Lee's Daylily Potpourri

January 25 . . . Growth of greenhouse plants

2012-01-25T07:16:00.000-08:00

Left click on the images for a larger view.

A 10-day update on the growth of the greenhouse plants. The last update was January 15.

These are the seedlings to the right of the entrance door. The seeds were planted on July 23 and transplanted to the gallon pots on September 24, so they are now about 6 months old.

These are the seedlings left of the entrance door. They are about 1 month younger than the seedlings on the right bench.

This is the right center bench, image taken from the front of the greenhouse. The plants show considerable growth in just 10 days. The dormants are not quite as evident as in previous post.

This image is the right center bench taken from the rear of the greenhouse. Compare it to the image in an earlier blog page.

Just a word about lights. As you can see in some of the above images, I have 2 1000 watt high pressure sodium lights over each center bench. I have used these in the past, having them come on for about 4 hours in the middle of each night. As of last year, I only used them for 1 hour each night, having them come on about 6:00 AM and go off about 7:00 AM. This one hour in the morning helped the blossoms open completely and they were open when I wanted to hybridize.

As always, we thank you for visiting our blog. Please leave a comment below.

Life is very, very good.

Lee

January 15 . . . Growth of greenhouse plants

2012-01-15T07:05:00.000-08:00

Today is January 15, exactly 15 days since my last post showing the potted hybridizing plants as they appeared just after taking them into the greenhouse from outside. They had had plenty of cold weather and the evergreens were mushy and the dormants were dormant. Just 15 days from being taken in, you can compare the images today with the images in the last blog to see their progress. There are several dormant daylilies in this group. Many of those in the foreground of this image are dormant. Most noticeably are the ones in the second row from the right. Among those pots are Don Lovell's H. 'Selwyn' (2012), his H. 'Hawkeye Fringe' (2011), Joel Polston's H. 'Carnivore' (2010) and Jamie Gossard's H. 'Outer Limits' (2008) are all extremely hard dormant here.

Way back when I used to show my daylily greenhouse program with slides, I took three pots of daylilies into the greenhouse from outside and showed a series of slides with evergreen, semi-evergreen and dormant plants in pots. My first slide showed evergreen with considerable foliage, the semi-evergreen with slightly less foliage, and the dormant was showing no foliage at all. If I remember correctly, I showed the growth with slides week by week. Within 8 weeks, the dormant had caught up in growth with the other two.

This is the right center bench, image taken from the front of the greenhouse. The plants show considerable growth in just 15 days. The dormants are quite evident.

This image is the right center bench taken from the rear of the greenhouse. Compare it to the image in the previous blog page.

On Saturday, January 7, Jean and I took a cruise up the Tennessee River to the Hiwassee River Conservancy area to view the Sand Hill Cranes which are in their migratory to winter nestings. I don't know what we expected, but we were a little disappointed because the boat had to stay in the river channel and we could not get very close to the birds. However, at times there were thousands in the skies. Here is an image showing them in the air.

As always, we thank you for visiting our blog. Please leave a comment below. Left click on the images for a larger view.

Life is very, very good.

Lee

Happy New Year 2012

2012-01-01T12:40:00.000-08:00

Remember, a left click on an image will give you an enlargement.
As we enter a new year, Jean and I wish you all very Happy New Year. It has been about one month since I posted images of the seedlings growing in the greenhouse. Remember, these are planted in trade 1-gallon pots. As you can see, the seedlings have grown considerably since my last post. I believe we are on our way to at least 50% bloom in the greenhouse around April/May. There are some crosses that are not as vigorous growers as others and this really shows up in the greenhouse. Most are double the size of those lagging behind. I will put the images on in the same sequence so you can compare them to the earlier blog and the growth in a month.

This is the bench right of the door along the right side of the greenhouse. These seedlings are now about 5 months old. The tallest foliage is approximately 18" to 24" high.

This is the bench on the left side of the greenhouse. You can tell the difference in size between this one and the one above. The plants on this bench were planted about a month later than the ones on the right bench.

This is the left center bench taken from the rear of the greenhouse. Again, these seedlings were planted about 1 month later than the seedlings on the right bench.

This is the right center bench taken from the front of the greenhouse. This bench contains about 150 cultivars in 3-gallon pots that I will use for hybridizing. At the far end on the left are seedlings that I will be using for hybridizing. As you can see, I could probably add about 16 more pots to fill the bench.

This is the same bench, only taken from the back of the greenhouse. On the right, you can see the two rows of seedlings that I intend to use in hybridizing. These seedlings were probably taken in about three weeks ago. On the left, you can see 3 rows of pots that contain my introductions for 2012 to be used in hybridizing.

As always, we thank you for visiting our blog. Please leave a comment or question below.

Life is very, very good.

Lee

TAPS

2011-12-02T06:35:00.001-08:00

This is the most incredible rendition of TAPS that I have ever heard, and by a 13 year old. I know I am old and a softy, but I had tears in my eyes. If you have lost someone in service or know of someone who has, this is just incredible. A former colleague shared it with me and I would like to share it with you.

Life is very, very good.

Lee

First, read the following, and then click on the web site.

The conductor of the orchestra is Andre Rieu from Holland .

The young lady, her trumpet and her rendition of TAPS makes

your hair stand on end.

Many of you may never have heard taps played in its entirety,

for all of the men and women that have died for you to have the

freedom you have in America . This is an opportunity you won't

want to miss and I guarantee you'll never forget.

Amazingly beautiful.Melissa Venema, age 13, is the trumpet soloist.

She is also from Holland.

Here is Taps played in its entirety. The original version of Taps

was called Last Post, and was written by Daniel Butterfield in 1801.

It was rather lengthy and formal, as you will hear in this clip, so in

1862 it was shortened to 24 notes and re-named Taps.

Melissa Venema is playing it on a trumpet whereby the original

was played on a bugle.

http://www.flixxy.com/trumpet-solo-melissa-venema.htm

Greenhouse Seedlings 11/26/2011

2011-11-25T12:32:00.001-08:00

Remember, a left click on an image will give you an enlargement.

It has been 20 days since I last took picture of the seedlings growing in the greenhouse. Watching them daily, it soesn't seem like they are growing much but then when I compare these images with those of 20 days ago, it appears that they have made good progress. Compare these with the previous images, then back to the first images and you will see what I mean.

These are the seedling to the right of the entrance door. The seeds were planted on July 23 and transplanted to the gallon pots on September 24, so they are now about 4 months old.

These are the seedlings left of the entrance door.

These are the left center bench looking from the rear of the greenhouse. They were started in peat pots about two week later than the first bunch and were the last to be transplanted to gallon pots on October 18, almost a moth later than the ones first planted.

The seedlings on the right bench appear larger because they were transplanted about a month earlier that the last bunch, plus, that is the side of the greenhouse that the gas heater is on. I am thinking that this is making a world of difference.

As always, we thank you for visiting our blog. Please leave a comment below.

Life is very, very good.

Lee

Greenhouse Seedlings 11/7/2011

2011-11-07T15:51:00.000-08:00

Remember, a left click on an image will give you an enlargement.

I thought I would show the growth of the seedlings in just 2 ½ weeks. They have been watered overhead daily with my misting system with a weak solution of water soluble fertilizer. You can check each picture with the pictures in the previous blog to see the growth. I tried to take the pictures in about the same location.

This is the seedling bench on the right side of the greenhouse.

The seedling bench on the left side of the greenhouse.

And this is the left center bench looking from the door.

As you can see, there has been considerable growth in just 2 ½ weeks. Hopefully, many will bloom in March/April/May.

As always, we thank you for visiting our blog. Please leave a comment below.

Life is very, very good.

Lee

Greenhouse Seedlings 10/21/2011

2011-10-21T13:14:00.000-07:00

Remember, a left click on an image will give you an enlargement.

I finished transplanting the peat pot seedlings in the greenhouse a couple days ago, but had to wait until today to take the pictures because of lack of sunlight. When the cold front came through a couple days ago, not only did our temperatures take a nosedive and we received about 1" of rain, but the sun ducked under clouds. Today I was able to take some pictures.

Seeds were planted in peat pots in July/August. Transplanting of the seedling peat pots to trade 1 gallon pots began on September 24, and because of my being slow and doctor''s appointments, etc., I did not finish until October 19.

As you walk in the door of the greenhouse, this bench is to the right. It is comprised of 4 4' x 10' benches for a total of 40'. Each 10' bench is also a water bed which is made from 2 x 4s and lined with plastic. There are 18 rows of 7 pots in each of the 4 beds for a total of 504 trade 1 gallon pots on each 44' bench. As the seedlings are transplanted, a small handful of Nutricote 18-6-8 180 day with minors was added to the pots. In addition, 2 tsp. of Bayer Tree and Shrub were sprinkled on the top to prevent fungus gnats, aphids, thrips, etc. A weed pre-emergent was also sprinkled on the top. Yes, we do get weeds in the greenhouse.

As you walk in the door of the greenhouse, this bench is on the left side. As you can see, it is of the same configuration and size as the bench on the right side. Again, there are 18 rows of 7 pots in each of the 4 beds for a total of 504 trade 1 gallon pots on each 40' bench. This brings the total pots at this point to 1008.

This picture is taken from the back of the greenhouse looking toward the entrance door. There is one more 4' x 10' bench with 126 seedlings on it. As you walk in the dorr of the greenhouse, it is the bench on the left center. This bench is 30' long. I have used 10' and the remaining 20' will be for Jean to start her annuals and the neighbor to start his tomato and pepper plants.

There are 4 benches wide in my greenhouse, and the 4th bench will be used for my hybridizing plants. It is about 36' long and I can get 156 potted 3 gallon pots on it. If you look to the left side of the last image above, you will be able to see this bench.

All benches are set up also as water beds. Last year I grew all of the daylilies, both hybridizing plants and seedlings in the water beds. I would guess that I bloomed 40% of the 9 month seedlings.

So, if you have been counting, there are a total of 1134 seedlings growing in trade one gallon pots. These are all of the seedlings we will grow this year. It has just gotten too difficult for us to get down on our knees and plant seedlings in the ground. In the past, we have grown up to 5000 seedlings . . . no more! Again, if you are counting, this is approximately 80% fewer seedlings than just a couple years ago.

As always, we thank you for visiting our blog. Please leave a comment below.

Life is very, very good.

Lee

Power Point seedling presentation

2011-10-16T12:47:00.000-07:00

Each year I develop a Power Point presentation of some of the selected seedlings of that and other years that I am watching and hoping they will "weather the storm" of selection. This year is no different. The 2011 version is done. If they have a "1" in front of the seedling number, they first bloomed in 2011. You will also see images of the parents of these seedlings.

One of the year 2011 seedlings on the Power Point presentation

I have spent some time trying to figure out how to get you to the Power Point presentation by clicking something on this blog . . . without success. I am not the most computer literate person as you can probably tell. So, I guess the best way to get you to it is to tell you to go to my website at www.chattanoogadaylilies.com and on the "home" page you will find a yellow box in the upper right hand corner . . . left click on "Seedlings" and you should be able to open the presentation. You will need to have the Power Point software on your computer to be able to view it.

One of the year 2010 seedlings on the Power Point presentation.

For the last several days I have been transplanting the peat pot seedlings in the greenhouse to trade gallon pots. At this point, I have 900 plus done. I plan to end up with about 1100. When I am finished, I will post pictures on this blog.

As always, we thank you for visiting our blog. Please leave a comment below.

Life is very, very good.

