Hi-

Does anyone else have an issue with some of their lilies not opening correctly when mornings are cooler, like in the 50s? It seems that it either rains, is cold, or super hot in my part of NY, so there is never consistency in the climate.

I was just wondering if anyone else has experienced this? This is really nothing I can control, right?

Regards, JC

We had a nice 43 degrees this morning! I notice that they open slower on these days, but they seem to open OK. They also last longer it seems.

It is quite chilly here this morning and I do have quite a bit that are not fully open yet.

They have been opening slowly here, or not opening fully here. We have had a lot of cool mornings and days, all summer. We have been down in the low 40's most nights and in low 70's during the day. Most of my daylilies are just getting ready to open now so hopefully we start getting some warmer summer type weather.

I think it was only 59 degrees yesterday.

Oh yeah. They are definitely slow to open and slower still to open anthers when the mornings are cool/cold. On the other end though, EMERALD STARBURST was still looking great at 6 am today!

Mine do not open well when it is cool. Been 50s here in the mornings this week. They stay trumpet kind of shaped until later in the day when it finally warms up. I noticed this morning that most of mine are facing East. I guess toward the sun coming up. They do like sun right on them to open.

Hockeyrabbit said:Hi-

Does anyone else have an issue with some of their lilies not opening correctly when mornings are cooler, like in the 50s? It seems that it either rains, is cold, or super hot in my part of NY, so there is never consistency in the climate.

I was just wondering if anyone else has experienced this? This is really nothing I can control, right?

Regards, JC

No you cannot control it but what you can do is add cool/cold morning openers to your garden. Some hybridizers list this in their descriptions (website, and/or AHS data base). Some may be CMO even if not listed as such because maybe the hybridizers area doesn't get cold enough to know. You can also check the ATP data base to see if anyone has added this to any cultivars

I should have kept track of which ones were opening well----one or two hardly opened at all the other day. All wide open early this morning and pollen fluffy at ten AM-I should have kept track of the temperature. Fall is always cool around here, so late bloomers often get smaller an don't open well-I kind of gave up crossing the lates for that reason though they do perk up if we have a warm night or two in September---not every description mentions if a cultivar is a good early morning opener so you have to kind of observe for yourself--Weedy

I thought this was an interesting post because I had thought about posting same myself. My findings in zone 5 garden is that there are ones that don't open well on cool mornings, and if they don't start out opening well, then they finish crappy as well even as the day warms. It seems that there are more of those than ones that start out opening slowly then finish well. [That's why I'm in the house instead of in the garden. I enjoy cool mornings, but not so much cool and wet.]

I have to say in my garden, Last Snowflake has been about the best for opening well and looking good on cool mornings. It's seedlings seem to carry on the same tendency. I was also surprised that HIllbilly Heart has been opening well, even with shade until about 10:00 or so.

Ken, good cat.

Another cool morning here, Wild Horses opened very slowly but unfolded beautifully when the sun hit it; several others remained folded until it warmed slightly but in the end they were better than ever. Anthers also opened slowly but the pollen was fluffy by ten----dabbed pollen all over the place. and , in the end all opened nicely----I should have kept track of the temp because I think it was just cool enough to slow them but the fairly rapid rise saved the day-Weedy

I had several this morning that just didn't want to open up. It was a cool morning, mid 60's and Caesar's Head, Spacecoast Starburst, Old King Cole, Linda Beck, Evermore Lights, Palace Garden Beauty and even Heartbeat of Heaven just did not want to open up.

Hockeyrabbit said:Hi-

Does anyone else have an issue with some of their lilies not opening correctly when mornings are cooler, like in the 50s?

Yes, every year. Even when it is in the 60s. Some just don't recurve, some open later in the day. And some stay 'cupped'. What I consider the worst is when one petal is sticking out. Some daylilies have problems opening even on a normal summer day here.

I'm having the same issues (slow opening, partially opening, not cupping) this year. I'm glad to hear it IS just the cool weather this year and not something else going on in the gardens. I don't even dead head until mid-day or late in the day because it's hard to tell yesterdays bloom (because it is lasting longer). If I want anyone to go for a garden walk I try to make it in the afternoon as morning blooms are not that great looking.

I also have a lot of plants that are a LOT shorter than they should be. I have a suspicion it is from the "spring sickness". I seemed to have an abundance of that this year.

Sue