate right offered to take my picture and Kelley's picture together while we waited for Giada and I am posting the picture here showing our anticipation for the arrival of the esteemed Italian Chef.

When Giada came on stage the crowd erupted with a clapping, standing welcome. We participated! She stood there and talked to everyone and told us about the recipes that she was going to cook and she selected volunteers to come to the studio kitchen to help her with the preparation of each meal. You might be interested to know that when Giada films her tv shows, they are not done in her home, but in the television studio. I am showing a picture of Giada as she appeared speaking to the crowd during her show.I want to thank Diana for taking dictation and posting this message. Bill

Easter Green

2011-04-27T17:23:00.000-07:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

I am still recovering from my eye surgery and it has been most difficult to maintain the "face-down" position, but I have done my very best. I went to Dr. Halpern's office this past Monday morning and he was pleased with the progress made with my left eye, but he said that I would have to continue to maintain the face down position for another week. I cannot tell you how disappointed I was to receive this news. Anyway, time marches by and this past Sunday our family enjoyed having Easter dinner together. We all went out to the greenhouse to see the blooms and I had to wear my sunglasses to shield my eyes from the bright light. I thought you might like to see Diana and myself and Jeff and Kelley sitting in the greenhouse after lunch.

This morning we went to the greenhouse to see the blooms and I was just thrilled to see one of my dormants had a glorious, beautiful green edge. I don't know what the branching or bud count will ultimately be because this is difficult to determine on a dormant that has only bloomed within a period of eight months. The one fact that was clearly obvious was that the green edge was vivid, distinct and beautiful. I was so pleased with this new green edge that I knew you would like to see what we saw this morning and so I am posting a picture of it here in the blog.

Diana is still typing for me and I hope she will help me post more at another time.

Bill

2011-04-22T17:21:00.000-07:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

I regret that I haven't been able to post in the last ten days, but I have had serious eye surgery, and my physician has directed that I cannot read or write, that I cannot drive, that I cannot lift more than 10 pounds, that I cannot wash dishes, and additionally, that I must remain "face down" for 20 out of 24 hours for 14 days. My Doctor has repaired a Macular Hole that developed in my left eye. This happens to about 3 people for every 1,000 people. Most of these restraints will be removed, I hope, this coming Wednesday morning, and I can then resume some of my normal activities. I have, however, been able to go to the greenhouse for about 30 minutes each morning over the past week. It pains me that I haven't been able to show you what I have seen. One flower that I saw today I must, nevertheless, show you now. It is a glorious yellow with teeth everywhere. It has teeth on the petals and on the sepals. It delights over the attention it brings to itself. Here is the picture.

Hope to be back to full strength soon. Diana transcribed this report.

Bill

Loving Daylilies!

2011-04-10T17:53:00.000-07:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

I have had such a wonderful week. First let me tell you about one of my purchases. It is a daylily that I purchased from Elizabeth Salter last spring. It is called MIXED BERRY JAM. I bought it from Elizabeth because it is so unusual in its color. Of course it is a small diploid, and I am doing all that I can to convert it to a tetraploid. Without showing the history of my conversion work, I am simply showing a bloom that I had early this past week. I will say that I tried to convert six plants, and I have lost only one. The other five are doing well, and I'm showing the one that looks and feels the best. Notably, It has a small scape growing. I find it amazing that a scape can survive the carving in the conversion process.

This past Thursday was a particularly good day in our garden because we had such good friends to come to visit. I'm showing a picture of all of us together in the Greenhouse in front of my new seedling, MARIETTA HEARTBEAT. The first person on the left is myself, wearing my hat. To my immediate left is my good friend, Claude Carpenter. Claude has served several times as the President of the Greater Atlanta Daylily Society, he created the "Fall Fling" for Region 5, and Claude currently serves as President of Region 5. To Claude's left is my good friend Lee Pickles. Lee has served many times as the President of the Tennessee Valley Daylily Society, he is the person who created the Mid-Winter Symposium for Region 10, and Lee holds the very prestigeous "Helen Field Fisher Award" for outstanding service to AHS. To Lee's left is my good friend Harold Verner who is a member of the Greater Atlanta Daylily Society, and who is retired from General Motors. I am always glad to see Harold because he always remarks about how hard I work. To Harold's left is my beautiful wife, Diana Rae.

This past week I have also had several new blooms. The first new bloom I had is a delicious, round, gorgeous red that is a cross between RED TOP MOUNTAIN and MOUNTAIN WILDFLOWER. The round form could have come from either of the parents, but I'm sure that the large, astonishing red eye came from RED TOP MOUNTAIN. I have been so focused on so many different tasks that I did not give this new seedling a number. The second new seedling is also very, very important. I had a cross that I made several years ago, and the parents were: (TET. LAVENDER BLUE BABY x TET. CRYSTAL BLUE PERSUASION). The seedling had a beautiful blue eye, but very little branching. So, my good friend Larry Grace gave me Pat Stamile's BLUE BEAT. I crossed my seedling with BLUE BEAT, and I couldn't believe what I saw this morning when I entered the Greenhouse. I think Pat would be pleased if he could see this new seedling. I also haven't yet given it a number, but I will get all of this done tomorrow.

This afternoon our local club, the Cobb County Daylily Society, had its meeting for April , 2011. We were very privileged to have the well know and highly popular Dan Backman to come and speak to us and show us his "daylily program." Dan's garden is "Valley of the Daylilies," and Dan lives in Lebanon, Ohio. Diana and I got to know Dan very well at our last AHS National Convention. Dan and his wife, , rode with Diana and myself on our bus. Diana and I were "Bus Captains," and we told many stories during the journeys between the gardens. Then, over the week-end of July 4, 2010, Diana and I went to visit many Ohio gardens, and the place we visited first was Dan's garden. Just a tremendous adventure and journey. Today Dan showed us so much about his work with spiders and unusual forms. Thanks Dan for coming to visit with us!

