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May 31, 2015 10:46 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Becky
Sebastian, Florida (Zone 10a)
Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Daylilies Hummingbirder Butterflies Seed Starter Container Gardener
Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Garden Ideas: Master Level Lover of wildlife (Black bear badge) Birds Ponds
I am starting this threat to "hopefully" get some feedback from some of our resident hybridizers. I am a home gardener who is hybridizing and growing seedlings. I want to create pretty faces, nice scapes with lots of buds, and rust resistant foliage.

Question #1:
Where should I initially start my focus? So far most of my seedlings were crosses for the pretty faces. Should I be focusing on rust resistance first or perhaps scapes?

Question #2:
Depending on which answers I get to question #1 .... What advice can you give me to help me find some success in my specific hybridizing efforts?
What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters, compared to what lies within us.
Garden Rooms and Becky's Budget Garden
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Jun 1, 2015 8:12 AM CST
Name: pam
gainesville fl (Zone 8b)
Bee Lover The WITWIT Badge Region: Ukraine Enjoys or suffers hot summers Pollen collector Native Plants and Wildflowers
Hydrangeas Hummingbirder Dragonflies Daylilies Butterflies Birds
Im not who you are looking for, but if you cant plant 1000-5000 seeds a year, go for the pretty face...a face or shape that YOU like, not something you think somebody else is going to gush over, and then go for the good scapes and rust resistance among those. In the end, they are going to become your garden plants, and your best friends, enjoy the process and looking at them. and learning from them.

They are harder to find, but Tim Herrington breeds for rust resistance, and they take the heat, and they are great plants. Rust is at the bottom of my list of things I look for, but if I can get a plant I like and know it has good rust resistance....winner!

Next bloom season...you might not know it Whistling , but your going to MECCA. nodding Im gunna get Leslie LaLambchop to talk to you too, just in case you want to go over and talk to Dan Hansen.
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Jun 1, 2015 10:46 AM CST
Name: Leslie
Chapin, SC (Zone 8a)
Keeps Sheep Daylilies Hybridizer Garden Photography Cat Lover Hummingbirder
Birds Region: South Carolina Plant and/or Seed Trader Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Garden Ideas: Level 2 Avid Green Pages Reviewer
Hi Becky,
Welcome to hybridizing. It's fun. There's nothing like seeing a seedling bloom for the first time and knowing that there's no other plant on earth just like it. You got some good advice there from Pam. Go for what you want, not for the current trend. I second her recommendation on Tim Herrington's plants. I've just crossed with several of his this morning.

Question #1: Start your focus for what you want to achieve. God bless him, David Kirchhoff spent an hour with me when I was just starting helping me to define my focus. The narrower your focus, the more chances you have of getting it. I started off with doubles, polys and reds. 10 years later I'm still focusing on those 3, plus patterns. I also cross pinks just because I adore pinks and want more of them in my garden.

I learned from lots of the top hybridizers that you should work with the highest quality daylilies you can afford. That doesn't necessarily mean the newest, but it often does. They say it's easier to put a pretty face on a great scape than the other way around. I try not to cross with anything that has less than 4 way branching and 20 buds unless there is a particular reason to. I also look for vigor. In my doubles program I'm using Jerry Pate Williams and Double Image. Both are "old" daylilies, but they have superior plant habit that I'd like to take into some of the newer things. Look for good "substance" in a bloom. Does it melt during the day and look bad at 2 o'clock or does it hold up during the day?

#2 Again, really narrow down your focus. Visit as many nurseries as you can so you can familiarize yourself with what's out there. When you decide what you want to go after, let us know so we can make recommendations on hybridizers who are known for that feature.

Pay attention to hybridizers on ATP. You will learn a lot from what Fred and Lyle are doing by watching their seedlings. They are also generous about sharing info on what they're using as parents.

