Almost Persuaded!

Hello Daylily Friends,

This past Saturday we held our annual sale from the Garden, and I am so grateful for all the help that we had from our friends.  Our "Diggers,"  David Arthur, Mitch Harmon, Joe Wilhelm, and Luke Van De Vate, all worked so hard to help so many daylily friends.  And we couldn't have survived without Camilla Arthur and Ms. Diana handling all of the transactions and questions.  We also had additional help from Jacob and Ansley, who are David and Camilla's grandchildren.  Jacob helped carry daylilies to the cars of our customers, and Ansley prepared name tags for plants that were sold.  Thinking back, I wish that I had taken a picture of everyone before the morning got started, but it all happened so fast that I just missed the opportunity.  However, I did take one picture at the end of the day, and I'm showing everyone who was here, including our new friend, Todd, who we hope will join our Daylily Club.

One reason that I missed the opportunity for an early picture was because of the "first bloom" on my Seedling 8-196.  I've always known that 8-196 is a fine seedling, but on Saturday morning the first bloom was over eight inches in diameter.  I wanted to get a better picture but there were so many people to help that there just wasn't time to get the "best shot."  Nevertheless, I did get one shot that showed the eight inch measurement.  May I humbly say that there are yellow daylilies, and then there are daylilies such as 8-196.  The parentage in 8-196 is as follows: [(Summer Hymns x J. T. Davis) x Ram].  The measurements for 8-196 include a height of 32-33 inches, 5-way branching, 23 buds, and a 7" flower.  Plus, 8-196 is a Dormant.  The 32" height of 8-196 is somewhat of a mystery because one parent measured 24 inches, one was 25 inches, and one was thirty inches.  The dormancy in 8-196 probably comes from SUMMER HYMNS, because J. T. DAVIS is an evergreen, and RAM is a semi-evergreen.  Sometimes a hybridizer just gets "lucky" with a cross, and hits a home run despite lack of evidence that anything more than a "double" should be expected.  This morning, that is, on Monday morning, 8-196 bloomed again.  In fact, there were four blooms!  Unfortunately, none of the blooms were as large as the eight inch bloom that we had on Saturday, but today's blooms were all over 7 inches,  I'm showing one picture that verifies the height and the diameter measurements.  I think that I may introduce 8-196 this coming fall.  I just have to say that this late blooming beauty just towers over the garden because of its color and because of its height.  Any name suggestions?

Little Lily Rae came over this morning, and since last Wednesday she has not felt well.  Indeed, she has seen physicians, and has been taking medicine to help her get better.  We walked together around the garden, and later we went to watch the fish swim in the pond.  We eventually came in and Lily Rae had a snack that included cantaloupe and grapes.  Soon, I was reading to Lily Rae, when suddenly she went to sleep, and I wasn't far behind.  Diana snapped our picture.

One other bloom that I have to tell you about from today is from my Seedling 2-455.  I previously mentioned 2-455 in my posts on December 15, 2012, and May 23, 2012.  I had thought that I had a good seedling with a fine green edge, but it didn't do that well in the Greenhouse this spring, and then the outside blooms didn't show much promise either.  But, everything changed this morning.   The outside bloom was just gorgeous with some promise of a double, but the edge was so green and specifically with green teeth.  I just had to have a wonderful picture, and I think that I have this accomplished.  I must confess that I had become so disappointed

with 2-455 that I threw away the 3-gallon pot of the plant that was in the Greenhouse, and now I have only the plants that are growing outside.   I was almost persuaded to completely toss 2-455 until I saw today's bloom along with the new scape.  It appears that 2-455, while it is a semi-evergreen, leans considerably toward dormancy, and it doesn't like the temperatures in the Greenhouse.  It needs a winter chill.

The parents of 2-455 are as follows: (Diana's Irish Dream x Irish Halo).  The measurements are as follows:  27" tall, 4-way branching, 16 buds, and a 6" flower.

More news soon.

Bill