Well, that sums up some of what happened this past week.

Bill

Snake in the Greenhouse

2011-04-05T11:43:00.000-07:00

Hello Daylily Friends, This morning I went to the Greenhouse, and started to look at my blooms. I had about ten (10) seedlings blooming, but one in particular caught my attention. Just a beautiful red with a beautiful red eye. What really caught my attention was the round sepals. Just perfectly sitting there, not asking for attention, but certainly getting my full attention. I didn't give it a number, and I didn't pollenate it either. I just took its picture, and continued to walk through the Greenhouse. You will not believe what happened next. I saw a snake. Yes, a real long snake. A big snake. Now I don't go around trying to eliminate snakes from my garden. I know how helpful snakes can be. They do so much good, and I tend to leave them alone. However, a snake, good or bad, in your Greenhouse is like a snake in your bedroom. It just can't be tolerated. Believe me, I would have just picked him up and put him outside, but he looked too big for me to just handle with my hands. Besides, I couldn't tell if he was poisonous. So, I quitely left the Greenhouse, and went to my barn to get my straight edged shovel that has a sharp edge. I went back into the Greenhouse, and fortunately, the snake had not moved. I positioned myself where the snake could not see me, and I thrust the shovel at his midsection. Like I say, I regret that I had to kill the snake, but you would have done the same thing if you caught him in your Greenhouse. My dear wife Diana Rae has been growing her tomatoes from seed. They are now quite large, and are ready for planting outside. I have been so surprised at our weather this past March. We basically went an entire month with just one night where there were freezing temperatures. The freeze was basically only for a few hours very early in the morning. I can't remember a time when we've gone the entire month of March without more freezing weather. I would think that Diana can plant her tomatoes in about another 5 to 7 days. I can already taste those tomato sandwiches. Bill

Seedling 1-336; Conversion of "The Freak"

2011-04-04T18:22:00.000-07:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

I have been so busy in the Greenhouse that I haven't taken the time recently to write an article. For example, with advice received from my good friend, Jeff Wade at Atlas Greenhouse, I recently changed the "Pulleys" on both of my large fans. I also installed a larger "Pump," and I drilled more holes in the PVC Tube that distributes water in my coolant system. I am now ready for summer. My Greenhouse is in "first class" condition. In fact, when I went out to check the Greenhouse this morning I had many, many blooms, but the one that I was the most pleased to see was my Seedling 1-336. I have had seedlings look one way one year, and then the next year they look quite different. Seedling 1-336 looked the same this morning as it did when I first posted its initial bloom last year back on May 10, 2010. The main difference that I see is that this year there is more branching, and the bud count has improved. I'm showing a picture of what I saw this morning.

I have been making so much progress with the daylilies that I treated during the winter, and I've posted several articles about some of the progress. Today I want to tell you about a daylily that was given to me by my good friend, Barry Mathie, from Canada. The daylily is called "THE FREAK." It is a very beautiful daylily, but unfortunately, I haven't taken a picture. So, I'm using a picture that I took from the internet. I treated plants that were growing in three (3) separate, one-gallon containers. One plant died. One plant is still living, and is doing ok. The third one-gallon container had two plants in it, and so I just treated both plants. I'm showing the two plants before they were cut for treatment.

To me it is interesting to see the plants before they were treated with Colchicine, and then see them after they were treated. I must say that I was very successful in the way that I cut THE FREAK. It was clean, not dirty. There was no "debris." Just plants that were cut close to the "growing tip," and frankly, I would have thought that they other two plants that were treated would have done much better. However, Plant Number #1 that contained two plants, so far, has grown like a champion. I like using the red dye with my Colchicine; it helps me to see what I am doing. I think that I've made two positive changes in my treatment program. The first change is to go from one (1) milliliter of DMSO, to six (6) milliliters of DMSO. I would have thought that this increase in DMSO would have been harmful, but instead it has only been helpful. The second change that I have made is to cut away the outer rings of foilage about ten days after treatment. Then, after this foilage is cut away, it is at least another 10 days before any water is used. As I say, I'm showing THE FREAK just before and then just after the first treatment with Colchicine.

I'm going to show two more pictures. One picture shows Plant No. #1 on March 23, 2011. This is the 41st day after the initial treatment. I like the plant on the left the best, but the plant on the right is also doing fine. In the second photo I reversed the appearance of the plant. The plant that was on the right is now on the left, and the plant that was on the left is now on the right. I did this with the second picture so that you could see the roots that are forming at the base of the flower. When roots begin to form, this is a good sign. It usually means that the plant has accepted the Colchicine, and is content to move toward being a tetraploid. I would also note that both plants are very stiff, but the plant on the right, in the second picture, has grown quite a bit and is not as stiff as I would like. This plant may only be a partial conversion. Well, we'll have to wait and see the pollen.

As for plants that I've converted in the past, I must comment on TET. PINK RUFFLED LOVE. Today it bloomed with four petals and four sepals. Just gorgeous. I took pollen from Seedling 1-336, and put it on TET. PINK RUFFLED LOVE. Surely this will be a good combination. I might pick up the wonderful peach and pink in TET. PINK RUFFLED LOVE, and also capture some of the "teeth" from 1-336. Now that would be a great combination!

