Oh My: The Second Bloom is Beautiful!

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