Do visit Dan Hansen and tell him we sent you. Call him ahead of time to let him know you're coming and want to learn about DL. (Just a warning, when you get there, don't talk to him until he's finished his crosses for the day. He hates to be disturbed when he's working. He may make over 500 crosses a day and has to do it before temps reach 80*. That takes a lot of effort.) You don't have to wait for Mecca, in fact, if you want time with the hybridizer, don't go then. They'll be too busy with the crowds. Dan is the most generous daylily fellow I've met in terms of teaching. He gets excited when you are excited. You should know that he can be moody, so if he's not in a good mood, blow it off. He will be the next time.

I recommend the PlantStep software by Kent Balen. It's very reasonably priced and will help you track your plants as to bloom and growth. It also has a hybridizing feature that lets you compare plants and plan crosses. Study the pedigree of plants you're thinking of using. Look to see whether their parents have the features you with to bring forth in your seedlings as well and the plant with which you're working. See if you can figure out dominant and recessive traits by looking at what proven parents have had show up in their offspring.

I hope I'm not overwhelming you. You'll get the hang of it quickly.

Here are a some of tools I've found helpful with hybridizing.

Reverse tweezers. I can't find a pic of these right now, but they stay shut until you press to open them. They are invaluable for holding pollen while you're hybridizing, especially if you only have the anther.

Pollen Tray: Someday I hope to have a "muffin" series to honor my muffin tins. Every day I pick the blooms who's pollen I want to use tomorrow and store them in the fridge overnight. Use your nails to incise the area around the base of the bloom so you can take off the bloom but leave the ovary and pistil. When I go out to do my crosses I have pollen all ready and don't have to wait for it to ripen. This makes a big difference in areas who's temps go up quickly.
Thumb of 2015-06-01/Lalambchop1/d7d6df

Tagging: I have learned the hard way that paper hang tags {to show which pollen you've put on a plant) often get lost. This year I found a mini blind at a yard sale and cut it to make hang tags and plant tags. Since I moved my plants last year I tag each as it blooms to make sure I have the right one. I'm paranoid about this.

To make hang tags I cut the blinds into about 1" pieces and use a hole punch to make a hole if necessary. When cutting the blind I use the pre-made holes first. Then I loop a piece of string through so I can affix it to the bloom base. I make out tags with names of the pollen parents ahead of time and organize them in my mini muffin tin. That way I don't have to use valuable time in the morning doing it. I write the name of the pollen parent on the lower part of the tag. If the pollen takes, I later write the name of the pod parent in the upper part of the tag.
Thumb of 2015-06-01/Lalambchop1/e546df Thumb of 2015-06-01/Lalambchop1/cd7039

Pod Bags:
It's heartbreaking to find a pod who's cracked open and spilled out some of the seeds. I found these bags on Amazon. Once the pod gets some size on it, I fill out the pod parent on the hang tag and then cover the tag and the pod with one of these bags. When the pod is ready to harvest all I have to do is cut if off the scape. My genetic info and the pod are all safely within the bag. You can find these on Amazon or sometimes in a wedding shop.
Thumb of 2015-06-01/Lalambchop1/df87f3 Thumb of 2015-06-01/Lalambchop1/872d8b

More later. I look forward to seeing your results.
Leslie

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Joshua 24:15
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Jun 1, 2015 10:53 AM CST
Name: pam
gainesville fl (Zone 8b)
Bee Lover The WITWIT Badge Region: Ukraine Enjoys or suffers hot summers Pollen collector Native Plants and Wildflowers
Hydrangeas Hummingbirder Dragonflies Daylilies Butterflies Birds
Leslie, that is so cool you mentioned David, I remember going thru Dans field and David was 'evaluating' your seedlings. That is where I picked up the word munge, and its taken me far...munge equals cull here.