Bill

Visiting the Birmingham Daylily Society

2011-03-27T11:25:00.000-07:00

Hello Daylily Friends: This past week-end, on Sunday, March 20, 2011, Diana and I were privileged to travel to Birmingham, Alabama, to visit with the Birmingham Daylily Society. The travel time was only about 2 1/2 hours each direction, and mostly we traveled on Interstate Highways. When we arrived in Birmingham we went directly to the Botanical Gardens where the Society meets. As we entered the Gardens we saw a large glass building with beautiful flowers out front. I simply had to stop and get a picture. Diana said that we could get a picture later, but from past experience I've learned that the picture has to be taken when you can, and not later when you might. We then went to the front of the Classroom Building where the Society meets, but Diana and I had to take our own picture using my tripod. Aren't the tulips beautiful? Actually Diana and I visited with the Birmingham Club three years ago when I first had PASTOR LAURIE ANN MOELLER as my principal introduction. Several members reported that it grows very well, and I was delighted to hear the good news. PASTOR MOELLER has been such a beautiful daylily, and it shows up in places where I least expect to find it growing. For example, this past summer I saw it growing in three gardens during our AHS National Convention in Valdosta, Georgia. At each garden it looked superb! I anticipate that it probably will not win AHS's highest awards, but it is a consistent daylily that is always large and always beautiful. Well, it might win higher awards; in fact, this past season it won the AHS "Honorable Mention" award. I had wanted to take a picture of the Birmingham Club but I forgot to do this until after most of the members had departed. So, I took a picture of those who were there when I remembered to use my Canon camera. In the photograph you will see Jim Riddle, Jim Chappell and Jesse and Terah George. Well, I'll post more later. Got to run and check the Greenhouse. Bill

Big Kiss; Joiner Diploid

2011-03-19T10:46:00.000-07:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

Back on October 5, 2009, Diana and I were most privileged to visit the Tri-Cities Daylily Society which is located in Kingsport, Tennessee. We were invited by our friend, Ms. Susan Okrasinski, and it was just a wonderful trip. Another friend that we made during the trip to Kingsport was John Wagner. John spoke so well in favor of Joiner's daylily, BIG KISS. John wanted me to try to get it converted, and last year I gave my "best effort." However, each plant that I tried to treat kept throwing up new fans from the bottom of the daylily. This happened with every plant, and of course as you would expect, I lost every effort in my conversion work. It was so sad. Then this past fall I separated the plants again, one fan to a pot, and I tried again to get it converted. I'm showing a picture of BIG KISS so that you will know what it looks like. It is a lovely double.

I started drying BIG KISS on January 16, 2010. I left it to dry until I treated it beginning on February 11, 2011. I treated it, but none of the five (5) plants that I tried to convert took/absorbed the Colchicine except for Plant No. #3, which absorbed only a small amount. Then, I treated the plant for four more days: that is, from February 13 through February 16, 2011. On Feb. 13 I treated the plants twice. On Feb. 14 I treated the plants three times. On Feb. 15 I treated the plants twice. On Feb. 16 I treated the plants only once in the morning. So, it seemed to me that the plants took/absorbed plenty of Colchicine. Sometimes when so much of the chemical is used, the plants will just die. However, all of the plants have done very well. I'm going to show Plant No. #1, and particularly show the plant after it was "trimmed," and then show the plant after it was first treated with Colchicine. Finally, I'm showing a picture of Plant No. #1 as it appeared yesterday in the Greenhouse.

I have pictures of the other four (4) BIG KISS plants that I treated, but the photographs are basically the same as I've shown for Plant No. #1. So, I will go forward to what Plants #2, #3, #4, and #5 looked like as of yesterday morning. Yesterday was March 18, 2011. The only plant that I am particularly concerned about is, indeed, Plant No. #1. If you enlarge the picture of Plant No. #1 you can see a shoot emerging from the soil. Ordinarily I would think that this would mean that the conversion work will fail. However, the treated portion of the plant is so large that I am thinking that the emerging plant will not be a problem. Here are the pictures of Plants #2 through #5:

All of the foilage on all five plants is "very hard." I am very hopeful that this time I will accomplish the goal of my friend John, and get BIG KISS converted. Converting BIG KISS should help to produce better dormant doubles in the colder climates. I will keep you posted as I continue to move through this work.

Bill

One More Time for HANDSOME ROSS CARTER

2011-03-15T16:57:00.000-07:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

As many of you probably know from reading my posts in the past, I am trying to convert HANDSOME ROSS CARTER. I thought that I had it converted last year. Indeed, I even had a growing fan with a bud, but sadly, it just died. In hindsight, I think that I allowed too much heat exposure to the black pot, and that this "baked" the roots. I will not make this mistake again. Because some of you may not have seen HANDSOME ROSS CARTER, I am posting a picture that I took of the flower this past summer. It is a beautiful orange with plenty of green in the throat. I'm trying to convert HANDSOME ROSS CARTER because I was asked to by my friend, Josh Jacquez. I am also trying to convert it because now I am working much more with oranges, and I need a Tetraploid HANDSOME ROSS CARTER. Now that you have seen a picture of the flower of HANDSOME ROSS CARTER, I am also showing the growing fans that I brought into Diana's basement for Colchicine treatment back on February 5, 2011.

When Colchicine was first applied to HANDSOME ROSS CARTER on February 3 and 4, 2011, there was no absorption of the chemical into the plant. I was disappointed. So, I cut the plants again to get closer to the growing tip, and then I added the equivocalent of three (3) milliliters of DMSO to the Colchicine, plus a few drops of "red dye." You can see Plant Number #3 on February 5, 2011, after it was treated with the Colchicine containing more of the DMSO along with the red dye. I then again treated Plant Number #3 once per day on February 6 and 7, 2011, and on February 8, 2011, I treated the plant twice. It should be interesting to look at Plant Number #3 on February 9, 2011, the day after all treatment had stopped. You can see that the plant is quite "swelled," and that some of the foilage is thick and is breaking around the outer bands. This thickening and breaking of the foilage suggests that the Colchicine was absorbed.