Lee

2012 Introductions . . . Final Part 9

2011-09-25T07:43:00.000-07:00

The weather has moderated some here and it is more like the beginning of fall with a few warmer days thrown in. I have started transplanting the seedling peat pots into the 1 gallon pots. I can oly work until about 10:30 in the greenhouse because then the sun is out and the temperature has climbed.

2012 Introduction No. 8 Final (Left click for a larger image)

All images I have shown you so far have been taken outside in the field. For Introduction No. 9, I thought I would show you images from both the greenhouse and the field. The pattern is exactly the same, the "relief" sculpting is still evident, the biggest difference is in the color. Yes, in the second image, the flower does have sepals, they are just recurved.

From the greenhouse . . .

From the field . . .

H. 'When Johnny Comes Marching Home’

s/f ... $100.00 ... d/f ... $150.00
28” EM SEv Re EMO Ext 5½”. 4-way branching, 18 buds. Petals 3½”, sepals 2”.
This flower has the “relief” form of sculpting and is a pale peach with a rosy eye. A lemon-lime throat and a heavily ruffled rosy edge with a gold line provides the finishing touches. Opens like this every morning. Very heavy substance which holds well in the sun or rain. Second set of scapes emerge before first set is done blooming. Fertile. No. 9034 (Elisa Dallas X Wonder Of It All)

As always, we thank you for visiting our blog. Please leave a comment below.

Life is very, very good.

Lee

2012 Introductions . . . Part 8

2011-09-21T07:39:00.000-07:00

I had donated about 600 1 gallon potted daylily seedlings to the City of Chattanooga Parks Department and yesterday City employees arrived with a big truck. It took three trips to get them all. I will get a nice tax donation letter from the City . . . much better than composting them. The seedlings were still in the greenhouse so now that they were removed, this morning I spent time cleaning up getting ready to transplant the peat pot seedlings to one gallon pots. It is always fun transplanting and trying to imagine what I will get from each of the crosses. A good time!

2012 Introduction No. 8 (Left click for a larger image)

H. 'Steppin’ Out With My Baby’

s/f ... $85.00 ... d/f ... $125.0035" ML SEv EMO Ext LFr Re 6". 5-way branching, 27 buds. Petals 3”, sepals 2”.
This has been one of my perennial (am I allowed to say that) favorites in the garden. A complex overlay of strawberry syrup mixed with lemonade shows up in the color. A bright lemon throat leads to a green heart. It has a delicate appearance, but the substance is as heavy as leather and defies the sun and rain to touch it. Opens like pictured every morning. Very round and full, the petals are heavily ruffled with some light relief sculpting in evidence. The tall scapes carry the heavily branched and budded scape. A very fine daylily. Pod and pollen fertile. No. 8153 (Judy Farquar X Wonder Of It All)

As always, we thank you for visiting our blog. Please leave a comment below.

Life is very, very good.

Lee

2012 Introductions . . . Part 7

2011-09-19T12:53:00.000-07:00

What a great weekend! I flew to Hartford, Connecticut on Friday to speak to the Connecticut Daylily Society on Saturday. Friday night I was picked up at the hotel and taken to dinner by club president Russ Allen. We were joined by Phil Douville and Cheryl Fox. Nice conversation and they tried to get me to talk about daylilies but I told them to wait until Saturday so they wouldn't have to hear the same thing twice.

Saturday morning, Gary Jones picked me up at the hotel and took me on a driving tour of Hartford, including the Mark Twain house where he used to work. It would have been nice to take the inside tour, but I just cannot walk steps. I saw a lot of the insurance company buildings that my son consults with.

Saturday, after the meeting, Rich Howard took me to his home to see his operation. Rich also has a greenhouse and although we have never corresponded about our operations, we do a lot of things very similar. Rich uses the No. 38 seed trays, and like me, has a lot of the resulting seedlings are still to be planted.

Rich presented me with a cap, but not just any cap, a "Life is good" cap. Rich asked me, "Please be diligent in wearing this cap to help keep anything else from leaking out". What a friend! Here I am tilling under the 3500 seedlings in the field that were non selects. I till them in to help put nutrients back in the soil. You can see me wearing Rich's cap. Then, a close up to show the logo. When I went inside, I looked in the cap and saw that nothing new had leaked out. Just left click for a larger image.

2012 Introduction No. 7 (Left click for a larger image)

H. 'Orange Blossom Lane’

s/f ... $85.00 ... d/f ... $125.00
35" E SEv Re EMO Ext 6". 3-way branching, 18 buds. Petals 3”, sepals 2”.
Opens with perfect form every time. The large 6" flower is a soft orange marmalade self but it does have a very faint rose halo. The flower is finished by with very green throat. The heavy substance makes the flower rain and sun resistant. The wide petals are lightly folded and ruffled which also carries through on the sepals. Fertile both ways in the greenhouse. No.0710 (Enchanted Dreams X tetra Connie Burton)

As always, we thank you for visiting our blog. Please leave a comment below.

Life is very, very good.

Lee

2012 Introductions . . . Part 6

2011-09-16T04:43:00.000-07:00

This weekend I am headed toward the northeast and the Connecticut Daylily Society to present my program. I believe the meeting is at 1:00 PM Saturday and I am looking forward to sharing what I know with the club. Also looking forward to meeting Rich Howard and the other CDS members. Saturday afternoon Rich will be taking me to his home to see his operation which I am really looking forward to.

The last couple days I have been removing the ground cloth paths between the seedling beds in preparation for tilling under the 3500 seedlings. After the ground cloth was removed, I mowed off the tops of the daylilies and the weeds growing in the beds.Now to put the tiller on the Kubota and till them under.

Our weather made an abrupt change today, in the low 70s with night time temps in the 50s. Great working and sleeping weather.

2012 Introduction No. 6 (Left click for a larger image)

H. 'Moments In Moonlight’

s/f ... $65.00 ... d/f ... $100.00
36" ML SEv Re EMO Ext 5¾". 4-way branching, 23 buds. Petals 2¾”, sepals 1¾”.
A polychrome of lemon and pink over cream. Shows some light sculpting and should work well in a sculpting program. A yellow throat which finishes in a pistachio heart completes the picture. The form is very round with the petal edges being heavily ruffled. The substance is very heavy which allows it to hold up in sun and on a rainy day. Has good branching and bud count on a very tall flower. Fertile. No. 0786 (Mandalay Bay Music X Wonders Never Cease)

As always, we thank you for visiting our blog. Please leave a comment below.

Life is very, very good.

Lee

2012 Introductions . . . Part 5

2011-09-13T19:53:00.000-07:00

I have spent the last couple days selecting potted cultivars to take into the greenhouse this winter for hybridizing. I have a variety . . . reds, eyes and edges, seedlings and yellows (naturally) etc., etc. My goal is to have about 150 pots to hybridize with. I can generate more seeds with that number than I can plant. It has been fun to think what you would like to do, then select the plants to do it.

2012 Introduction No. 5 (Left click for a larger image)

H. 'Jukebox Saturday Night’

s/f ... $85.00 ... d/f ... $125.00
35”" M SEv EMO Ext Re 6". 4-way branching, 21 buds. Petals 3”, sepals 1¾”
A hearty clear pinot noir with slightly darker veining. Both petals and sepals have an edge of yellow/gold. Petals are crimped, folded and ruffled. A lemon throat matches segment’s edges and leads to a green heart. Substance is very good for a purple but does fade some in a very hot sun. Pod and pollen fertile in the greenhouse. No. 8175 (Singular Sensation X Larry Allen Miller)

As always, we thank you for visiting our blog. Please leave a comment below.

Life is very, very good.

Lee

New 2012 Introductions . . . Part 4

2011-09-11T06:53:00.000-07:00

Just after we finished our lining out, Tropical Depression, Lee came through and dumped somewhere around 10" of rain on us. We were in dire need, so it was very welcome. Fortunately, the rain did not come down in a deluge and most of it soaked into the ground. A day after, I dug some plants to ship and the ground was damp, but not muddy. Of course, if I had driven the tractor into the freshly tilled ground just before the rain, they would still be looking for me.

It is time to begin thinking about the Hybridizer's Summit in December. Many of the most famous hybridizers in the world will gather at the Chattanooga Choo Choo on Friday, December 2 to meet old friends and make some new ones. Lots of dinner selections in downtown Chattanooga where a free shuttle will take you from the Choo Choo to the downtown destinations. I know many of you are prone to lick your fingers at Sticky Fingers. Friday night the hospitality room will be open and we urge you all to bring your bottle of wine, jug of white lightening, or other libation along with your favorite munchies to share.

Saturday morning we will convene at the Finley Lecture Hall at the Choo Choo for a showing of the finest new daylilies to come in the future. If you have been to the Choo Choo, you know that the Finley Lecture Hall is a theater style room with high backed easy chairs that if you get bored you can certainly fall asleep. Noon you can again take advantage of all the fantastic food selections for lunch, then back to the images. We try to end by dinnertime, but if we have too many slides, we will convene after dinner to finish. Then it is back to the hospitality room.

By the way, there is no charge to attend. If you are ready to say "YES, I want to attend", you should call the Chattanooga Choo Choo, 1400 Market Street, Chattanooga, TN at 1-800-TRACK29 to make your reservation. Rooms are $89.00 +tax, single/double. Mention you are with the Daylily Hybridizer's Group. All interested in daylilies are invited to attend . . . you do not have to be a hybridizer.

2012 Introduction No. 4 (Left click for a larger image)

H. 'How Sweet You Are'

s/f ... $85.00 ... d/f ... $125.00
32" M SEv EMO Ext Fr Re 6". 4-way branching, 21 buds. Petals 3¼” sepals 2”.
A subtle bi-tone of very pastel mauve. The bright yellow/gold petal edges are heavily ruffled and crimped. Some light relief sculpting is seen in the petals. A bold yellow/gold throat leads to a green heart. The color is slightly moderated in rebloom. Substance is heavy and holds up well against most rains. A very showy flower in the garden. Fertile both ways in the greenhouse.
No. 9057 (Robert W. Carr X Some Sweet Day)

As always, we thank you for visiting our blog. Please leave a comment below.

Life is very, very good.

Lee

2012 Introductions . . . Part 3

2011-09-05T05:38:00.000-07:00

We are finally getting some rain! Have had over 1" so far and Tropical Depression Lee is just getting started. It is predicted that we will continue to get rain through Wednesday. We are happy, happy. Luckily we had all the planned lining out done in the field before this rain started. I have some orders to be dug for shipment on Tuesday that will have to wait until this weekend . . . probably ship Saturday if the Post Office is still in operation. Just heard on the news that they may have to close down because they cannot meet their financial obligations this month. The are looking for a bailout from Congress. I guess the times are hard all over!

2012 Introduction No. 3 (Left click for a larger image)

H. "Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead'

s/f ... $100.00 ... d/f ... $150.00
24” EM SEv EMO Ext 4¼”, 4-way branching, 23 buds. Petals 2½” sepals 1¼”.
Teeth, hooks and fringes on the petals surround the lemon yellow segments which are washed lightly in pink. Opens well and is like the picture every morning. The substance is very heavy and this one holds up well in rain and sun. Pod and pollen fertile in the greenhouse. A very nice cultivar to add to your toothy program.

No. 0751 (Horny Devil X Golden Tentacles)

As always, we thank you for visiting our blog. Please leave a comment below.

Life is very, very good.

