The Dogwood Trees are in full Bloom!

Hello Daylily Friends,

Over the past 24 hours we've had 4" of rain.  So, we are soaked.  Four inches is a lot of rain, but this has really helped our daylilies to grow, and they look great.  They will grow over this coming year, and next year at the AHS National Convention, they should be beautiful.  The fact is that daylilies have to have 2 years to grow to look their very best.  I must also so pleased to report that I have seen several blooms on TET. SEBASTIAN THE CRAB.  Last year, having had only a small amount of pollen, I made no progress in producing new seeds with this conversion.  However, I've set several seeds on a double that Diana received from David Kirchoff.  Can't wait to see if the new seed pods continue to mature and ultimately produce seeds.  I've also been able to freeze some pollen from TET. SEBASTIAN.

I also want to report that I've seen new blooms on Stamile's FANCY LACE.  This wonderful daylily is a "champion."  It does well whether it has gone through a hard winter or whether it has been in the comfortable surroundings of a Greenhouse.  It is one of my favorites that I previously wrote about back on July 17, 2013.  Thanks Pat for this absolutely wonderful creation.

One of my new daylilies is Seedling 4-502, and the parents are as follows:  (Dr. Stump x The Sting!).  I made a number of daylilies from this cross, and practically all of them were planted outside.  This particular seedling just had a root emerging from the seed, so I planted it early and it grew in the Greenhouse.  While it does not have height, branching or bud count of any particular consequence, it nevertheless is a wonderful orange daylily, with teeth.  I think that it may also be a weaker plant, but perhaps I can use it to get that wonderful edge transferred to a winter hardy orange daylily.  I have plenty of candidate parents that I can use for this purpose.  I would also add that I've taken pictures of the first two blooms.  Both blooms were so nice.  I feel confident that it will do even better in producing teeth outside in the hot summer sun.

One of my daylilies that I previously saw, both in the Greenhouse and outside after going through a winter, is Seedling 2-471.  I had initially thought that it had a green edge, but this was just that: "hope."  Seedling 2-471, however, has 5-way branching, and it is a strong daylily.  The pink color in the self, however, is spotted and isn't clear.  So, 2-471 seems to be the perfect candidate to cross with Dave Mussar's, SPOTS BEFORE MY EYES.  Dave's daylily is very fertile with very good branching, and may just be the vehicle to accomplish what I hope to do.  That is, have a spotted daylily with an attractive edge that is winter hardy.  I'm showing another picture of SPOTS BEFORE MY EYES just to show how these two beauties match each other.

Another daylily that I selected back in 2011, is Seedling 11-315.  I first grew this plant in the Greenhouse, then I grew it outside, and it has a "grand, regal appearance."  Someone recently wrote to me about it, and I'm showing it because of this particular note.  11-315 is pollen fertile, but I recall having difficulty in using it outside when I tried to use it as a pod parent.  However, I may be able to use it as both a pod and pollen parent in the Greenhouse.  I have big plans for this beauty. 

I would also report that my friend, Jamie Gossard, gave me a number of daylilies this past fall and so I've been growing them in the Greenhouse.  One of the daylilies that I received from Jamie was SPACECOAST VELVET VALENTINE.  Just a wonderful daylily with a very strong scape.  It seems to always have three laterals, and the colors are a saturated red.  Moreover, it has a wonderfully blended "ivory" colored eye.  In my opinion it is a perfect match for my Seedling 1-264 which is a dormant.  I like matching dormants and evergreens because I seem to usually produce winter hardy plants from using such parents.

I want to look back to just a few weeks ago when my "wood pile" was covered with snow.  I have since burned it twice, and the second burning was just two days before we had the 4" of rain.  The last day that we can burn yard debris here where we live is May 1, so I have to make sure that I get this work done in an orderly manner.  Then, there are lots of bushes that need to be trimmed, and I like to burn the old branches as well.  The garden is really starting to take shape with all of the changes.

This past week-end Little Lily Rae was with us for a visit. She just continues to grow, and those beautiful brown eyes are so bright.  She talks so much, and she constantly surprises me with things she says and the questions she asks.  I have taught Little Lily the differences in a number of trees and over the course of the winter I told her that the Dogwood Tree would have white blooms in the spring.  I was able to show this to her this past Friday, and she was genuinely interested.  She is such a blessing!

Notwithstanding all of the rain we've had, the daylilies in the Greenhouse need water.  So, I'm signing off for now and going to the Greenhouse to "water."

Bill