The next picture is perhaps the most important step in trying to achieve a conversion. I took my knife and cut away the outer bands of foilage, leaving only the area near the growing tip. I did this to help avoid any rot, and to help the plant grow only where it needs to grow: at the growing tip. I know that it probably looks strange to cut away the outer foilage, but I have learned time and again that most often if there is no trimming there isn't going to be a conversion. Rot will appear and the plant will die. If the plant can go through the trimming, without water, and continue to grow, then there is real hope that a conversion can be achieved.

The next picture that I am showing was taken today after I came home from a hard day's labor in the law office. It shows HANDSOME ROSS CARTER, Plant Number #3. Why am I showing Plant Number #3? Because of the five plants that I treated Plant Number #3 looks like it is the best of the group. Plant Number #2 might be converted, and Plant Number #5 could be converted if it continues to grow. I do not believe that Plants #1 and #4 are converted. I think that Plant Number #3 is converted because it has the hardest foilage and this applies to all of the foilage, including the growing tip. Plant Number #3 will continue to receive the most attention. I would note that I did not water any of the HANDSOME ROSS CARTER plants until March 4, 2011. This is a long time to go without water.

Over the next few days I will also show my conversion work with BIG KISS.

Bill

Visiting with the Georgetown Area Daylily Society

2011-03-13T19:15:00.000-07:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

This week-end Diana and I have had a most wonderful adventure. We traveled to be with the Georgetown Area Daylily Society, which meets at Charles and Heidi Douglass' Browns Ferry Gardens, in Georgetown, South Carolina. It was a 6 hour drive from our home in Marietta, Georgia, to Georgetown, and I must say that it was well worth the time investment. In fact, I enjoyed the trip so much that it made me remember when I first went to visit Pat and Grace Stamile's Floyd Cove Nursery in Florida back in 1993. Charles and Heidi's garden is a garden that every daylily gardener "must see." They grow established plants, they grow outstanding seedlings, they have acerage, they have a meeting room with an office, and kitchen and plenty of room. If you are growing daylilies, and you haven't visited this garden, then you MUST make plans to made a trip to Georgetown. I'm showing a picture of myself and Diana with Charles at the sign at the front of the garden. I'm also showing a picture with Diana and myself with Gene, Barbara, Charles and Heidi.

It was just delightful to walk the entire garden with Charles and Heidi, and see their plants. They have thousands of plants for sale in the front of the Clubhouse, and then they have a special place where they place plants that have been sold, and will be mailed in April. The plants that they have for sale include two of my orange introductions: VARSITY ORANGE and CHILLED ORANGE SORBET. Charles likes orange colors, and he particularly likes these two daylilies. I was also pleased to see that Charles is growing KENNESAW MOUNTAIN HAYRIDE and LYDIA'S REGAL ROBE. It was good to see my introductions growing in the garden. I could see that Charles and Heidi are doing well with their daylily business, and I was pleased to see how many plants they will have in the mail in April. This is a real, genuine plus for daylilies, and for the AHS!

As the Club meeting was beginning, many of the members brought in sandwiches, and cakes and fruits and salads, and lots of other things like cookies and brownies and more. Indeed, I met Ms. Marie Parsons who resides at Pawley Island, South Carolina. Ms. Marie is a delightful lady who prepared a "Strawberry Sunday" dessert. It was just so good! Ms. Marie has been a long time member of the Club, and is a person that everyone in the club looks to for leadership. I liked meeting Ms. Marie! After the meeting I was also able to take a picture of the Club and I'm posting this as well. As you can see from the picture, there was a large attendance at the meeting, and we had an enjoyable plant auction, and then we went to supper together at the Land Mark Restaurant that is on the bay. Diana had fresh shrimp, and I had Mahi Mahi. As Grandpa on Hee Haw would often say, "Yum, yum, good."

Thanks to Charles and Heidi, and to the Georgetown Area Daylily Club, for inviting us to come to their meeting.

Bill

Rain, Rain, Thanks for Coming!

2011-03-09T17:22:00.000-08:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

There is a sign posted in front of Pike's Nursery that reads, "Prepare to Plant your Garden!" Well, that is what I was working on this past Monday and Tuesday: Getting my Garden ready for Spring. I went to the Home Depot, and I rented a "Ditch Witch" machine that I used to dig deep trenches around my daylily beds. I did this to eliminate encroaching tree roots. Tree roots are awful. They rob the daylilies of moisture, and I would rather have my daylilies than a Pine or a Hemlock, or an Oak, or any other kind of tree. I am showing one area where I cut Pine Tree roots, and then I am showing a second area where I cut roots from several Hemlock Trees. It is my intent to have the best seedlings ever in 2011, and tree roots will not hinder my daylilies.

One area of the Garden where we have another concern is next to where Diana grows her tomatoes. It is also an area where I have a number of seedlings growing, and I want to see these seedlings at their best, and at full strength. The nearby trees are Oaks. You wouldn't think that Oak Trees would throw roots that are as harmful as Pine Tree roots, but the Oak Tree roots are even worse. The Oak Tree roots are very fine, and they really take the moisture, even if you water every day. So, I had to also cut the Oak Tree roots. As you look closer at the area where Diana's tomatoes grow you can see that the area around the beds are covered nicely with "wood chips. Then, a thin layer of pine straw is used to cover the wood chips. This system works very well. It is almost like what many gardener's do when they use wooden boxes to enclose their daylily beds. I simply build up the soil using organic material, and then cover the area near the beds/rows with the wood chips. I do it this way because I like the way that it looks, and I believe that I am doing something to improve the fertility of the garden.

I would note that the pictures shown today were taken this morning while it was raining. I worked as much as I could on Monday and Tuesday, knowing that it would rain on Wednesday, and that it would take the remainder of the week to dry out. I just have to thank our Heavenly Father for sending the rain, without which nothing would exist.