Lee

2112 Introduction - Part 2

2011-09-02T12:14:00.000-07:00

The heat continues here in Tennessee. We just had the driest month in history (at least since they started keeping records), 0.01" of rain for the month of August. Also, this was the third hottest month on record. Jean says we are seeing a new variety of mosquito, one that is bigger and has stripes on it's wings. Just what we need, a mosquito capable of drawing enough blood for a transfusion.

Lining out is finished here at Chattanooga Daylilies. This is probably the least we have ever done. At this rate, we may not do any next year. I have approximately 3000 seedlings in No. 38 seed trays that someone could pick up pretty reasonable. If you are interested, call me or email me at leepickles@epbfi.com.

2012 Introduction No. 2

H. 'Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy'

28" M SEv EMO Ext 6". 5-way branching, 27 buds. Petals 3”, sepals 1¾”.

s/f ... $100.00 ... d/f ... $150.00
This flower is a very clean regal velvety purple with a faint watermark of white. Deep ruffled white edges with a yellow throat leading to a green heart. Opens well every morning. The scape is well branched with lots of buds. A garden show flower admired by visitors. Fertile in the greenhouse.

No. 8067 (Mandalay Bay Music X Larry Allen Miller)

Thank you for visiting our blog. Please leave a comment below.

Life is very, very good.

Lee

2012 Introduction - Part 1

2011-08-31T12:42:00.000-07:00

Jean and I have been lining out 2012 introductions the last few days. I know it is hot, but it had to be done. When it is hot like this, I use the Karen Newman approach which she claims gives her very few losses. Clumps are dug and separated into 1 and 2 fans. They are then set aside for at least 48 hours which allows any cut crowns to heal over. Plants are then put in the ground and watered in. No water is added for at least a week. In my opinion, excess water and high temperatures make for ideal rot conditions. The plants look like they have gone into summer dormancy, but Karen assures me that they will revive. I certainly hope so!

2012 Introduction No. 1

H. 'Body and Soul'

37" M SEv EMO Ext 5¼". 3-way branching, 18 buds.
s/f ... $85.00 ... d/f ... $125.00
One of the most distinctive flowers in the garden, the pastel orchid of the flower contrasts with the lavender etched halo. The double edges of lavender and lemon/green give a distinct appearance. The throat matches the lemon/green petal edge and leads to a green heart. Tall scapes carry the flowers well above the foliage. Substance is good for this color range. Fertile.
No 9060 (Mandalay Bay Music X Wonder Of It All)

Thank you for visiting our blog.

Life is very, very good.

Lee

Seedlings germinated in 5 days

2011-07-29T13:52:00.000-07:00

Last year I purchased peat pots to plant many of the seeds that I planned to transplant to trade one gallon pots and grow in the greenhouse over the winter. These peat pots were in flimsy trays of 50. To be able to handle them, I placed them into regular trays. The peat pots were 2" x 2" x 3" deep. I did enough to plant into approximately 1000 trade one gallon pots. I grew these pots in water beds, so the plants were never dry. I would estimate that I had 50% bloom in 9 months. So, I thought I would try it again this year and push the seedlings more and try to get a higher bloom rate in 9 months. It is fun to see 9 month seedlings like the BIG boys in Florida.

This year I purchased more peat pots, only these are 2" x 2" x 2". We will see if the smaller depth effects the germination or growth. I really appreciated using 1/3 less seed starting mix as it is rather expensive. In the image showing the peat pots on the growing bench, you can see the difference in height, the 3" pots are in the back.There are 24 trays. You can see that the first 6 trays are even with the top of the tray and the last 18 are approximately 1" above the tray.

The first seeds were planted in the peat pots this year on Saturday, July 23. The first seedling that I saw germinate was the one to the left in the picture below. The seedling on the right germinated the 6th day. The cross was (Cimarron Rose X [(Camelot Red X Doug's Caress)]. Today, there were several more seeds from this same cross that had germinated.

How can you not get excited when the seeds begin germinating? More later.

Life is very, very good.

Lee

Planting Seeds 1

2011-07-25T15:16:00.000-07:00

Seed planting has begun . . . 700 seeds planted the last two days in 2" x 2" x 3" peat pots. These peat pots were left from last year's plantings. This year I purchased 2" x 2" x 2' peat pots to plant the seeds in. They should use 1/3 less seed starting mix, which is rather expensive. We will see if germination or growth is affected using the smaller pot.

So far, it appears that this is going to be my "RED" year. I have more seeds using red parents than all the others put together . . . and yes, it was on purpose. My red seeds involve crosses using a lot of seedlings, many of them mine, one of Larry Grace's and one of Bill Waldrop's. Then named varieties, like DAVID L. HANSEN. JEAN PICKLES, MAX PICKLES, CHRISTMAS GREETINGS, CIMARRON ROSE, HAWKEYE PIRDE, CHERRIES JUBILEE, and the wonderful CAMELOT RED. Yes, these are exciting days contemplating what magnificent wonders I have created.

I do remember planting SOME seeds from HORNY DEVIL, BASS GIBSON, RAZORWIRE, IRISH HALO, ANGEL'S GATHER ROUND, and a multitude of others SO YOU CAN SEE THAT ALL WERE NOT RED. It is fun to look into my crystal ball and see what beautiful cultivars I have created. So you see, I have been busy!

I would like to take a look back at the 9 month red seedlings that bloomed this year, in particular those involving H. 'Camelot Red' (Salter 2010). I was really excited about the kids I saw blooming from CR. The depth and clarity of red was just outstanding. Here is an image of CR.

H. 'Camelot Red'
(Salter, 2010)

Here are some of the kids

Seedling No. 1004
(Camelot Red X Doug's Caress)

Probably my favorite of the group and one that I used a lot of pollen in the greenhouse this year. The seedlings that I am going to show you all bloomed as 9 month seedlings in the greenhouse in March of 2011. This is the first time I have bloomed 9 month seedlings and it was really a pleasure to be able to use pollen from these seedlings.

Seedling No. 1016
(Camelot Red X Jean Pickles)

Seedling No. 1028
(Camelot Red X Jean Pickles)

Seedling No. 1040
[(Awesome Bob X Larry Allen Miller) X Camelot Red]

Seedling No. 1042
(Waldrop Seedling X Camelot Red)

Seedling No. 1052
[(Shores of Time X Larry Allen Miller) X Camelot Red]

Seedling No. 1061
[(Shores Of Time X Larry Allen Miller) X Camelot Red]

The next blog page I will show some of the parents used in making this years crop of seeds. I am excited about my red crosses this year and can't wait until next March to see some of them bloom in the greenhouse. They are then moved to the display beds outside and we hope they are as good out there.

Life is very, very good

Lee

Northern Mecca/Display Bed Lineout

2011-07-06T11:22:00.000-07:00

Jean and I climbed into the car about 7:30 AM last Thursday (June 30) to make the trip to Northern Mecca. We arrived at the hotel about 2:30 PM and when we walked in the door, I could smell some type of cleaning agent. I did not pay any attention and should have. Over the next two nights my sinus swelled to what seemed double their size and my nostrils swelled to where I could not breathe through my nose. By Friday night I could not sleep because of the swelling. So after visiting only two gardens, those of Jamie Gossard and Mike and Sandy Holmes, we headed home on Saturday. Since arriving home, I have started on a prednisone (sp?) regimen to reduce the swelling in my nose so I can breathe. What a disappointment not to see the remainder of the gardens.

We met Bob and Barb Pappenhausen at the hotel and rode with them to the two gardens on Friday. We enjoy their company and friendship. Here we all are with Jamie Gossard in his garden.

Now that I have been home a few days, my breathing has returned to normal. I will be seeing an allergist on Monday because I have a chronic problem with my nose.

Since returning home, Jean and I have completed transplanting the selected greenhouse seedlings from their trade one gallon pots to the display bed that we started before heading north. The bed is 8' wide and 40' long, and plants are planted 2' apart. Their are 20, 19, 20 and 19 plants in respective rows, plants staggered between the front and back plants in each row. Except for having the pine bark mini nugget mulch, the bed is done. Here is what it looks like.

Thanks for looking at my blog

Life is very, very good.

Lee

Starting to get ready for next year

2011-06-26T08:24:00.000-07:00

This morning I started getting ready for next year. We have three display beds that are 8' X 40' between the greenhouse and the front side yard. It is to these three display beds that selected seedlings are transplanted and grown for evaluation until they are either selected for introduction or composting. Normally this happens within 3 to 4 years.

This images shows the three display beds and the one I am working on at present is what I cal B2, which naturally is the second or middle bed. These beds are about 17 years old and during those years, have had mushroom compost, topsoil, nature's helper, etc. added so they have been amended substantially. The middle bed has just been tilled.

This closeup image shows just how pliable the soil is. Looking toward the front of the house and the street, you can see part of Jean's perennial border at the end of the bed. Visitors come to look at the daylilies and end up ooohing and aaahing over Jean's perennial beds. She does a great job with them.

A left click on the image will make it larger and you will be able to see the lined out selected seedlings. These were seedlings that bloomed in 9 months in the greenhouse this spring in trade one gallon pots. I lay out a row with a string and I have a 100' tape that I lay down so that I can plant the seedlings every 2'. A hole is dug, and a little composted cow manure is added and mixed in. The plant is removed from the pot and planted in the hole. Some Nutricote 18-6-8 180 w/ minors is added along with some Milorganite. When the bed is completely planted, I will broadcast some Dolomite Lime for PH and Snapshot for weed control. On top of all of that, I will mulch with some pine bark to help hold moisture and for more weed control.

Thanks for taking the time to look at my blog. Please leave me a comment below so I will know that I am not just doing this for myself.

Life is very, very good.

Lee

Outside blooms 6/24

2011-06-23T12:14:00.000-07:00

We have been having afternoon rains for the last few days which has given new life to the blossoms. You can water all you want with "city" water, but nothing is like the real stuff that comes down from above . . . it just seems to have some magic in it! Our weather has also been HOT! We have broken sever high records already this summer.

I took a couple pictures of seedlings this morning to share with you.

Pollen Parent
H. (Larry Allen Miller)

Pod Parent
H. 'Awesome Bob'

Seedling No. 9040 (Awesome Bob X Larry Allen Miller)

This is just as cherry red as seen.

Pollen Parent

H. 'Tempest Keep'

Pod Parent

H. 'Crazy Ivan'

Seedling No 0119 (Crazy Ivan X Tempest Keep)

It is difficult to see in this picture, but there are teeth all around the petals.

Thanks again for looking. Maybe we will see you next weekwnd (July 4 weekend) in one of the Northern Mecca gardens.

Life is very, very good

Lee

More Garden Seedlings 6/7/11

2011-06-07T12:15:00.000-07:00

I have really gotten behind reporting on seedlings blooming in the field. We had a wonderful visit from Bob and Barb Pappenhausen over the weekend and we traveled to Marietta, GA to visit Bill and Diana Waldrop and to Delano, TN to visit the garden of Steve and Karen Newman. Plus, I have not been well lately with some heart problems and now a nasty summer cold. Hopefully I am on the mend. Here are some new seedlings . . . some may have a same parent, so you will need to look for some of the parents.