Oh yes Becky...plant step for sure. I have a MAC so I had to give it up, but its a winner. I think most use it. You might already, your pretty organized nodding
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Jun 1, 2015 12:51 PM CST
Name: Leslie
Chapin, SC (Zone 8a)
Keeps Sheep Daylilies Hybridizer Garden Photography Cat Lover Hummingbirder
Birds Region: South Carolina Plant and/or Seed Trader Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Garden Ideas: Level 2 Avid Green Pages Reviewer
Ha! I'm sure I had some munge and that he would have said it. Rolling on the floor laughing

I spent many Sunday mornings with David and Mort walking their seedlings. They were my first teachers on what to look for.
Leslie

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Joshua 24:15
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Jun 1, 2015 1:10 PM CST
Name: pam
gainesville fl (Zone 8b)
Bee Lover The WITWIT Badge Region: Ukraine Enjoys or suffers hot summers Pollen collector Native Plants and Wildflowers
Hydrangeas Hummingbirder Dragonflies Daylilies Butterflies Birds
You did...and he did, but he also spotted TUTU that day nodding
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Jun 1, 2015 9:53 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Becky
Sebastian, Florida (Zone 10a)
Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Daylilies Hummingbirder Butterflies Seed Starter Container Gardener
Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Garden Ideas: Master Level Lover of wildlife (Black bear badge) Birds Ponds
Pam and Leslie - Thank you for all the great suggestions and encouragement! I am pretty much on-board with most all your ideas. I have PlantStep and have been using it for 2 years for my daylily hybridizing. I am not brand new to hybridizing. But I am new to figuring out how to get from here to where I want to be with seedlings.

I don't have a large piece of land, so I am limited on how many I can grow in my residential yard. I will be removing some to plant where I work (as my way of culling those I am not going to keep). I do use Plant Step program for my record-keeping of my seedlings. Started using that program 2 years ago. Thumbs up

I currently am using colored paper clips for the pods. But I am finding that in the heat of Florida, they tend to fade, so I am constantly replacing them with new ones. I like the idea of using blinds to make pod labels. What do you use to "write" the name or code on each label? I have tried using pencil, markers, etc. and have found that fabric paint markers are the only thing that holds up in my climate. I can't find really fine point paint though to use for such tiny labels. I do have some of those pods bags. I might have to locate them and use them. I don't have 1000 of pods though and do check them every day to see which ones are ripening. I've already collected my first 10 seeds from this year's parents. I've done the same thing over the past several years which is why I have managed to grow over 300 daylilies in my little yard. Hilarious! Hilarious!

Thanks for the tip on Tim Herrington's plants. I will do some googling about his daylilies! I honestly am gardening on a VERY tight budget. So that is one of 2 reasons I grow seedlings (most all from seeds) rather than purchase named daylilies. What some gardeners spend on 1 daylily cultivar is my gardening budget for the entire year! But I also like growing seedlings because I love the thrill of seeing a first ever bloom! Just looking at some of the ones I've had bloom this year is absolutely the best reason I grow from seeds. Lovey dubby And I do occasionally purchase seeds on the LA. I look for genetics in those crosses that I like so that I have them to use in my hybridizing efforts. I've gotten some good crosses on the LA! And I've also been extremely fortunate to get some seeds given to me which have also grown into some mighty fine seedlings! Thanks to Sandi, Mike, and Cindy here on ATP!!!

There are NO daylily nurseries locally that I am aware of. None. In fact, most plant nurseries don't even sell daylilies here. So checking around and talking to hybridizers locally is not even an option. .... I also work full time so jumping in my old car and visiting daylily nurseries in other areas of Florida is not something I can do easily. I am very grateful for the internet because that is how I learn so much. It would be wonderful to visit and actually have a face to face conversation with a hybridizer but don't know if that will ever happen given my circumstances. But it sure would be awesome if I could!

Thanks so much Leslie for such a great post of ideas!!!! Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

My questions really pertain to HOW do I get from what I have currently growing in my garden to what I want. Do you concentrate on scapes first? Or flowers? Or foliage? Where is the best place to start first if you want to create rust-resistant, scapes and flowers that wow you? BTW - I am also a chemical-free gardener. I garden for butterflies and hummingbirds, so I don't use any pesticides or fungicides.