I also want to thank those who have been praying for our friend Michael Falconer in Canada. Michael wrote me the most wonderful note to let us know that his surgery went well, and that he is recovering. Michael and Marguerite have high spirits, and are looking forward to seeing the Spring, and the daylily blooms that surely will come. I would encourage everyone to keep Michael in your prayers through this season of Lent. His surgery was serious, and prayers are needed to help him regain his health, and his strength.

Bill

Visiting the Mobile Hemerocallis Society

2011-03-06T16:13:00.000-08:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

This past week-end Diana and I were privileged to be invited to come and visit with the Mobile Hemerocallis Society. We got up early Sunday morning, on February 27, 2011, and drove from our home here in Marietta, Georgia, to Mobile, Alabama. When we arrived in Mobile Diana "directed" that we go to Belk's Department Store. At first I did not understand that the Mobile Club met in the Community Room inside Belk's. Then, as we walked into Belk's, we were met by Chris and Beth Rea, by Fred Manning, and by John and Nancy Falk. Of course it was like seeing old friends, and being able to visit. John and Fred and Chris helped me bring the daylilies into the Community Room for later auction. The Club met, and then I gave my presentation. I know that it must have been too long, but when you see friends who also love daylilies, it is just hard to stop talking. After the meeting we were taken to the Hampton Inn where our Room was upgraded to a Suite. Nice! Then John and Nancy took Diana and I to a wonderful Seafood Restaurant that was right on Mobile Bay. Just a lovely, lovey visit with friends, and Dinner, and most enjoyable conversation. Thanks to the Mobile Hemerocallis Society!

Back at home I continue to be surprised by the progress with my effort to convert my Carpenter Seedling. At first I was concerned as to whether I should cut the growing conversion. I did ultimately cut both Plants 3 and 4, and I expected the emergence of just a single fan on each plant. However, a few days after the plants were cut, I was startled to see the emergence of "multiple fans." I have had multiple fans before in my conversion work, but this time I was genuinely surprised. So, this afternoon I thought that I would show how the two plants appear today. I am beginning to believe that these two conversions will survive and continue to grow. I sure hope so because this is one conversion that I really want to have accomplished.

During March, 2010, Diana and I were privileged to take a trip to Niagra Falls in Canada. We made many friends in Canada including Michael and Marguerite Falconer. In Canada Diana and I I sat at the table with Michael, and also went to lunch together. Then, this past May, Michael and Marguerite attended the AHS National Convention in Valdosta, Georgia. After the Convention Michael and Marguerite came by our house to see our garden. We had a wonderful time. Then, we learned that Michael had a serious form of cancer. Fortunately, Michael went through an operation on March 4, 2011, in London, Ontario. We have been praying for Michael, and we ask our daylily friends to do the same. Michael has gone through this medical journey will the full intent of growing his summer garden. Michael has a fan of my IRISH HALO, and he wants to see it bloom. Pray for Michael's complete recovery, that he will be able to enjoy his summer garden, and that IRISH HALO is as beautiful for him as it can possibly be. Thanks! We love you Michael.

Bill

Joint Daylily Show; Saturday, June 18, 2011

2011-02-28T13:02:00.000-08:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

This past Saturday morning Diana and I and David and Camilla drove to the home of Mark and Patty Franklin in Alpharetta, Georgia. We met at the Franklin home with a large number of representatives of the Greater Atlanta Daylily Society and the Cobb County Daylily Society. The purpose of our meeting was to plan for our Joint Daylily Show that will take place on Saturday, June 18, 2011, at the Galleria Mall. Our meeting was led by Claude Carpenter who is our Show Chairperson. I'm also pleased to report that Diana and I have agreed to be the Show Chairpersons for the show that will take place next year. When we arrived at Mark and Patty's home there was a "b-i-g c-r-o-w-d." It takes many members working close together to make our show a success. I have said before, and I humbly say again, our Joint Daylily Show is a "happening" in Region 5. Fifteen (15) Judges are required to evaluate over 500 daylilies. I'm showing pictures of our daylily friends as they prepared to begin their meeting, and I'm showing a picture as the meeting began.

I like seeing everyone on Friday evening at the Galleria Mall where we work together to fill over 500 wine bottles that we use as containers for our Daylily scapes. We always look forward to the excitement of the next day, Saturday, when so much daylily fun will happen. Saturday morning begins early with members out in their gardens selecting flowers, then bringing these to the Mall for grooming and entering with the Registrars. The daylilies are then properly sorted on many tables where they will be judged. Every person who enters a flower in the show has grown the daylily in their yard, they have cared for it, they have cut it "with love," and brought it to the show for admiration and evaluation. I'm showing our good friend Luke Vandevate as he fills the wine bottles with water, and I'm also showing Virgil Herndon as he places daylilies on the presentation tables.

Well the siren is going off warning of a potential tornado. So, I will post this and write more later.

Bill

049 255 Da; Day 58

2011-02-23T19:09:00.000-08:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

I have been busy in the yard cleaning the daylily beds while we have had this wonderful weather. Things are beginning to look very well, and I'm paying close attention to my Carpenter Seedling. Today is day 58 following the Colchicine treatment that was concluded on December 27, 2010. I'm showing plant number 3, and it is starting to look good. Looking like it will indeed survive. I'm so pleased that I cut it in the center, and the results of the cutting are very impressive. You can easily see that the center growth is pushing through. I'm likewise showing plant number 4. It was somewhat smaller than plant 3, but on plant 4 you can also see the center growth. In fact, you can even see at least one new fan growing at the edge of where the Colchicine treatment was concentrated. I had hoped to just get one new seedling from the fans that I treated, and right now I have fans 3 and 4 that I have shown, and fans 1, 2, and 5 that are also doing very well.