Pollen Parent
H. 'Spectral Elegance'
(Stamile, 2002)

Pod Parent
H. Wonder Of It All'
(Carr, 2006)

Seedling No. 1107 (Wonder Of It All X Spectral Elegance)

Pollen Parent

H. 'Diana's Evening Gown'

(Wladrop, 2009)

Pod Parent

H. 'Wonder Of It All' (Image Above)

Seedling No. 1105 (Wonder Of It All X Diana's Evening Gown)

Pollen Parent

H. 'Robert W. Carr'

(Pickles, 2010)

Pod Parent (No Image)

Seedling No. 0786

(Mandalay Bay Music X Wonders Never Cease)

Seedling No. 1109 [(Mandalay Bay Music X Wonders Never Cease) X Robert W. Carr]

And from the same cross

Seedling No. 1109 [(Mandalay Bay Music X Wonders Never Cease) X Robert W. Carr]

Isn't it amazing what happens when you mix these genetics. Here are two seedlings, probably from the same pod, looking very dissimilar.

I am very pleased with the seedlings that I am getting from H. 'Robert W. Carr'.

Seedling No. 1110 (Wonder Of It All X Robert W. Carr)

Images above

Pollen Parent

H. 'Larry Allen Miller'

(Stamile, 2005)

Pod Parent

H. 'Belle Cook'

(Brooker, M. 2001)

Seedling 0019 (Belle Cook X Larry Allen Miller)

Pollen Parent

H. 'Shelter Cove'

(Corbett, 2002)

Pod Parent

H. 'Wonder Of It All'

(Carr, 2006) Image Above

Seedling No. 0745 (Wonder Of It All X Shelter Cove)

Pollen Parent

H. 'Larry Allen Miller'

(Stamile, 2005 (Image Above)

Pod Parent

H. Awesome Bob'

(Pickles, 2001)

Seedling No. 8071 (Awesome Bob X Larry Allen Miller)

I believe that is enough for today. This will get me about half caught up. Jean and I are looking forward to taking the Northern Mecca trip the first weekend in July. Maybe we will meet somewhere along the trail.

Life is very, very good.

Lee

More Garden Seedlings 5/31

2011-05-31T12:09:00.000-07:00

The seedlings are really beginning to come on. Blooming today . . .

Pollen Parent
H. 'Larry Allen Miller'
(Stamile, 2005)

Pod Parent
H. 'Max Pickles'
(Pickles, 2007)

Seedling No 8157 (Max Pickles X Larry Allen Miller)

Pollen Parent

H. Diana's Evening Gown'

(Waldrop, 2009)

Pod Parent

H. 'Wonder Of It All'

(Carr, 2006)

The following two seedlings are siblings from the cross above.

Seedling No. 1103 (Wonder Of It All X Diana's Evening Gown)

Seedling No. 1104 (Wonder Of It All X Diana's Evening Gown)

The color of these two seedlings is almost indiscernible. Both of these images were taken in the sun, a day apart at about 10:00 am. The differences are in the width of the petals, and the ruffling on the petals.Both have that nice green throat and light sculpting.

Thanks for taking the time to look at my blog.

Life is very, very good.

Lee

More Garden Seedlings

2011-05-29T11:59:00.000-07:00

Except for a small bed of previous introductions, everything growing outside is in the seedling category. I would guess about 5,000 to bloom this year and really getting a bang up start. I have one large bed of seedlings to bloom the first time this year and a couple smaller beds of selected previously bloomed seedlings. There will be some from both.

The first seedling today is No. 9009, which first bloomed in 2009. I know many of you will say, "Just another yellow." Well, if yellows are your passion, this is not just another yellow, it has its own personality. A good clean color.

Pollen Parent
H. 'Wonder Of It All'
(Carr, 2006)

Pod Parent
H. 'Spectral Elegance'
(Stamile, 2002)

Seedling No. 9009 (Spectral Elegance X Wonder Of It All)

The next seedling also first bloomed in 2009, Seedling No. 9039, a very clear colored eyed and edged seedling.

Pollen Parent

H. 'Elisa Dallas'

(Trimmer, 2004)

Pod Parent

H. 'Open My Eyes'

(Grace, 2001)

Seedling No 9039 (Open My Eyes X Elisa Dallas)

A new 2011 seedling blooming for the first time this morning was No. 1101. A gold with deep sculpting and very heavy substance and impeccable form.

Pollen Parent

H. 'Wonder Of It All'

(Carr, 2006)

Pod Parent

H. 'Judith Aucoin'

(Pickles, 2010)

Seedling No. 1101 (Judith Aucoin X Wonder Of It All)

That concludes today's blooms from Chattanooga Daylilies. Hope you enjoyed them.

Life is very, very good.

Lee

Yellows are my passion . . .

2011-05-24T13:36:00.000-07:00

Many of you know that yellows are my passion, always have been, always will be. In my opinion, one to the finest yellows in commerce is Bob Carr's H. 'Wonder of It All' (Carr, 2006) which was among the final introductions prior to his death in 2007. WOIA has a barely perceptible lavender tint which allows it to go with some colors. It has that impeccably round full form that I prefer, with big looping ruffles and great substance, which shows in it's kids. I do know that Bob was very proud of WOIA.

Yellows also seem to be the first flowers to begin blooming in the spring which is especially appealing to me. You can see a yellow from across the street or driving by at 40 mph. They are special flowers.

Here is my seedling No. 9008 which bloomed in the garden this morning. This is the first morning that we have had enough night heat for daylilies to open properly, and did 9008 ever put on a show.

Pollen Parent
H. 'Wonder of It All'
(Carr, 2006)

Pod Parent
H. Spectral Elegance'
(Stamile, 2002)

Seedling No. 9008

Thanks for looking at my blog.

Life is very, very good

Lee

Another greenhouse bloom

2011-05-13T12:59:00.000-07:00

Walked into the greenhouse this morning and saw a new bloom. What was interesting is that it was blooming from a seedling in the No. 38 Seed Trays. The scape was a little spindly and there were only 3 buds on it, but, heh, it is a very little seedling. The cross is from two sibs.

Pollen Parent
Seedling No. 9057
(Robert W. Carr X Some Sweet Day)

Pod Parent
Seedling No. 9046
(Robert W. Carr X Some Sweet Day)

Seedling No 1082 (Robert W Carr X Some Sweet Day) X (Robert W. Carr X Some Sweet Day)

Scapes are everywhere out in the field. With all the rain we have had this year, the foliage is lush and the scapes are as big around as I have ever seen them. I am guessing we will be early this year for bloom.

Life is very, very good.

Lee

One last greenhouse seedling

2011-05-05T16:32:00.000-07:00

Here is one last seedling from the greenhouse. I don't know how this one slipped by me. My only excuse is that I am old!!!!! Here is an interesting bicolor.

Pollen Parent
H. 'Robert W. Carr'
(Pickles, 2010

Pod Parent
Seedling No 8184
(Awesome Bob X Larry Allen Miller)

Seedling No. 1081

[(Awesome Bob X Larry Allen Miller) X Robert W. Carr]

I hope bloom is starting where you are.

Life is very, very good.

Lee

What is blooming in the greenhouse 4/29/11

2011-04-29T07:28:00.000-07:00

This will probably be one of the last installments of "What is blooming in the greenhouse" because bloom is just about over. There are some stragglers here and there, but at this point, not much to talk about. I am still making about a dozen crosses each morning, many (Horny Devil X Bass Gibson) and (Bass Gibson X Horny Devil). I will put some of these on the auction later in the summer. Now we await the field seedling bloom to see what happens out there.

Here are some seedling blooms:

Pollen Parent
(Robert W. Carr X Some Sweet Day)

Pod Parent
H. 'Bluegrass Memories'
(Preuss, 2006)

Seedling No. 1060 [Bluegrass Memories) X (Robert W. Carr X Some Sweet Day)]

Pollen Parent

H. 'Camelot Red'
(Salter, 2010)

Pod Parent

Seedling No 8063

(Shores of Time X Larry Allen Miller)

Seedling No. 1061 [(Shores of Time X Larry Allen Miller) X Camelot Red]

Pollen Parent

H. 'Bluegrass Memories'

(Preuss, 2006)

Pod Parent

H. 'Rock Solid'

(Stamile, 2002)

Seedling No. 1065 (Rock solid X Bluegrass Memories)

This is probably the blackest eyed daylily I have hybridized.

Pollen Parent

H. 'Chattaboogie'

(Pickles, 2010)

Pod Parent

H. 'Spellbound Secret'

(Salter, 2009)

Seedling No. 1068 (Spellbound Secret X Chattaboogie)

I believe when this seedling is grown outside, the teeth will just explode from the petal edges.

Pollen Parent

Trimmer Best Edge Seedling

Garden name

Tom Allen

Pod Parent

H. 'Wonder of It All'

(Carr, 2006)

Seedling No. 1069 (Wonder of It All X Trimmer Tom Allen Seedling)

There is a lot of green in this one.

I hope you have enjoyed viewing my seedling and named varieties bloomin in the greenhouse. Thanks for visiting and watch soon for outside field bloom.

Life is very, very good.

Lee

What is blooming in the greenhouse 4/21/11

2011-04-21T13:47:00.000-07:00

It seems as though I have been hybridizing forever but a perusal of the cross tags shows the first cross was made in late March so it has actually only been about 25 days at the most. I must stop one of these days soon. As it gets later in the bloom time, the wild ones begin showing up. Here are some thing that have bloomed.

Seedling 1049 [Emerald Dream X Seedling 9039 (Elisa Dallas X Open My Eyes)]

Pollen Parent
Seedling No 9039
(Elisa Dallas X Open My Eyes)

Pod Parent
H. 'Emerald Dream'
(Salter, 2009)

Seedling 1049 [Emerald Dream X Seedling 9039 (Elisa Dallas X Open My Eyes)]

Seedling No. 1055 [Desire Of Nations X Seedling No. 2046 (Robert W. Carr X Some Sweet Day)]

Pollen Parent
Seedling 9046
(Robert W. Carr X Some Sweet Day)

Pod Parent
H. 'Desire of Nations'
(Emmerich, 2008)
Emmerich Image

Seedling No. 1055 [Desire Of Nations X Seedling No. 2046 (Robert W. Carr X Some Sweet Day)]

Seedling No. 1049 (Rock Solid X Desire Of Nations) (Pollen parent as above)

Pod Parent
H. 'Rock Solid'
(Stamile, 2002)

Seedling No. 1049 (Rock Solid X Desire Of Nations)

Seedling No. 1045 [(Seedling No. 9080 The Fringe Connection X Horny Devil) X Red Sapphire]

Pollen Parent
H. 'Red Sapphire'
(Waldrop, 2009)
Waldrop Image

Pod Parent
Seedling No. 9080
(The Fringe Connection X Horny Devil)

Seedling No. 1045 [(Seedling No. 9080 The Fringe Connection X Horny Devil) X Red Sapphire]

Now to end up with a "normal" seedling. Seedling No. 1052 [(Seedling No. 8063 Shores of Time X Larry Allen Miller) X Camelot Red]

Pollen Parent

H. 'Camelot Red'

(Salter, 2010)

Pod Parent

Seedling No. 9063

(Shores of Time X Larry Allen Miller)

Seedling No. 1052 [(Seedling No. 8063 Shores of Time X Larry Allen Miller) X Camelot Red]

Thanks again for looking at my blog.

Life is very, very good.

Lee

What is blooming in the greenhouse 4/16/11

2011-04-16T11:16:00.000-07:00

We had a big thunder boomer go through last night, part of the system that dropped tornadoes in Oklahoma and Arkansas. Haven't heard of any in Tennessee yet. However, we did receive almost 4" of rain. We didn't need that. Wish we could save it for July and August.

