More 2014 Introductions.

Hello Daylily Friends,

I've been somewhat surprised at the number of requests that I've had to my intent to introduce THE STING.  I certainly hope that I will have enough fans to meet the demand.  I have been asked about the cost, and it will be $200.00.  I just want to make sure that my fans are large enough when they are mailed.  So, it will be about 6 more weeks before they can be available.

Since there was such a response to THE STING, I thought that I would show three more introductions coming for 2014.

The next, new introduction, will be DIANA'S PEACHES AND CREAM.  I chose this name because every summer we buy peaches and bananas, and Diana cuts them into small serving sizes, and then mixes them with cream.  She puts them into the refrigerator, and later serves them as a summer treat.  Oh, they are so good.  Here is the cross that created DIANA'S PEACHES AND CREAM:   (Varsity Orange x Tet. Terry Lyninger).  This daylily is 27" tall with 4-way branching, 24 buds, and a 5 3/4" flower.  It blooms early to midseason, and is a semi-evergreen, but it leans toward dormancy.  This is a lovely daylily.  Can't you just taste the peaches and bananas?

The next introduction is a monster in its growth in the ground.  Hugh fans.  The name will be IRISH CROWN.  As you might expect, it has a green edge, and here is the parentage:  [(Leslie Renee x Angels Gather Around) x (Leslie Renee x Angels Gather Around)].  It is 30" tall with 3 and 4 way branching, 18 buds, and a 5 1/2" flower.  It blooms early to midseason, and should be a good parent for green edges.  Although I recall that it was a difficult pod parent, I plan to use it this coming spring with some of my other darker colored daylilies to further develop the green edge.

I've also decided to introduce HEAVENLY SUNRISE.  As you know, I struggled to settle on a name for this daylily, and I'm very happy with the name we chose.  HEAVENLY SUNRISE is just a beckoning beauty from wherever we are standing in the garden.  It just can't be overlooked or missed.  Here are the parents: ((Summer Hymns x J. T. Davis) x Ram).  It is 32" tall, 5-way branching, 23  buds, and a massive, 7" flower.  It is a dormant, and it blooms late.  After thinking back over all of the blooms that I saw this past summer, I have to say that my favorite was HEAVENLY SUNRISE.  I think that anyone who grows this beauty is likely to have the same experience.

Shortly, I'll write more about our 2014 introductions.  We should have two or maybe three more introductions for this coming year.  I should also add that all of our pictures of our daylilies are taken outside in our gardens.  The pictures were not taken in the Greenhouse.  I've found that the pictures taken in the garden are the best!

Every introduction that is sold from the Greenhouse receives only the best of care.  All plants that will be sold in 2014 are potted and receives outstanding potting soil, plenty of Alfalfa, Epsom Salts, 16-4-12 slow release fertilizer, and Bayer's Advanced Tree & Shrub pellets.  I can't over emphasize the importance of the Bayer product.  It kills bugs dead, including gnats, and it makes a huge difference in keeping Thrips under control.  Also, I've finally gotten our seeds planted.  As of today we've planted 2,567 seeds, and we're having really outstanding germination.  I've still got a few more seeds that I want to plant, but the pods are still on the daylilies.  So, a little more time will have to pass, and then I'll plant the final 20-30 remaining seeds.  Another work that we've been doing is getting ready to convert a number of daylilies.  I've been potting the plants, so as to have them ready to treat either the last week of September, or later, during the last week of January, 2014.  I'll write more about this later.

All this past week the TV news channels have been reporting about Rev. Martin Luther King's speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D. C.  I asked Diana what she remembered about this historical event, and she said she didn't remember it, perhaps because she was a freshman in high school.  I must say that I also can't recall the event because I had joined the military that summer, and I believe that I was still in training at Lackland AFB in San Antonio, Texas.  Anyway, neither of us apparently paid much attention to politics at the time.  As for myself, I didn't watch TV very much, and anyway, at Lackland AFB, television was "off limits."  Now, 50 years have passed since Dr. King's speech.  So much has changed, and all for the better.  Thank you Dr. King!  I'm showing a picture of Dr. King's statute that is in Washington D. C. 

Bill