Today I also noticed that a fan has emerged on Seedling 1-385. It kept splitting, and indeed was forming many new fans. I started with with two fans, but now I have eleven (11) fans. Then, as I was looking at the fans this afternoon, I noticed that one of the fans is a scape. I am so pleased. This means that within about 6 or 7 weeks I will see a bloom. I'm showing a picture of where the fan is growing; it is just above the "S" on the word Seedling in the picture. I'm also showing a picture of the flower from 1-385 just to refresh anyone's recollection of its appearance. It is nice to finally see a new scape on one of my own, new seedlings.

Lots of events coming this week-end. Will report more soon.

Bill

Carpenter Seedling 04P 255 Da

2011-02-16T17:27:00.001-08:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

I have been trying, giving my best effort, wanting so much to convert Jack Carpenter's Seedling 04P 255 Da. Last year I was convinced that I had it converted, but alas, I only had the scape partially converted, and the plant itself was also only partly converted. In my humble opinion the plant needs to be "fully converted" so that pods can be set on it, instead of just using its pollen. Well, starting on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2010, I again set about the work of conversion. I had dried the plants for 2 months. Yes, 2 months. A very long time. So, when the Colchicine was applied the plant readily absorbed the chemical. I want to use this Carpenter Seedling to try to enhance some of my seedlings with circles around the throat of the plant.

I completed my application of Colchicine on December 27, 2010, and then on January 11, 2011, I cleaned the plants and applied some water. On January 27, 2011, I cut all of the plants with my Pin Knife to keep them growing. Ultimately, on January 29, I moved the plants to a table in the Greenhouse. However, this did not work out very well, and so on February 1, 2011, I moved the plants back into my basement. I now have the plants again growing in the Greenhouse.

On Tuesday, February 15, 2011, I had a simple question: should I trim two of the plants. I asked for advice, but no one wanted to venture an opinion. So, I used my best judgment. I went ahead and cut the plants with my Pin Knife just to give the growing tip a point from which to emerge. It would seem that this is a risky step, but I assure you that it is an absolutely necessary step. If the plant is not cut so that the growing tip can continue to emerge, then what will happen is that rot will appear inside the plant near the growing tip, and most likely the rot will not be seen until it is too late. The plant will probably be lost from the rot. The fact is that if you have a question about cutting a plant that you are trying to convert, the rule of thumb should always be to make the cut, and take your chances. If you don't make the cut, I assure you that very likely you will lose the plant. I'm showing Plant #3 on February 15, and then I am also showing Plant #3 today, that is, on February 16.

The second plant that I am showing is Plant #4. It is the smaller of the two plants, and the fact is that its growing tip might emerge if I do not cut the plant, but I just can't take the risk. So much risk! Well I cut the plant, and I will have to say that when I saw it today I felt a lot better about opening up the top of the plant. There did not seem to be much loss of moisture at the tip where I made the cut, and indeed, there does not seem to be any setback from my cutting effort. Another factor is that when the Plant is cut this does not necessariloy mean that a "good thing" has been accomplished. I have had conversions grow as much as five to six inches, then sit still, and suddenly die. Just so sad, and it might happen again here, but I am hoping otherwise. Hope that you benefit from seeing Plants #3 and #4 both before they were trimmed, and after they were split.

Bill

Atlas Manufacturing Systems, Inc.

2011-02-14T18:01:00.000-08:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

May I tell you of my experience this past week end with my Greenhouse? OK, then I will. I was very concerned when I saw that the "window" behind my coolant system would not close, and then when it ultimately did close, it would not reopen. I can't have my Greenhouse operating without adequate ventilation because I might lose my daylilies. So I called my good friend Jeff Wade at Atlas Greenhouse in Alapaha, Georgia. Jeff understood my problem. He game me instructions on how to loosen a particular bolt to determine if the bolt had been stripped. I did as Jeff instructed. The bolt was okay. Then Jeff said that the problem might be the Thermostat. I checked it as well, and it was ok. Jeff then decided that the source of the problem had to be the Tubular Motor that opens and closes the window.

Jeff promptly made arrangements for my good friend, Roger Nugent, to drive all the way from Alapaha, Georgia, to my home here in Marietta, Georgia, which is a 4-hour drive. When Roger arrived he was certainly welcome. As Roger drove up I was promptly explaining my problem, but of course Roger already knew about my problem, and he was prepared to make the repair. Roger examined the "Tubular Motor" that operated the opening and closing of the window, and promptly proceeded to take out the old Tubular Motor, and install a new Motor. It didn't take Roger very long to work his way through the problem. Roger then adjusted the window, and in about an hour Roger had my window working again. Roger did a great job. Thanks Roger!

Roger has admired my daylilies from having visited my Greenhouse before when he and his brother Owen installed the new plastic this past September. Roger wanted a few more brochures, and so we of course gave him several covering the past two years. Roger asked a few more questions about my work in growing "new introductions," and I decided to show Roger some of my Conversion work taking place in my basement. I'm showing a picture of Roger as he looked over my Conversion work table. Roger was very intrigued. It was good to have Roger make the repair, and then be so interested in my use of the Atlas Greenhouse.

After having a wonderful Valentine Day Supper, prepared by my beautiful wife, Diana Rae, I received a call from Jeff Wade at Atlas. Jeff wanted to know how it went with Roger making the repair to the Greenhouse. I said to Jeff, "I feel as though I'm Atlas' most important customer. No matter what my problems might be, you always act like my problem is your only problem." Jeff laughted, but it is true. I've owned my Atlas Greenhouse for 5 years, and whenever I've had any problem, Atlas has made every effort, every time, to get my issue resolved with the utmost of dispatch. I have to give Atlas the highest marks that any customer could possibly give because Atlas is dependable. I can count on Atlas. Thanks Jeff. Thanks Roger. I like being your most important customer.

Bill

A Splendid Daylily Saturday!