I am on Brian Reeders email list. I received a recent email from him about daylily foliage. When I read his emails, I can related to just about everything he writes. And his email was very timely about foliage. I am dealing with all the rust, leaf streak (possibly), bugs, etc. I have a border of daylilies in my front yard. The flowers are beautiful, but the foliage is a big concern for me. It just doesn't look so great. I want my plants to look good whether they are blooming or not.

I have 4 beds that I grow my daylilies in. Three are in the backyard and then there is the long border in the front yard. Here is a photo of my front border of daylilies. I wished the foliage looked much better!:

Thumb of 2015-06-02/beckygardener/a4c04d
What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters, compared to what lies within us.
Garden Rooms and Becky's Budget Garden
Last edited by beckygardener Jun 1, 2015 9:58 PM Icon for preview
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Jun 2, 2015 6:34 AM CST
Name: Leslie
Chapin, SC (Zone 8a)
Keeps Sheep Daylilies Hybridizer Garden Photography Cat Lover Hummingbirder
Birds Region: South Carolina Plant and/or Seed Trader Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Garden Ideas: Level 2 Avid Green Pages Reviewer
Becky,
Now that I've seen some of your seedlings I'd say you're well on your way!

I'll be back later with a longer post but wanted to post the pic of the reverse tweezers. You press on the widest part to open them.
Thumb of 2015-06-02/Lalambchop1/fd1183

Back after I've finished crossing. Thumbs up
Leslie

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Joshua 24:15
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Jun 2, 2015 11:09 AM CST
Name: Larry
Enterprise, Al. 36330 (Zone 8b)
Composter Daylilies Garden Photography Million Pollinator Garden Challenge Garden Ideas: Master Level Plant Identifier
Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Region: Alabama
beckygardener,
I couldn't stand it when my foliage looked like that. So over the past week or so, every morning when I deadhead, I have begun the habit of also "deadleafing" (not just completely dead leaves, but any yellowing leaves that distract from the plants). There were lots the first day, even more it seemed the second and third day, Now it seems the yellow looking leaves have slowed down a little. I gathered a very large bucket full (ten gallon maybe) several mornings with blooms and leaves, but the plants look so much nicer. I just ordered a few new plants and they were all listed as having some degree of rust resistance, it seems that here the rust resistant plants seem to display better foliage.
Last edited by Seedfork Jun 2, 2015 11:13 AM Icon for preview
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Jun 2, 2015 12:10 PM CST
Name: Leslie
Chapin, SC (Zone 8a)
Keeps Sheep Daylilies Hybridizer Garden Photography Cat Lover Hummingbirder
Birds Region: South Carolina Plant and/or Seed Trader Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Garden Ideas: Level 2 Avid Green Pages Reviewer
Becky,
I use a pencil on the blind tags. It stays put until you erase but they are easy to erase and use again. I've used it on metal and vinyl tags with equal success. On the ones I use to mark plants I have a dark red pencil.

To get where YOU want - rust resistance, good plants and pretty faces you need to cross with plants that are known for that. A few years ago Matthew Kaskel was working in South Florida on rust resistance. You might do a Google search on him and see if you can find info on his work. I remember the AHS Robin doing a list of rust resistant things a few years ago. If you're a member you can search the archives and try to find it.

If you see a "face" you like, look in the AHS database to see what it's stats are as to branching, bud count, etc. or you can use your PlantStep for that. Do a Google search and see if you can find comments on the growth habit.

I'm a big believer in online research as well as taking careful garden notes. There are some plants that are beautiful but they don't grow well or aren't good parents. Check the AHS database to see if there are registered kids from the plant in which you're interested.