I will begin the greenhouse bloom of today with images of a couple of my previous introductions:

One of my introductions from 2006 was H. 'David L. Hansen', named for a very good friend in Papillion, NE. 32” M Re SEv/D 5”. A flower of extraordinary cardinal red that is 32” tall and demands attention. Many of the blossoms have an extra added attraction of ruffled petal edges that keep on going deep into the throat with a green heart. The petal edges are crimped and ruffled with a darker red on the edges. Petals are 2 1/2”, sepals are 1 1/2”, with 28 buds. Seedling No. 0359. (Velvet Beads X Carr Midnight Magic Seedling).

The second of my previous 2007 introductions was, H. 'Horny Devil'. 30” MLa D/SEv Ext 5”. Tet. It’s all in the name! The dominant horns, or teeth, are dramatically flaunted on this peachy polychrome. Even the sepals are forming knobs. The color is nice and clear, the throat is small and green. H. ‘Horny Devil’ has been one of the most heavily used seedlings, both pollen and pod, that we have ever produced. Because of the breeding, this cultivar should do well in northern climes. Seedling No. 0357. (Forestlake Ragamuffin X Antique Wizard).

Now to the seedlings:

Pollen Parent
H. 'Camelot Red'
(Salter, 2010)

Pod Parent
Complex Waldrop Seedling

Seedling No. 1042 (Waldrop Seedling X Camelot Red)

Pollen Parent

H. 'Camelot Red'
(Salter, 2010)

Pod Parent
Seedling No. 8181
(Awesome Bob X Larry Allen Miller)

Seedling No 1041 [(Awesome Bob X Larry Allen Miller) X Camelot Red]

Thanks for looking today.

Life is very, very good.

Lee

Road Trip/Bloom 4-14-11

2011-04-14T13:55:00.000-07:00

Last week I had a phone call from Tommy Maddox's wife, Joyce. We talked for awhile and then we got to the crux of the call. She said, "Tommy is going to give a talk in Nashville on Tuesday night. Tommy is getting up in age and is getting very forgetful. I know you have heard him talk many times and could probably give his presentation if needed. I would consider it a big favor if you would go listen and help him if he forgets what he is talking about. Also, he has decided not to do any more talks and I would like your help in getting to change his mind. I can't bear the thought of having him around the house for 365 days a year. Help me get him some more talks so I can get some peace!" Who could say no to such a lovely lady.

Jean and I headed up I-24 Tuesday wanting to get to Jay and Peggy Turman's house early enough to go to dinner with them and Tommy. When we got to the restaurant, I pulled Tommy to the side and said, "These people are friends of mine, so please don't embarrass me." Well, we got to the talk, I helped him remember a couple things as he was talking, but all in all, he did a pretty good job. Here is a picture of Tommy at the podium. Notice on the screen the words, Nashville, TN. I asked Tommy why he had a slide like that in his talk and he replied, "So I don't forget where I am". Just sayin'

Now to the greenhouse bloom. I am getting some exciting seedlings from Jeff Salter's 2010 introduction H. 'Camelot Red'. Albeit, they are on the small size, but I am hoping that grown outside, they will get some more size on them. The colors are very saturated and many have a large watermark. All have had the exquisite round, full form that I prefer.

Pollen Parent
H. 'Camelot Red'
(Salter, 2010)

Pod Parent
Seedling No. 8181
(Awesome Bob X Larry Allen Miller)

This is a 9 month seedling

Seedling No. 1040

[Awesome Bob X Larry Allen Miller) X Camelot Red]

Pollen Parent

Kaskell's BEST EDGE seedling

Pod Parent

Seedling No. 0753

(Mandalay Bay Music X Wonders Never Cease)

This is a 9 month seedling

Seedling No. 1036

[(Mandalay Bay Music X Wonders Never Cease) X Kaskell's BEST EDGE seedling]

Pollen Parent

Trimmer Seedling "Tom Allen" (Garden Name)

Pod Parent

H. 'Wonder Of It All)

(Carr, 2006)

This is a 9 month Seedling

Seedling No. 1019

(Wonder Of It All X Trimmer "Tom Allen" seedling)

This is a 9 month seedling, same parentage as 1019

Seedling No. 1018

(Wonder Of It All X Trimmer "Tom Allen" seedling)

Pollen Parent

H. 'Free Wheelin''

(Stamile, 2004)

Pod Parent

Seedling 9033

(Lipstick On My Collar X Crazy Ivan)

This is a 9 month seedling

Seedling No. 1024

[(Lipstick On My Collar X Crazy Ivan) X Free Wheelin']

And to finish with a couple named varieties.

H. 'Blue Me Away'

(Smith, F, 2008)

H. 'Kennesaw Mountain Hayride'

(Waldrop, 2007)

I hope you enjoyed today's blog.

Life is very, very good.

Lee

What is blooming in the greenhouse 4/11/11

2011-04-10T15:03:00.000-07:00

The reds are starting to come in and what fabulous saturated colors they are. One disappointment is that some of them are "small flowered" and I was hoping to get large flowers. Well, maybe next generation. Anyway, let's take a look at what is blooming.

Pollen Parent
Seedling No. 9649
(Robert W. Carr X Serenity Bay)

Pod Parent
H. 'Blue Desire'
(Gossard, 2007
(Photo by T. Preuss)

Seedling No. 1027 [Blue Desire X ( Seedling No. 9649 Robert W. Carr X Serenity Bay)

Pollen Parent

H. 'Free Wheelin''

(Stamile, 2004)

Pod Parent
Seedling No. 9649
(Robert W. Carr X Serenity Bay)

Scary, where did that come from?

Seedling No. 1031 [(Seedling No. 9649 Robert W. Carr X Serenity Bay) X Free Wheelin']

Pollen Parent

H. 'Camelot Red'

(Salter, 2010)

Pod Parent

H. 'Jean Pickles'

(Pickles, 2008)

Seedling No. 1028 (Camelot Red X Jean Pickles)

Same parentage as Seedling No. 1028

Seedling No. 1030 (Camelot Red X Jean Pickles)

Same parentage as Seedling No. 1028 and 1030

Seedling No. 1016 (Camelot Red X Jean Pickles)

And the last seedling for today
Pollen Parent
H. 'Wonders Never Cease'
(Carr, 2003)

Pod Parent
H. 'Mandalay Bay Music'
(Salter, 2001)

Seedling No. 0742 (Mandalay Bay Music X Wonders Never Cease)

And now, one of my favorite named varieties

H. 'Bluegrass Memories' (Preuss, 2006)

Well, that is it for today. Please enjoy and if you see fit, leave a comment.

Life is very, very good

Lee

What is blooming in the greenhouse 4/8/11

2011-04-09T04:04:00.000-07:00

I will begin this blog on Thursday morning 4/7/11. I had made an appointment to visit the garden and greenhouse of Bill Waldrop in Marietta, GA, about 2 hours from here. I told Bill that I would probably be there about 10:00 am and when I drove into the yard, Bill was waiting and pointing to his watch . . .10:00 am right on the dot! We visited and toured the garden and ended in the greenhouse. While not having as much bloom as we have in the greenhouse, it was good bloom. I was particularly impressed with several of Bill's seedlings and his new introduction, H. 'Marietta Heartbeat', which followed me home riding behind the passenger seat of my Trailblazer . . . and, it would bloom the next day so I could use the pollen right away. Here is Bill's image of H. 'Marietta Heartbeat'.

Yesterday, 4/8/11, there were probably more blooms than in previous days. I will focus on two seedlings today, both from a seedling that I acquired from Dan Trimmer, garden name of Tom Allen which was a cross of a Trimmer seedling with Kaskell's BEST EDGE Seedling. This seedling was the pollen parent of the two following seedlings.

Seedling No. 1018, a cross of Wonder Of It All x the Tom Allen Seedling.

Pod Parent
H. 'Wonder Of It All'
(Carr, 2006)

Seedling No. 1018 (Wonder Of It All X Trimmer Tom Allen Seedling)

The second seedling is Seedling No 1021 [(How Beautiful Heaven Must Be X Wonder Of It All) X Trimmer Tom Allen Seedling]

Pod Parent

(How Beautiful Heaven Must Be X Wonder Of It All)

Seedling No. 1018 [(How Beautiful Heaven Must Be X Wonder Of It All) X Trimmer Tom Allen Seedling]

Another seedling of note to bloom is a guest from Larry Grace. The parentage is (Cimarron Rose X Scarlet Angel) and is one of the most pretty, saturated reds that I have ever seen. I understand that Larry may be releasing this plant in the fall or next spring. If so, you better get your name on the list because this one will go fast. Here is the image.

Larry Grace seedling (Cimarron Rose X Scarlet Angel)

Well, that is it for today. Please enjoy and if you see fit, leave a comment.

Life is very, very good

Lee

What is blooming in the greenhouse 4/6/11

2011-04-06T13:01:00.000-07:00

To view a larger image, left click on that image. Then hit your browser's back button to return to the blog.

There was a little frost last night in the outlying areas of the Scenic City. We were just on the edge here in Middle Valley. However, when I walked into the greenhouse this morning, everything was toasty and blooms open.

The first seedling to catch my eye was Seedling 1010 [Blue Desire X [(Seedling No. 9049 Robert W. Carr X Serenity Bay)]. This is another of the 9 month seedlings.

Pollen Parent
Seedling No. 9049
(Robert W. Carr X Serenity Bay)

Pod Parent
H. 'Blue Desire'
(Gossard, 2007)

Seedling No. 1010 [Blue Desire) X [(Robert W. Carr X Serenity Bay)

The next was Seedling No. 0038 (Wonder Of It All X Roses and Gold). This seedling first bloomed in the field in 2010, was potted and brought into the greenhouse for hybridizing.

Pollen Parent

H. 'Roses and Gold'

(Stamile, 2003)

Pod Parent

H. 'Wonder of It All'

(Carr, 2005)

Seedling No. 0038 (Wonder of It All X Roses and Gold)

Next was Seedling No. 0038 (Lone Wolf X Robert W. Carr). This was another seedling that bloomed in 2010 and brought into the greenhouse for hybridizing.

Pollen Parent

H. 'Robert W. Carr'

(Pickles, 2010)

Pod Parent

H. 'Lone Wolf'

(Grace-Smith, 2004)

Seedling No. 0038 (Lone Wolf X Robert W. Carr)

Some of the named varieties that bloomed this morning.

H. 'Grand Masque' (Stamile, 2004)

H. 'Marilyn Morss Johnson' (Morss, 2007) Named to honor Mort's twin sister who passed away in 2011.

And last, but not least

H. 'Robert W. Carr' (Pickles, 2010). Named in honor of my friend, Dr. Robert W. Carr who passed away in October 2007.

That is it for today, my friends, hope you enjoyed the fruits of my labor.

Life is very, very good.

Lee

What is blooming in the greenhouse 4/4/11

2011-04-04T15:18:00.000-07:00

To view a larger image, left click on that image. Then hit your browser's back button to return to the blog.

Today has been a little overcast, but all I need to do is to walk into the greenhouse and I forget how gloomy it is outside. I am going to begin today with two of our 2011 introductions that were blooming today.

