What a Wonderful Week.

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