You could also call the hybridizer and ask them about their plants. Some are more honest than others. Rolling my eyes. If you're into doubles, call Jan Joiner, David Kirchhoff, Tim Herrington or Nancy Eller. I've discussed their plants with each of them and found good info. You could also ask on here. I remember years ago Jan telling me not to bother with Sebastian the Crab. It's a pretty thing but not much use in hybridizing. I really appreciate her honesty. FB has lots of DL groups that you can join and learn from.

Larry asked about my "breeding for dormancy" on another thread. One of my goals is to produce plants that will grow well in the north and south. Because I came from Florida and many of my plants were evergreens, I've been making a point to breed them to dormant plants. Even in SC I've lost plants that were too tender for my "new" climate. I want to bring the hardier growth that often accompanies dormant plants into my seedlings so they can do well in the north. I have friends in PA and TX that test things for me to see how they do.

Even though we had a relatively mild winter here in SC, we did have a few hard freezes. I had 5 plants that were frozen to the ground. In spring when they didn't appear I dug around where they should be. In each case, the crown and roots looked fine but only one, Disciple of David, has put up leaves. I'm especially impressed with it since I just got it last fall. Hurray!
Thumb of 2015-06-02/Lalambchop1/98815d

I take lots of pics. I like to compare blooms throughout the season and it's a good way to document plant growth. On each one I make a note of the date so I can see what they do from month to month and year to year.

If you want to try and extend your season, you can freeze pollen. Here's a trick I learned from Curt Hanson. Take the stamens, with anthers attached, of pollen you want to save and lay them out on a paper plate. Use the cheap ones without the plastic coating. Leave the plate in a cool place where it won't be disturbed for a couple of days. The stamen will dry out and stick to the plate leaving the anther with your precious pollen easy to remove with your trusty reverse tweezers.
Thumb of 2015-06-02/Lalambchop1/2331c5


You can freeze the pollen in micro-tubes like they use in labs. The tubes and storage boxes used to be available on the Lily Auction. I'm not sure if they still are. I color code the labels for each tube according to which program I'm using them in - tet doubles, dip UF doubles, tet polys, etc. I have a mini fridge in the basement in which I keep the pollen boxes and blooms who's pollen I want. Each morning I go out to see who's blooming and then take out the pollen/blooms I need for that day.
Thumb of 2015-06-02/Lalambchop1/189f4e

I had a huge V-8 moment this year in trying to find out why my pollen wasn't working. I'd been putting the tubes in my bra to "thaw" while I did my first crosses with fresh pollen. I didn't think until later that my 98.6* body temp was way over the 80* that pollen needs to stay viable.

When using frozen pollen, always let it thaw before opening the tube. If you don't, you may get moisture in the tube and that will wreck your pollen.

Gotta go. DS is starving. Keep the questions coming. It makes me stop to think things through!
Leslie

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Joshua 24:15
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Jun 2, 2015 12:35 PM CST
Name: Larry
Enterprise, Al. 36330 (Zone 8b)
Composter Daylilies Garden Photography Million Pollinator Garden Challenge Garden Ideas: Master Level Plant Identifier
Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Region: Alabama
Ok, I have read more and more frequently "that dormant or evergreen" is not a reliable trait for hardiness. That even dormant or evergreen behavior is very questionable in different gardens. Evergreen plants here in Alabama would most certainly not appear that way in Minnesota. They would most likely behave as dormants, so...my question is should dormant or evergreen even be considered in a program for hardiness, or should it focus strictly on plants that are actually hardy regardless of their foliage behavior in winter. So if plants are breed to be more hardy in cold zones, will they end up being more prone to heat dormancy in hot zones?
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Jun 2, 2015 9:59 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Becky
Sebastian, Florida (Zone 10a)
Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Daylilies Hummingbirder Butterflies Seed Starter Container Gardener
Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Garden Ideas: Master Level Lover of wildlife (Black bear badge) Birds Ponds
Larry - I have been removing ugly leaves. In fact what you see in my border daylilies photo is after I had cleaned up the foliage. It looked much worse than that! I've done that twice since the beginning of Spring here in Florida. More leaves just turn ugly. Sometimes it's so bad that if I pulled all the ugly leaves, there would be none left. Rolling on the floor laughing Rolling on the floor laughing Rolling on the floor laughing