H. 'Juanita Manley’

27" M SEv Re 5". Four-way branching, 25 buds.
This cultivar was chosen by our sister-in-law, Juanita Manley, of Cranberry Township, PA to carry her name. The bloom is a very saturated cherry red with an ivory watermark and ruffles. One of the clearest cherry reds that I have seen. The substance is very good and holds up well except in very hard rains. The plant habit is very good. It is pod and pollen fertile in the greenhouse and we have some very nice kids coming. Petals are 2½” and sepals are 1¾”. A very showy flower in the garden. Seedling No. 0726 (Painting The Roses Red X Jean Pickles)

H. 'Rockets Bursting In Air’

27" M SEv Re 5½". Four-way branching, 25 buds.
This has been one of my favorites since first bloom in 2007. I thought long and hard for the perfect name and H. 'Rockets Bursting In Air’ seemed to fit. The bloom is very clean and smooth and the color is a saturated magenta. The white midribs give the impression of ‘Rockets bursting in air’. The watermark of white accentuates the explosion. The edges of the petals are very smooth with a fine band of white. The substance is heavy and holds up well. Pod and pollen fertile in the greenhouse. Seedling No. 07100 (Pure Indulgence X Painting The Roses Red).

Now to the seedlings that were blooming today.

The first is Seedling No. 0037 a cross of (Cosmic Sensation X Larry Allen Miller). This is one of the darkest of the LAM kids. First bloomed in the field in 2010, selected, potted and brought into the greenhouse to use for hybridizing.

Pollen Parent
H. 'Larry Allen Miller'
(Stamile, 2005)

Pod Parent
H. 'Cosmic Sensation'
(Salter, 2002)

Seedling No. 0037 (Cosmic Sensation X Larry Allen Miller)

The next is Seedling No. 0039 (Shores of Time X Larry Grace), again bloomed in the field in 2010, potted and brought into the greenhouse to use in hybridizing.

Pollen Parent

H. 'Larry Grace'

(Salter, 1994)

Pod Parent

H. 'Shores Of Time'

(Stamile, 2002)

Seedling No. 0039 (Shores Of Time X Larry Grace)

I hope you enjoyed the show today.

Life is very, very good.

Lee

What is blooming in the greenhouse 4/3/11

2011-04-03T13:21:00.000-07:00

Left click on an image to see it in a larger size.

H. 'Awesome Bob' (Pickles, 2001) bloomed for the first time in the greenhouse this morning. This has an interesting story behind it. In the fall 1995, Bob Carr called me and said, "I did not get my full compliment of 30,000 seeds this year and do you have about 1,000 seeds you would like to send me? I will plant them this fall and we will see them bloom next spring." Guess what I said? Among the 1,000 seeds I sent, were either 16 or 17 seeds of a cross of (Ida's Magic X Velvet Beads). The next spring, Bob called me one day and said, "Lee, you will never believe one of your seedlings that bloomed today. It is a very ruffled red and way ahead of it's time." That fall, he split it and sent me a couple fans and he kept a couple fans to increase for me. It was a fast increaser and we had a couple hundred fans for release in 2001. In the early MWS days, Bob always used to show a slide prior to his introductions stating, "Awesome Bob Carr's Daylily Seedlings", thus the origin of the name. I had the number needed for introduction in the greenhouse in the winter of 2000 and spring of 2001. Something happened that year and I lost every plant inside of the greenhouse (named varieties, seedlings, everything). At the same time, the greenhouse cover was split. We never did discover what happened. Luckily, Bob had enough fans for the orders. The last two years above have been corrected from 1990 and 1991 to 2000 and 2001.

Seedling No 9023 [Spring Formal X Seedling No. 0742 (Mandalay Bay Music X Wonders Never Cease)] You can see some light sculpting in this seedling probably from Seedling No. 0742. I am using it in my eyed and edged sculpted breeding program. Remember, the top image is the pollen parent, the bottom the pod parent. This is from the crop of seedlings that bloomed for the first time out in the field in 2009.

Pollen Parent
Seedling No 0742
(Mandalay Bay Music X Wonders Never Cease)

Pod Parent
H. 'Spring Formal'
(Trimmer, 2004)

Seedling No. 9023 [Spring Formal) X (Mandalay Bay Music X Wonders Never Cease)]

The second seedling in bloom today was Seedling No. 0028 (Some Sweet Day X Serenity Bay). This seedling first bloomed in the field in 2010 and selected to pot and take into the greenhouse to use in hybridizing.

Pollen Parent
H. 'Serinity Bay'
(Salter, 2008)

Pod Parent
H. 'Some Sweet Day'
(Stamile, 2006)

Seedling No. 0028 (Some Sweet Day X Serenity Bay)

And the final seedling for today is Seedling No. 0026 (Christmas Greetings X Awesome Bob). Another seedling to bloom in the seedling field in 2010, potted and taken into the greenhouse for hybridizing. A red of impeccable color, form and ruffling. A barely perceptible halo is present.

Pollen Parent
H. 'Awesome Bob'
(Pickles, 2001)

Pod Parent
H. 'Christmas Greetings'
(Salter, 2005)

Seedling No. 0026 (Awesome Bob X Christmas Greetings)

There you have today's edition of the DaylilyPotpourri blog. I hope you enjoyed it.

Life is very, very good.

Lee

What is blooming in the greenhouse 4/1/11

2011-04-01T13:57:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know this is not bloom in the greenhouse, but there have been several posts on the Robin about Fringetree's that I thought I would show ours. 'Chionanthus retusus' Chinese Fringetree - This was our tree last year in May. You can see that ours is a multi stemmed tree. One thing interesting is that the tree leafs out before it blooms, so you have this sea of white on a bed of green. It is late to drop it's leaves in the fall, and Jean says they are the hardest leaves to deal with that she has come across. However, it is beautiful.

Okay, now to today's bloom. We will show three 9-month seedlings that bloomed today. The first is Seedling No. 1007 (Bluegrass Memories X Kaskell's BEST EDGE Seedling.

Pollen Parent
Kaskell's BEST Edge Seedling
Used heavily by several hybridizers.

Pod Parent
H. 'Bluegrass Memories'
(Preuss, T. 2006)

Seedling No. 1007 (Kaskell's BEST EDGE Seedling X Bluegrass Memories)

The second 9-month seedling to bloom was Seedling No. 1005 (Bluegrass Memories X Heartbeat Of Heaven). See the image of H. 'Bluegrass Memories' above.

Pollen Parent

H. 'Heartbeat Of Heaven'

(Emmerich 2004)

Seedling No. 1005 (Bluegrass Memories X Heartbeat Of Heaven)

The third 9-month seedling to bloom was probably my favorite, a cross of (Camelot Red X Doug's Caress)

Pollen Parent

H. 'Doug's Caress'

(Holley, S 2009)

Pod Parent

Garden Name

CAMELOT RED

(Salter, J)

Seedling No. 1004 (Camelot Red (Garden Name) X Doug's Caress)

There you have it boys and girls, today's edition of "What is blooming". Hope you enjoyed the images as much as I enjoyed bringing them to you.

Life is very, very good.

Lee

What is blooming in the greenhouse 3/29/2011

2011-03-29T12:05:00.000-07:00

Today was another chilly, overcast day. Except in the greenhouse! How glorious to walk inside where the blooms were strutting their stuff and seed pods were beginning to show from previous days of hybridizing. It is surprising how a few daylily blooms can brighten what is a downer of a day!

Two seedlings of note blooming from the year 2000 selected group which first bloomed outside and then were potted to bring into the greenhouse to use for hybridizing this year.

H. 'Max Pickles'
(Pickles 2007)
was the pollen parent

H. 'Royal Presence'
(Stamile '05)
was the pod parent

Seedling No. 0006 (Royal Presence X Max Pickles)

I like this deep burgundy color with white watermark and the white edge. The flower measures about 5 1/2" and stands about 30" tall.

The second seedling from the 2000 crop to bloom today:

H. 'Max Pickles'
(Pickles 2007)
was the pollen parent

H. 'Wild Cherry Round Up'
(Trimmer, D '03)
the pod parent

Seedling No. 0011 (Wild Cherry Round Up X Max Pickles)

A little smaller flower at about 5", the cherry red color is captivating and the substance is exceptional for a red flower.

Two named varieties blooming today that I thought were exceptional:

H. 'Aslan' (Corbett '09)

Jeff registered this one at 5.75" but for me in the greenhouse, it as more like 6 1/2". Nice flower and scape.

H. 'Ledgewood's Great Ambition' (Abajian '08)

I purchased this one in the year of introduction because I was smittin with the big bold eye and edge. When it arrived, it was the tiniest shriveled up thing I have ever received. Finally, three years later, I am getting to see the bloom and use it for hybridizing.

That is it for today.

Life is very, very good.

Lee

What is blooming in the greenhouse

2011-03-27T15:00:00.000-07:00

I feel very fortunate to have a greenhouse. It not only allows me to do my hybridizing early, but it extends my season probably more than double. I have told you about my starting seeds in 2" X 2" X 3" peat pots last fall and then transplanting them to trade 1 gallon pots. Well, today I had my first 2 blooms on 9 month seedlings with many more to come in the next few days. This is my first experience with 9 month seedlings. One of them was a H. 'Bluegrass Memories' kid which was not noteworthy. The second bloom was significant to my yellow line. The cross was Seedling No. 9008 [(Spectral Elegance X Wonder Of It All) X (Unknown Seedling X Kaskell Best Edge Seedling)] the latter having the garden name of "Tom Allen" from Dan Trimmer.

Trimmer Seedling
(Unknown Seedling X Kaskell's Best Edge Seedling) with the garden name of "Tom Allen".

Seedling No. 9008
(Spectral Elegance X Wonder Of It All)

The resulting 9 month seedling No. 1001. The seedling does not show any of the color from the "Tom Allen" seedling except prior to opening, the sepals did show a little edge color. This seedling was about 30" high and the bloom was at 6". It also has very heavy substance and does exhibit light sculpting. Jean's comment was, "Your yellows just keep getting better and better". I need to take this one back to something with color, maybe Bill Waldrop's H. 'Kinnesaw Mountain Hayride'.

A selected seedling from the 2000 crop also bloomed today. Seedling No. 0004, a cross of (Roses And Gold X Max Pickles). I like this dark red very much. It has a watermark, a very green throat, and a small thin edge of yellow.

H. 'Max Pickles' named for our 12 year old grandson and introduced in 2007.

H. 'Roses And Gold' a Stamile 2003 introduction

Seedling No. 0004 (Roses And Gold X Max Pickles)

Named cultivars blooming today.

H. 'Ledgewood's Pansy Eye'

(Abajain 2005)

One of my favorite reds

H. 'Doug's Caress'

(Holley, S. 2009)

From my friend, David Hansen from Papillion, NE

H. 'Mirriam Anne' (2010)

I believe it was named for their daughter.

H. 'Happy Happy'

(Smith, Frank 2009)

And last but not least, a green edged seedling No 149-06 from Jeff Salter.

It was a very good day and I expect them to just get better and better. This year I will be concentrating more on reds, teeth, and eyes and edges.

Life is very, very good.

Lee

Iowa Pollen Dabbers meeting

2011-03-26T07:46:00.000-07:00

Left click on image for a larger version.

I want to share with you my trip back to Iowa for the Pollen Dabbers meeting sponsored by the Central Iowa Daylily Society in Marshalltown, IA. Don Lovell and Phil Fass are the two driving forces behind this meeting along with CIDS members who furnish treats and eats.

My trip began early (4:30 am) on Thursday, March 17 when I woke to get ready for a 6:40 am flight from Chattanooga to Atlanta where I had a two hour layover. From Atlanta to Des Moines took approximately 1 hour 45 minutes and the plane arrived at 10:49 am. I grabbed my luggage and hopped in my rental car, the excitement of being back in my home state escalating. I always arrive a day early so I can go back to Colfax, where I grew up and Colo, where Jean grew up.