2011-02-12T18:17:00.001-08:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

Diana and I got up this morning at 6:00 a.m., and promptly got ready to go to the home of our friends, Jack and Cynthia Rigsby. Diana and Jack had made plans for the four of us to travel together to go to the Region 5 (Georgia) meeting at Macon College in Macon, Georgia. Unfortunately, Diana and I had problems. First, we left the house a little late, and traveled a short distance when we realized that we had both forgotten our cell phones. So we went back to the house to get our phones. When we went in the alarm triggered, and we couldn't shut it off. The alarm company called, and we got it all cleared, but we were obviously going to be late getting to Jack and Cynthia's home. Finally we arrived at the Rigsby home, and Cynthia had prepared Biscuits with cheese and Biscuits with sausage, all topped off with good hot coffee. What started out not so good was turning out to become a much better morning. Oh, at our Region meeting I was the first speaker, and during the 15 minutes that I spoke, one of the pictures that I showed was this one of my good friend Jack speaking with Senator Johnny Isackson.

We were soon on our way to Macon. When we arrived at the place for our meeting, to my surprise, we were early. The meeting had not started. At the door to the meeting I saw our new Region 5 President, Claude Carpenter. Claude was watching members "sign in" and then proceed through a line where they could purchase daylilies donated by our members. You can see a picture of our members carefully examining the "daylily stock." I had to get a closer picture of the daylilies and I got this accomplished. I am quite surprised that so many daylilies were sold. Of course, we are all fanatics for daylilies, and we will buy most anything. However, as best I could tell, Region 5 was selling very desired and sought after daylilies. Do you notice the "containers" that Claude uses from which the daylilies are sold. They are in blue. Claude just stacks them up and puts them away until they are needed again. Claude is quite the innovator; that is why he is President.

The Guest speakers at our Region meeting were Dan and Jane Trimmer. What a thrill it was to be able to visit with such tremendous hybridizers. First we listened to Jane, and I was glad to see her flowers, but I was also glad to hear the history of the Trimmer family. Jane has done so well with small flowers, small doubles, and with spiders. Then we listened to Dan. As Dan was speaking I was listening, but also I was looking at the Trimmer catalogue. I was surprised to see a flower named "Saving Parrot Ryan." What an interesting name to use! There was an auction after Dan spoke, and I bought one fan of his new introductions, FLORENCE DENNY. I just had to have it because it is so large, and because one of the parents is Tet. Tuscawilla Snowdrift. After the meeting Diana and I had our picture taken with the Trimmers.

Jack then drove us over to "HOME OF HEAVENLY BAR-B-Q." We all had a delightful Bar-B-Q lunch. We talked about the events that happened at the Region meeting, we talked about the daylilies we purchased, and we talked about how much fun we had at the meeting. My good friend Jack even observed, "And there was no bad language by anybody at all; just good folks!" Indeed, I remember Dan telling us how fortunate we are to have the excitement of daylilies in our lives. We always have something new, just up ahead, only a short distance away. Indeed, it was a splendid daylily Saturday.

Bill

Handsome Ross Carter

2011-02-09T16:35:00.001-08:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

I have completed my treatment of HANDSOME ROSS CARTER with my new mixture of Colchicine and DMSO, as I described in my last "Post" on Saturday, February 5, 2011.

When I initially began the treatment process on Tuesday, February 3, 2011, the plants did not absorb the Colchicine at all. So, on Wednesday, February 4, 2011, I used a paper towel, and dried the plants. At 8:30 a.m., and again at 3:30 p.m., I treated the plants, but still they did not absorb the Colchicine. On the morning of February 5, I noticed that there was a little absorbtion of Colchicine in some of the plants. At 8:00 a.m. I removed the Colchicine, and applied more of the chemical. Then, around lunch time I added an additional one (1) milliliter of DMSO to my mixture. This means that my mixture became almost the same as the mixture used by the Duckman. At 2:30 p.m. I applied the new mixture.

On the morning of February 6, 2011, I noticed that all five of my HANDSOME ROSS CARTER plants were absorbing the Colchicine. So, at about 12:30 p.m. I cleaned all of the plants, and then retreated. On the morning of February 7, 2011, at about 8:30 a.m., I again cleaned the plants and retreated. On the morning of February 8, at about 8:15 a.m., I cleaned and retreated the plants.

I realize that I did not treat the plants two or three times a day as is often suggested. However, in my opinion, the plants did receive quite a bit of Colchicine, and hopefully it was enough to push toward a conversion. I just couldn't make myself cut the plants again so that more Colchicine could be applied. I'm showing pictures below of my plants as they appeared this evening:

You might notice that Plant 5 appears smaller than Plants 1 through 4. Indeed, Plant 5 is smaller. I will have to wait and watch the Plants as they move through the next two weeks. In about one week I will probably remove the outside of the growing surface to try to prevent rot when I ultimately begin applying water. I probably will not apply water for about 2 to 3 weeks. Is all of this planning written down anywhere? No. How do I know what to do? Well, as I said last year, a lot of this is making decisions as you go through the process.

I will keep you posted.

Bill

Daylilies and Friends on Saturday Morning!

2011-02-05T16:56:00.000-08:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

Diana and I got up early today, that is, on Saturday, February 5, 2011. Diana got her hair cut yesterday, and I'm sad to say that I didn't really notice. I was so concentrated on thinking about the course of my work on Friday that I didn't notice what I certainly should have noticed. Since Diana had her hair cut on Friday, she was determined to get it "fixed" early Saturday morning before we went to pick up David and Camilla for breakfast. Even though it seemed like Diana was making us late, we in fact arrived at David and Camilla's house right on time. So glad to see David and Camilla! We then drove to the West Cobb Diner, and leisurely ordered breakfast. It was such a casual, restful Saturday morning; I would have been content if it had lasted all day. I'm showing a picture of David, Camilla and Diana at the breakfast table.