Leslie - Boy! You are a wealth of information! I didn't realize about the moisture getting into the pollen containers if they weren't thawed before opening and that's interesting about the pollen only being viable up to 80 degrees. I love those freezer storage boxes and the snap-cap plastic storage vials. I will be on the look-out for those items and the reverse tweezers! Great suggestions! I have favorite blooms that I want to use on other blooms for crossing even when they are not in bloom at the same time. I had attempted that earlier this year and it didn't work out at all. Must have been the way I was defrosting the pollen. Someone else on the forum had mentioned about the use of those cheap white paper plates to dry the stamens/pollen on before freezing. Thanks for the visuals! Very helpful. You need to write an "article" here on ATP about all of this! You'd earn 50 acorns for such an article! You could just cut and paste what you wrote in this thread ... Just saying .... Big Grin Thumbs up

The only thing I really found on Matthew Kaskel was this site which lists his website (which unfortunately no longer exists):
http://www.gulfcoastdaylily.or...

So ... no idea of where to go for more info on creating rust-resistant cultivars. Sad

I do check the AHS website for cultivar info as well as use the ATP database to see parents of cultivars as well as children they produce.

Here is what I am discovering so far ...

1) Most cultivars with a pretty face that I like are NOT rust-resistant.
2) Many cultivars with really good scape branching and lots of buds are often NOT rust-resistant.
3) I rarely get what I was expecting from a cross.
4) I have limited space to grow many seedlings.
5) I need to separate or somehow mark my seedlings as to whether they are dips or tets. Nothing more aggravating that crossing blooms only to find out I wasted the effort by crossing a tet and a dip. Sighing!

Should I do separate beds for specific qualities? Like use one of my raised beds for good scapes and lots of buds. Another bed for pretty faces. And yet another bed for rust-resistant cultivars. I am at a loss as how would be the best way to find some success with the qualities I am wanting to create in some hybrid plants.
What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters, compared to what lies within us.
Garden Rooms and Becky's Budget Garden
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Jun 2, 2015 10:13 PM CST
Name: Leslie
Chapin, SC (Zone 8a)
Keeps Sheep Daylilies Hybridizer Garden Photography Cat Lover Hummingbirder
Birds Region: South Carolina Plant and/or Seed Trader Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Garden Ideas: Level 2 Avid Green Pages Reviewer
I forgot an idea about your foliage. Have you had your soil tested? It could have something to do with your problems.
Leslie

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Joshua 24:15
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Jun 3, 2015 7:48 AM CST
Name: Maurice
Grey Highlands, Ontario (Zone 5a)
Seedfork said:Ok, I have read more and more frequently "that dormant or evergreen" is not a reliable trait for hardiness. That even dormant or evergreen behavior is very questionable in different gardens. Evergreen plants here in Alabama would most certainly not appear that way in Minnesota. They would most likely behave as dormants, so...my question is should dormant or evergreen even be considered in a program for hardiness, or should it focus strictly on plants that are actually hardy regardless of their foliage behavior in winter.
I am in zone 4 - when I buy daylilies I do not worry about whether they are described as dormant or evergreen since it seems to make no little or no difference on how they survive winter here. I would suggest that you not consider the dormant, evergreen or semi-evergreen descriptions of daylily cultivars when hybridizing and only consider the plants actual hardiness not their foliage behaviour in winter.

So if plants are breed to be more hardy in cold zones, will they end up being more prone to heat dormancy in hot zones?