I always take this opportunity to visit the graves of our parents in Colo and Colfax. I image when we are gone, there will be no more visits to these graves. Jean and I already have our headstone set in the Colfax Cemetery so we know where we are going to end up.

I drive past the Now closed Presbyterian Church where I first saw Jean sitting on the steps one Sunday with a friend, a classmate of mine. The got up and walked to Werick's Drug Store, which by the way is still there and looks very similar to that date in 1954, for a Coke. I followed and wrangled an introduction! Our first date happened about 3 weeks later on May 22, 1954, following my HS graduation ceremony. I even remember where we went on our first date. My cousin, Johnny Runyan, was dating a girl in my class, and we decided to double date and go to Mama's Pizzeria in Des Moines, IA. You need to remember, this was 1954, and a couple kids from small towns had never heard of pizza. Our first try . . . we hated it.

I also like to drive around both towns and remember the homes we lived in and some of the memories associated with them. The 30 miles of Hwys 117 and 65 from Colfax to Colo brings back memories of when we were dating. When I first started the trek, Hwy 117 was about 15 miles of dirt and rock road. I can still feel the washboard road travel up from the tires on my car to my seat! At that time I had a 1950 bronze Ford that when shiny, was very pretty. I would spend hours cleaning and polishing this car only to travel 15 miles on that damn dirt road.

Another reason that I alwasy go a day early is so I can partake of the best comfort food in the whole world, Maid-Rite sandwiches. I spent my first two college years at Ellsworth Community College in Iowa Falls, IA. Jean and I were married and she taught in the local school system to put me through college. While there, I met Danny Holtcamp. Why is this significant? Well, eventually Danny purchased the Maid-Rite Restaurant in Newton so I always use the excuse of visiting him so I can eat Maid-Rites. Below is a picture of the restaurant that I took about a week ago and I can't see that it has changed much since I first started going there in the 50s.

You can see that there is a counter surrounding the cooking and preparation area. If you are not familiar with Maid-Rites, they are simply loose hamburger that is steamed instead of fried. Dan purchases beef shoulder and grinds it to his own specifications. In fact, he tells me the secret is to grind it twice. Here is a picture of one of my meals.

Enough memories, let's get back to Pollen Dabbers. I arrived on Friday afternoon and immediately spotted Don Lovell checking into the hotel. He said that Bob Pappenhausen had called from the hotel next door and invited us up for a drink. Well, it got to be like old home week in the bar as others began to arrive. The meeting started on Friday evening with, what would you guess, a Maid-Rite dinner. Don and I went to the Marshalltown restaurant and picked up a bunch of Maid-Rites and milk shakes for everyone to enjoy. In addition, CIDS members brought snacks and desserts. After we pigged out, the meeting started. Friday night is almost always reserved for CIDS members to show their new seedlings and introductions.

Up on the podium, CIDS hybridizers Kathy Larsen, Phil Fass, Don Lovell, Nan Ripley and Barb Pappenhausen amazed the group with their creations. This was Barb's first time to present her hybridizing program and she did a wonderful job.

Saturday morning began with hybridizers Bob Wilson, Lynn Stoll, Gerald Hobbs, Mike Grossman showing their creations and then it was my turn. The morning ended with gary Schaben and Karol Emmerich sharing their images. So much diversity among this group, from dips to tets, and from spiders to bagels.

Moving to the afternoon, one of the guest hybridizer's, Bob Tankesley-Clarke showed their program and the variety in their Missouri garden. Sandy Holmes, another guest, showed us where she has been and where she is going with her unusual forms program. Some exciting things on the horizon. Next, Mike Holmes showed his "teeth" program and where they originated from.

To wind up the meeting, Karol Emmerich and Mike Holmes took us on a tour through the new AHS Portal. It appears that there is nothing this program can't do. Here is a picture of the Pollen Dabbers group taken by Kyle Billadeau on Nan Ripley's camera . . . so thanks to both of them.

The group, almost 40 strong, came together to look at daylily images, but will always remember the people and the friends.

Life is very, very good.

Lee

March 2011 Greenhouse Bloom

2011-03-23T05:30:00.000-07:00

Left click on image for a larger version.

This is an exciting time of year here at Chattanooga Daylilies. We can hardly wait until this time is here and then it seems that in an instant it is gone. Yes, I am speaking of daylily bloom. Yesterday morning, we had four blooms open and could not wait to get the pollen out of the freezer and start spreading. But then, maybe to get things started, I will use live pollen from things that are blooming.

We have three different "layers" of potted plants in the greenhouse.

The first "layer" are the named varieties and the 2010 selected seedlings that we potted last September and they remained outside until early December, when after some very cold freezing weather, they were taken into the greenhouse. They are shown here on February 19, about a month and a half after being taken into the greenhouse. These are the plants that are blooming right now.

The second "layer" are the new potted seedlings. The seeds for this group were made in the greenhouse in the spring of 2010. The seeds were started in 2" X 2" X 3" peat pots in August, then transplanted to trade one gallon pots in September/October. Many of these 8 month seedlings have scaped and will be blooming soon. These are the most exciting to me, since I will be seeing the bloom for the first time. When it warms sufficiently, they will be moved outside.

The third "layer" are the seedlings growing in No. 38 Seed Trays. Again, these seeds were made in the spring of 2010 in the greenhouse, planted in bulk trays in September/October, and transplanted to the No. 38 Seed Trays in October/November. There are somewhere around 3000 of these seedlings. They are shown here just before receiving a haircut in mid March. The foliage had just gotten too long and when overhead watering it was bending over allowing the water to run off onto the ground. There were a few of these seedlings showing scapes. I did see a couple of them and was able to save cutting them. I can't imagine they will amount to much anyway. These seedlings will be planted outside in April.

One of the plants blooming yesterday was a 2010 selected seedling. Seedling No. 0931 (Elegant Expressions X Unknown Seedling). This is a bi-color with a cream watermark and ruffled edge. I liked the contrast between the lavender rose petals and cream sepals. About a 5" flower.

H. 'Cerise Masterpiece' (Stamile 2003) and is one of my favorite cherry red daylilies highlighted by a white watermark. It has plenty of scape height and is being used in my hybridizing program for reds.

A seedling from Jeff Salter with the garden name of Better By Design. The colors are wonderfully bright and bold. I especially like the eye pattern on this one.

"Where did this come from?" you may ask. If confronted, I will never admit it, but I do like the whimsical cascading daylilies, and particularly, the chevron pattern. This is H. 'Free Wheelin' one of Pat Stamile's creations. I have been trying to set seed on this one for a couple years and contrary to the description stating that it is pod fertile, I have not been able to set any seed on it. I may try it's pollen on a couple things this year.

There, you have it. The first day of more than one bloom open. I hope you enjoyed the blog.

Life is very, very good.

Lee

First cross of the 2011 season

2011-03-12T13:31:00.000-08:00

This morning, I made the first cross of the 2011 season. It was nothing spectacular, but one that I really enjoy the color. The seedling, No. 0007 was a cross of tetra. Lavender Blue Baby X (Edge of Darkness X Lee Pickles) shown at the left. The pollen I put on it was H. 'Get Jiggy'. I am hoping to keep the color that I like and get some interest in the flower. It may take me a generation or two so we shall see.

I am starting to see some scapes in the 8 month old seedlings in gallon pots in the greenhouse. This is exciting, bloom in 9 months. Never happened here before. Exciting times are coming.

We just returned from a week in California wine country, one of our favorite places to visit.

Life is very, very good

Lee

Spring is beginning in the greenhouse

2011-02-20T08:19:00.000-08:00

To make an image larger, left click.

I am growing all of the pots in the greenhouse this year in water beds (like the famous Tommy Maddox does outside). I found that this system has several advantages for me. In the past, it has always been difficult to keep the seedlings growing in the No. 38 Seed Trays evenly watered. Having to water overhead, the ones in the back would not get water because the foliage would always grow up and fall over causing the water to just run off. Growing in the water beds, I do not have this problem. Also, if I want to leave home for a few days, all I have to do is add a little more water to the beds to keep the plants moist.

Plants in the greenhouse are looking exceptional this year. The foliage is growing nicely, and it is that deep green color that we like. In the last few days I have been spotting a scape here and there. Here is one that I spotted on a second year seedling (Cosmic Sensation X Larry Allen Miller) Salter and Stamile parents.

Here is a picture of the seedlings growing in the No. 38 Seed Trays. Notice that the foliage has gotten long and is falling over causing the water to runoff onto the ground rather than moistening the potting soil. This is where growing in the water beds is very productive.

If you want to check the Lily Auction, Unbloomed Seedlings, you will find some of these listed. They are sold in groups of 5 of the same cross.

These are some of the hybridizing plants growing in water beds. These particular ones are second year selected seedlings that I will be using in my hybridizing program. Further on down the bench are the named varieties that I will use.

These are some of the 6 month old seedlings that I am growing in trade 1 gallon pots. These seeds were made last spring in the greenhouse and planted in August, transplanted to these pots in September. Because of their size, I expect to start seeing scapes on these plants at any time.

Life is very, very good

Lee

Region 10 Mid-Winter Symposium

2011-01-26T13:21:00.000-08:00

To make an image larger, left click.

All images, except as noted, taken by Susan Okrasinski of Kingsport, TN and used with permission.

The 21st Annual Region 10 Mid-Winter Symposium is now history. Approximately 115 daylily lovers from around the country showed up in Nashville, TN January 21-23, 2011. The MWS is the first large daylily educational symposium of the new year, and what a great time we had. It all starts on Friday afternoon with the Wineception where attendees bring their favorite beverage and snacks, which were excellent. Here at the wineception is Chris Schardein talking to David Kirchhoff. Mary Collier Fischer is in the background talking to one of our terrific speakers, Barbara White from Canada. David was responsible for developing this year's program and did an outstanding job.

Mort Morss from Daylily World in Kentucky and Mark Carpenter of the Lily Farm in Texas talking daylilies at the Wineception. Mark recently took over ownership of the Lily farm from his uncle, Jack Carpenter.

The evening festivities begin at the make your own sandwich buffet line at dinner. On the left is Herbie Phelps of KY. Next to him is Mary Collier Fisher our esteemed AHS president talking to Mort Morss, an artist in the daylily community. On the right side of the photo are Clint and Barbara Barnes, regulars to the MWS who come all the way from Montgomery AL. And in front of them is Glenda Jordan. She and her husband Jimmie worked tirelessly to bring the meeting together this year.

The meeting began Friday evening with Mike and Sandy Holmes from Kentucky showing their hybridizing programs. Sandy is mainly interested in UF's and Mike does the bagels. They compliment each other. Mike also gave a presentation, assisted by Mary Collier Fisher, about the new "Members only" daylily website. Watch for the announcement of this wonderful new addition.

The evening ended with a spirited panel discussion entitled, "Choosing The Right Parent", led by David Kirchhoff. Panel participants were (l to r) Nancy Eller, Terrah George, Larry Grace and Jim Murphy. This image was taken by Lee Pickles.

Saturday morning's highlights included Bob Selman from North Carolina. I understand that this was Bob's first daylily "talk" and what a wonderful job he did showing images of his hybridizing and his gardens in NC.

Always a crowd favorite, Jamie Gossard gave us tips on hybridizing for toothy daylilies which is one of Jamie's favorite forms. Being from Ohio, his cultivars are pretty hard dormant.