While Diana was "fixing her hair," I went to the basement to "check" on several daylilies that I am trying to convert. One of the daylilies is HANDSOME ROSS CARTER. I was asked by my friend in Louisiana, Josh Jacques, to get this plant converted. I brought it into the basement on Tuesday morning, February 1, 2011. I'm showing a picture of what it looked like before I started my conversion work. There are five (5) beautiful plants. My good friend Larry Grace has been talking to the "Duckman," Don Eller, about Don's conversion work. Don has a unique formula: He uses 380 milliliters of Colchicine mixed with 6 milliliters of DMSO. To this, Don adds "food coloring" like a Baker might use when preparing a cake. Larry decided to try Don's formula, and, well, I decided that I would do the same. That is why I brought the HANDSOME ROSS CARTER to the basement. When I checked on HANDSOME ROSS CARTER it was still not absorbing the Colchicine.

Well, we were at Saturday breakfast, and then we went to visit David and Camilla in their house, and we returned home at around 11:30 a.m. To my amazement, after we returned home, I found that the five HANDSOME ROSS CARTER plants clearly had been absorbing the Colchicine during the morning. I got a little excited, and decided to cut the plants for a second time because the center of the plants had grown so much. In my opinion I needed to do this to help the Colchicine penetrate to the growing tip. The first picture that I am showing is Plant Number #1 before it was trimmed. I labored until around 2:00 p.m., making sure that I cleaned the old Colchicine out of the plants, making a better "moat" around the green center, and, as I say, cutting back the center growth. The second picture that I am showing is after the Colchicine has been removed, and the plant has been trimmed. I think I have helped in this conversion work: the Colchicine, with the addition of more of the DMSO, is more likely to change the plant to a tetraploid.

I finally finished my work with the daylilies, and applied the Colchicine that appeared to be red in color because of the red dye that I used. I have never used dye in any of my prior conversion efforts, and so the red dye certainly appeared to be odd. In fact, Diana saw some of my pictures, and she asked why the color was red. I then explained that I was following the Duckman's formula, using the red dye, and that was why my Colchicine was red. I intend to apply the Colchicine for four more days, and then wait and see what happens. You might follow the blog, and see what takes place. You might find it interesting.

Bill

Diana's Father, Willie Giessinger

2011-01-23T08:35:00.000-08:00

Hello Daylily Friends,

I have just returned from Milbank, South Dakota. Diana's father, Willie Giessinger, age 90, passed away on Monday, January 17, 2011. Willie was an extraordinary man. His parents were immigrants from Odessa, Russia, and they settled in Milbank, Grant County, South Dakota. Willie's parents were farmers, and the farming work in the 1920s was hard work. They had shovels, hoes, buckets, and other implements, but basically, it was just do the best that you can with the hands that you have. Willie's family did have horses for their labor, and Willie was "in charge" of the horses. Willie worked on the farm until WWII arrived, and then Willie enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. Willie was sent to the Pacific Theater to help liberate the islands that had been taken by the Japanese. I'm showing a picture that I took of Willie that is in a frame in our house.

Willie was with the first landing of Marines who came ashore on the Island of Okinawa, under heavy enemy fire, and Willie was wounded. He also helped liberate several other Islands including the Solomon Islands. Because of his heroism, Willie was awarded many medals including the Purple Heart. After the War Willie went to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he drove a "Street Car." I have seen Street Cars in pictures, but I don't remember ever having ridden in one. Willie soon met Margie who would often accompany him as he operated the Street Car around Minneapolis. They were soon married, and they returned to Milbank to raise their family. They had 5 children, with their first child being my beautiful wife, Diana Rae. They also have 7 grandchildren, and 16 great grandchildren. To support his family Willie sold American Motors automobiles, and he became known across South and North Dakota, and across Minnesota, as "Wild Willie." I'm showing a picture that I took of Marge and Willie's home where they have lived in Milbank all these years.

One important fact about Willie's life was that for 63 years, up until the day of his death, he always presented the American Flag to the survivor of any deceased Veteran in Grant County. Willie always said that this was an obligation that was important. Can you imagine doing such a thing for every Veteran who passes away in the place where you live, for 63 years? Willie was a member of the American Legion, The Veteran's of Foreign Wars, and the Disabled American Veterans. Willie served as the Commander of both the VFW and the DAV. Willie was also a loyal and dedicated member of St. Lawrence Catholic Church in Milbank. I'm showing a picture of the Church, and I'm also showing a picture that I took of the TV on the morning of Willie's funeral. The temperature was 20 degrees below zero. Notwithstanding this extreme cold, the Sanctuary at St. Lawrence was filled with hundreds and hundreds of people who came to say goodbye to Willie.

Willie's hometown, his state, and indeed his Nation, are all better places because of the life he lived. He cared about people, and he knew everyone in the County, and called them by their names. I will tell you a short story. About 25 years ago Diana and I came back to visit with Marge and Willie. Willie said, "I'm going to Trevett's Cafe for breakfast in the morning. Would be glad to have you come along." So, I got up early, because Willie got up early, and out the door of the house we went. I was bundled up like an Eskimo from the North Pole. Nevertheless, the sun was just coming up, and Willie said, quite spontaneously as he walked, "Oh what a bright, sunny day!" My friends, it was not what I think of here in Georgia as a "bright sunny day." It was frigid. There was snow and ice as far as I could see. Still, for Willie, it was a "bright, sunny day." We went to the Restaurant, had a wonderful time, and talked with the farmers and merchants and friends who had gathered there that morning. Throughout Willie's life he always looked at every day as a "bright, sunny day."

When the Priest spoke at Willie's funeral he quoted the scripture that I remember hearing so many times from my good friend, Reverened Gordon Thompson. Whenever Rev. Thompson would preside over a funeral he would always quote Jesus' words from John 14:2-4:

"In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told
you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. I will come back and take
you to be with me, that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the
place where I am going."

We will miss you Willie.

Bill