Happy Easter!

Hello Daylily Friends,

Here it is Saturday morning, and I started my day by going to my Greenhouse, as I usually do, and then I saw a gorgeous red daylily.  It is Seedling 3-318, and the parentage is as follows:  (Crimson Cowboy x Hotlanta).  You may recall that I previously showed my seedling called HOTLANTA back on November 23, 2012.  Seedling 3-318 is 35" tall, 4-way branching, 16 buds, and a 6 1/2" flower.  The color was so good that I had to take pictures twice before I captured the true red color.  Later tonight or perhaps tomorrow I will put this seedling into a 3-gallon bucket.

Then, as I walked through the Greenhouse, I quickly noticed a tall seedling that I thought had come from Jamie Gossard.  However, I looked at the tag on the plant and was surprised to see that it was my own.  It is Seedling 2-477, and the parentage is as follows:  (Mort Morss x Venus Fly Trap).  I regret to say that I did not get it measured outside last year, but in the Greenhouse it is quite tall with very good branching.  I was having difficulty trying to decide what plant to use to try to improve 2-477's color, and I finally decided to use Seedling 2-279, which has also just bloomed.  Then, later on, I thought about using one of my new lavender seedlings that has a few teeth.  This is Seedling 3-317, and I'm showing a picture.  3-317 is 41" tall with 4-way branching, and would have been a better match, I think, with 2-477.  Oh well.  It is a situation that I can fix tomorrow.  I've got to remember to take 2-279 to my blue eyed seedlings.  As to Seedling 3-317, I know that the teeth are in both the pod and pollen parents, and so it would probably be a better bet to use it with 2-477.  I'll know if I'm right in about another year.  Anyway, I'm patiently waiting for TET. ROSE F. KENNEDY to bloom, and I will probably cross it with all of my seedlings with teeth.  I have had one bloom from a TET. ROSE F. KENNEDY seedling, and it was very nice.  I will be looking for seedlings with large green throats to use with TET. RFK.

My lovely wife Diana Rae has just come in and told me that talking about "crosses" that I'm going to make leads to a total "loss of credibility."   Oh well.

Onto another very similar subject.  I've also had a red daylily that is Seedling 2-480, and the parentage is as follows:  (Mort Morss x Randy Stephens).  Again, I did not get the measurements outside last year, but in the Greenhouse there is good height an branching.  Since it is red, I've been using Seedling 3-309 as a corresponding parent.  Although it is difficult putting good teeth on seedlings, I'm learning more and more each day.  Basically, knowing the parents that have teeth in their background is a big help.

Well we're looking forward to Easter Sunday tomorrow morning.  So, we took a picture of ourselves with Little Lily Rae for everyone to see.  She is so precious.  On Wednesday she climbed into my chair all by herself, and carried one of her books with her.  Then she sat and went through the pages looking at all the pictures.  She knows so many words now.  For example, when she is eating and she wants a drink, she points to her milk and says "drink."  She even knows words like eggs and sausage, and sometimes tells us what she wants to eat.  Lily Rae is the best.

Happy Easter!

Bill