Merry Christmas from Little Lily Rae!

Hello Daylily Friends,

On Monday and Wednesday we had such a wonderful two days with Little Lily Rae.  On Monday Kelley dressed Lily Rae in her red corduroy dress, and we then had Lily Rae to sit in her little rocking chair, where she just sat and smiled.  The chair was just in front of our Christmas tree, which was perfect placement for where I took her picture.  On Wednesday we all went to the Town Center Mall so that Lily Rae could see Santa.  Lily Rae went in her stroller, but she wanted to walk. So, Lily Rae went walking across the Mall, and everyone who saw her was just amazed because she was so small but she walked so well.  She just smiled at everyone.  Finally, I picked her up and Diana took our picture.  Little Lily Rae is just such an adventure and so beautiful.

Well, let's talk some about things that I've noticed in the garden.  I've noticed, both in the outside garden and in the Greenhouse, places where I have seedlings growing that I previously noticed this past spring.  For example, I have a cross between my seedlings 11-201 and 1-414, and this is Seedling 2-421.  I posted a picture of 2-421 this past spring, on the date of April 29, 2012.  I was/am just so pleased with this seedling.  Well, I say "pleased," but of course this is sometimes a conditional word.  I'm pleased if 2-421 does the same thing outside that I saw it do in the Greenhouse.  What I'm also showing is where it is growing outside.  I have three nice sized fans, and if in the spring of 2013 it does again outside, what I saw it do in the Greenhouse, then I will, indeed, raise a "full throttle yell of excitement." 

Another Seedling that I've admired is Seedling 2-441.  It is a cross between my best blue, that is, Seedling 11-234, and TET. TEXAS KALEIDOSCOPE.  Although I have no idea what the eventual measurements will be, I do have hope that the plant will be an exciting cross leading me in a new direction.  I'm also showing the fans that are growing outside.  It is hard to tell what a daylily might do by just looking at it during the winter, but I am encouraged that the two fans look good and vibrant.

Sometimes I'm not so good at getting fans placed in the outside garden so that they can be judged after enduring a real, cold, north Georgia winter.  This is what happened with Seedling 2-455.  It is a wonderful "double" that I also noticed in the Greenhouse this past spring.  I am not sure of the parentage because I somehow put the wrong tag in the pot when it was transplanted during the fall of  2011.  However, there are only 3 possible parents, but I may not know for sure exactly what the parents might be without additional research.  I mentioned Seedling 2-455 in my post back on May 23, 2012.  I do wish that 2-455 was outside, but I will just have to continue to grow it in the Greenhouse and see what happens.

ADDENDUM:  Important News!  I just found where I have two fans of 2-455 growing outside.  So, this coming spring I will also know its full potential in height, branching and bud count.

I also should report that I've put most of my dormant plants that were in the big Greenhouse into my smaller Greenhouse, where there is no heat.  I'm showing a picture of the dormant plants in the smaller Greenhouse.  They continue to reverse, but not as fast as they would if they were impacted by the frost.  They are, nevertheless, reversing.  In the big Greenhouse the plants are still growing strong.  I've made a mistake, however, in spraying chemicals for bugs and thrips and whatever else that might be present.  What I did was put too much soap in the mixture and caused some damage to the growing tips.  I've made a vow to myself to avoid using any more soap.  I'm just going with chemicals and water, and that is all.

Well we're looking forward to Christmas.

Bill