The morning ended with a presentation from Lee Pickles entitled, "Memories". Memories can be of a long term or a short term variety. I talked about how I happened upon a daylily show in a Chattanooga Mall back in 1986 and saw the cultiver, H. 'Lullaby Baby' which started my interest in daylilies. I then talked about my mentors, Denver Scott of Harrison, TN and Charles E Branch of Piper City, IL. Both of these gentlemen took me under their wings and taught me about daylilies. I talked about the 2010 4" Christmas snow and two weekends later, the 8" snow. I spoke of memories and highlights of the first ten Mid-Winter Symposiums with pictures of some of the speakers and participants. When asked, "How many have attended all 21 MWS, less than a hand full raised their hands. I talked about the famous 1996 MWS which was hindered by the snow and ice storm that covered the south. And, I ended my presentation with an image of my late friend, Bob Carr. Yes, people are important and make up many of our memories. That is what the MWS is all about, meeting old friends and making new ones.

Another of the features of the MWS is being able to meet some of the most famous hybridizers in daylilydom. Here I get to pick the brains of Don Eller of Georgia and Larry Grace of Alabama.

I know I keep harping on this, but daylily bloom only last for a short time, but friends are forever and I count many of you as friends.

I guess this is about enough for one day, please keep our military in your thoughts because it is them that enable you to have thoughts.

Life is very, very good.

Lee

Greenhouse scape and buds . . .

2011-01-15T08:37:00.000-08:00

A left click on an image will produce a larger image.

You cannot imagine how surprised I was yesterday morning to find a scape with buds on one of the trade gallon potted seedlings. It had even had one bloom which must have been one of the days we had snow and I didn't make it out to the greenhouse. The seed for this cultivar was planted on August 15, 2010 and transplanted to the trade one gallon pot on September 11, so this is a 5-month seedling. True, it only has a 10" scape and 4 buds, but, what the heh, it is a scape and buds. The parentage of this seedling is [(Seedling 9034 - Elisa Dallas X Wonder Of It All) X Happy Happy]. Seedling 9034 was a breakthrough for me with sculpting in an eyed and edged daylily of nice clear color.

H. 'Happy Happy'

Seedling 9034
(Elisa Dallas X Wonder Of It All)

You can see the scape and buds on this 5-month old seedling.

Here are the potted hybridizing plants taken into the greenhouse in early December.

These are the potted hybridizing plants as of January 15, approximately one month later.

These are the seedlings started from seed planted July 29 and transplanted to No. 38 Seed Trays starting on September 12.

Seedlings in the No. 38 Seed Trays on January 15.

Trade one gallon seedlings. Picture taken on October 3 after transplanting from seed started in peat pots.

The same 3 pots, picture taken on January 15.

Having a greenhouse is a lot of fun, but also a lot of work. If you are going to be gone, you have to arrange for someone to watch that the heat does not go out and that the seedlings are getting enough water. Even with all the work involved, I would really hate to give up my greenhouse.

Exciting things happen to those who hybridize daylilies!

Life is very, very good.

Lee

Winter in Chattanooga

2011-01-11T12:57:00.000-08:00

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The South is in a vise of white. We woke up yesterday morning to about 8" of snow on the ground. This snow was double the depth and more beautiful than the one we had at Christmas. We moved to Tennesse from Iowa in 1974 and snow was an all winter occurrence. I can remember the first winter we were here, we played basketball in short shirt sleeves out in the driveway on Christmas day. Of course, the longer we live here, the thinner our blood becomes and when it gets below 70°, Jean's nose turns red. But now, snow is a treat, especially since we are retired and don't have to get out. We planned ahead and got extra milk and bread. Even our mall, the largest in Tennessee, was closed. No flights in or out of the airport. Same in Atlanta. I remember in 1993, we had 21" of snow here. Paralyzed this area for over a week. Now, we just sit here awaiting dinner time with a glass of Cabernet in our hand. This may be a 2 or 3 glass night. All of this after the local weather guys had predicted a mild winter.

I did venture out to the greenhouse this morning to see if things are still growing. They were. The hybridizing plant are really starting to grow.

Jean had Sara Lee (the lab) and Spikey (the small mixed breed) out in the snow. Sara was jumping, running and just having a good time. Spikey, whose you-know-what was dragging in the snow, wanted to come in. The daylilies in the field look like they are in for a long winter's nap.

Left click on the picture of Sara Lee and you will be able to see the ice on her whiskers. Sara had a great time playing in the snow. She lays on her back and makes doggy snow angels.

Here is a picture of our side yard. The snow was 8" deep, the most since the blizzard of '93 that dumped 21" on Chattanooga.

When we lived in Iowa, I had a 10hp John Deere lawn tractor. The first year I had it, I purchased a blade for the front thinking that I would be able to clear snow from the driveway. I quickly discovered that I couldn't move anything because I could not get enough traction, so I purchased wheel weights and chains. We lived on a dead end road that was not plowed by the county and I was always able to clear the road. I also cleared all the neighbors driveways. Needless to say, they hated to see me leave. I thought about clearing our driveway here with our 18hp John Deere with a bucket on the front but also thought that I would probably not be able to get enough traction. Evidently the tiller on the back gave me enough weight that I was able to clear the snow from our driveway and three of our neighbors. Most fun than I have had in a long time!

Looking forward to seeing you at the 21st Annual Mid-Winter Symposium in Nashville, TN on January 21-23, 2011. Please join us and greet old friends and make new ones.

Exciting things happen to those who hybridize daylilies!

Life is very, very good. Remember, when the bloom is gone, you still have your friends!

Lee

2011 Introductions . . .

2011-01-01T07:26:00.000-08:00

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We have selected 8 cultivars that will become our 2011 introductions. All have been grown outside in field conditions for at least two years. Please enjoy looking.

H. 'Dancing With The Stars’
31" M SEv Re 6". Five-way branching, 23 buds.
Elegance and grace are what this flower is all about, like the hit TV show, “Dancing With The Stars”. The large 6” flower is a cream blushed lavender with medium ruffling and crimping. The citron ruffling matches the citron throat which leads to a green heart. The substance is just as heavy as it looks in the picture and stands up well in sun and rain. The form is round and full with petals that are 3¼” and the sepals are 2”. Really a nice clean color. This cultivar is fertile both ways in the greenhouse and I wouldn’t expect it to act any differently outside. DWTS has a very good plant beneath the flower. The foliage is arching and a dark green Seedling No. 8070 (Victorian Lace X Wonder Of It All)

H. 'Glenn Miller’
37" M SEv Re 5½". Three-way branching, 18 buds.
A flower of impeccable form, H. ‘Glenn Miller’ was one of the show flowers in the garden. The flower is a cream polychrome with overlays of lemon and pale pink. Petal and sepal edges are heavily ruffled and crimped and the flower is lightly sculpted. The color of the flower emphasizes the lime green throat. Named for the famous band leader, who in my opinion, still has some of the best music around. The foliage is a dark green and of medium width The substance is exceptionally heavy and holds well in the rain and sun. Plant habit is excellent, and it increases fairly rapidly. Pod and pollen fertile. Petals are 3", sepals 2". Seedling No. 0755 (Awesome Bob X Wonder Of It All)

H. 'Groovin’ ’
30" M SEv Re 6¼". Three-way branching, 17 buds.
One of our long line of sculpted seedlings and probably the heaviest sculpting of all. The grooves appear to be carved out with a chisel. If you look at most sculpting in this color range, you will think the raised area of the sculpting is a different color. However, upon close scrutiny, it is the same color as the flower but the sculpting creates this optical illusion. The flower is a polychrome of maize and pink overlaying ivory. The flower can be funky-like in the image, or it can be a round, full form. The petal edges are heavily ruffled. The substance is like cardboard and holds up well in the sun. Pod and pollen fertile. Petals are 3", sepals 1¾". Seedling No. 0624 (Doc Branch X Bas Relief

H. 'Juanita Manley’
27" M SEv Re 5". Four-way branching, 25 buds.
This cultivar was chosen by our sister-in-law, Juanita Manley, of Cranberry Township, PA to carry her name. The bloom is a very saturated cherry red with an ivory watermark and ruffles. One of the clearest cherry reds that I have seen. The substance is very good and holds up well except in very hard rains. The plant habit is very good. It is pod and pollen fertile in the greenhouse and we have some very nice kids coming. Petals are 2½” and sepals are 1¾”. A very showy flower in the garden. Seedling No. 0726 (Painting The Roses Red X Jean Pickles)

H. 'Memories Of Mother’
29” M SEv Re 5½”. Five-way branching, 27 buds.
For generations, mothers have been growing yellow daylilies in their perennial gardens. How the yellow has evolved! It is no longer the narrow petaled, lightly branched and budded daylily of the past, but a full, overlapped form with good branching and bud count. Our first daylilies were the lemon colored daylily from Jean’s mother’s garden that we brought to Tennessee many years ago. H. ‘Memories Of Mother’ is a perfectly full-formed daylily of crisp lemon yellow with 3” lightly ruffled petals and 2” wide, blunt sepals. This self ends with an olive green throat. The substance is very heavy and stands up well in the sun and rain. H. 'Memories Of Mother’ would be a great addition to “Mother’s” garden. Fertile both ways in the greenhouse.
Seedling No. 0651 (Macho Macho Man X Wonder Of It All)

H. 'Rockets Bursting In Air’
27" M SEv Re 5½". Four-way branching, 25 buds.
This has been one of my favorites since first bloom in 2007. I thought long and hard for the perfect name and H. 'Rockets Bursting In Air’ seemed to fit. The bloom is very clean and smooth and the color is a saturated magenta. The white midribs give the impression of ‘Rockets bursting in air’. The watermark of white accentuates the explosion. The edges of the petals are very smooth with a fine band of white. The substance is heavy and holds up well. Pod and pollen fertile in the greenhouse. Seedling No. 07100 (Pure Indulgence X Painting The Roses Red).

H. 'Rooty Tooty’
33" M SEv Re Fr 6". Three-way branching, 19 buds.
The flower is a near white with a wash of azalea pink. It has the beginning of an eyezone of subtle rose ending with a lemon throat and a lime heart. The petal edges are a light yellow and are very heavily ruffled and crimped and the flower shows some subtle sculpting. There is light ruffling on the sepals. The substance is exceptionally heavy and holds well in the rain and sun. Plant habit is excellent and it increases fairly rapidly. It is a showy flower in the garden, and it can be seen from a long distance. This flower was pod and pollen fertile for us in the greenhouse. Petals are 3¼", sepals 2". Seedling No. 8057 (How Beautiful Heaven Must Be X Wonder Of It All)

H. 'Tennessee Lady Vols’
28" M SEv Re LFr 5½". Four-way branching, 19 buds.
Named for my favorite college basketball team. The flower always opens well and the above picture was taken in late September on the third set of scapes after a 55° night. The color is orange creamcicle and shows a pale honey orange over cream. There is a tuscan infusion in the in halo which is repeated on the heavily ruffled edges. The substance is exceptionally heavy and holds well in the rain and sun. Plant habit is excellent and it increases fairly rapidly. One of the show flowers in the garden. Petals are 2¾", sepals are 1½". Seedling No. 0545 (Enchanted Dreams X Candied Popcorn Perfection)

We wish all of our daylily friends a very happy and prosperous new year.

Now is the time to start planning to attend one of the many symposia that are coming up, including The Mid-Winter Symposium in Nashville, TN on January 21-23, 2011. Please join us and greet old friends and meet new ones.

Exciting things happen to those who hybridize daylilies!

Life is very, very good. Remember, when the bloom is gone, you still have your friends!

Lee