Not necessarily but it probably depends on the other factors that the hybridizer includes when selecting specific plants to be parents. I interpret "heat dormancy" to mean "summer dormancy". Little is known biologically about "summer" dormancy in daylilies.

One typical growth pattern of a perennial plant would be to produce new leaves in the spring. The plant might stop producing new leaves relatively soon and its leaves would last until fall and then die. It would produce one crop of flowers. Lets assume that this is the pattern for "dormant" daylily cultivars.

Another typical growth pattern of a perennial plant would be to produce new leaves in the spring. It might stop producing new leaves and then flower. Then it would produce a new crop of leaves and flower again. It might then produce another new crop of leaves and flower again. The cycle of new leaves and flowering might be repeated until autumn or cold weather arrived. Lets assume that this is the pattern for "evergreen" daylily cultivars.

Plants cannot control their temperatures very well or easily. How long a leaf will live depends on temperature; lower temperatures allow the leaf to live longer while higher temperatures cause it to die sooner. In cool temperatures leaves may live until they die of "old age" naturally. In high temperatures leaves may die much sooner.

The growth pattern suggested above for "dormant" daylilies suits them to grow in climates that do not have very long and very hot summers. If those types of daylilies are grown in locations with long hot summers it might be that they react by going "summer" or "heat" dormant. We don't know if that is the case. It might be that they go through their normal cycle of growth but because the temperatures are higher that cycle is shortened and instead of the leaves dying in autumn just before winter arrives they die too early in summer.

How long a plant leaf will live depends on temperature (and other factors). High temperatures shorten the amount of time most plant leaves can live while lower temperatures lengthen that amount of time.
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Jun 3, 2015 6:19 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Becky
Sebastian, Florida (Zone 10a)
Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Daylilies Hummingbirder Butterflies Seed Starter Container Gardener
Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Garden Ideas: Master Level Lover of wildlife (Black bear badge) Birds Ponds
Maurice - I think you hit the nail on the head about the heat factor affecting foliage. It probably gets close to 95-100 degrees here in my front border. The daylilies getting some shade throughout the day have foliage that looks so much better. I am sure that is why my sunny areas have such ugly looking foliage. As always, thank you for jumping on here to post! Thank You!
What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters, compared to what lies within us.
Garden Rooms and Becky's Budget Garden
Last edited by beckygardener Jun 3, 2015 6:21 PM Icon for preview
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Jun 4, 2015 5:53 AM CST
Name: Mayo
The Netherlands, Europe (Zone 9a)
Bee Lover Organic Gardener Irises Hellebores Region: Europe Dragonflies
Dog Lover Daylilies Container Gardener Cat Lover Butterflies Birds
hi everybody!

I just bought my first daylily last year end went totally overboard this year when I came across several nurseries .. Rolling on the floor laughing
So crossing isn't on my agenda yet Rolling my eyes.

But I am saving all the advise that was given in this thread, so that when I am ready to 'create' some of my own seedlings I'll know what to do. Thank you all for the wonderful information! Thank You! Thank You!

Mayo
a DL flower a day keeps the doctor away
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Jun 4, 2015 6:34 AM CST
Name: Cynthia (Cindy)
Melvindale, Mi (Zone 5b)
Daylilies Hybridizer Irises Butterflies Charter ATP Member Million Pollinator Garden Challenge
Birds Region: Michigan Vegetable Grower Hummingbirder Heucheras Lover of wildlife (Black bear badge)
Welcome! Mayo.
Lighthouse Gardens
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Jun 4, 2015 7:01 AM CST
Name: Ashton & Terry
Oklahoma (Zone 7a)
Windswept Farm & Gardens
Butterflies Keeps Sheep Pollen collector Region: Oklahoma Lilies Irises
Hybridizer Hummingbirder Hostas Daylilies Region: United States of America Celebrating Gardening: 2015
Welcome! Hurray!
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Jun 4, 2015 8:31 AM CST
Name: Larry
Enterprise, Al. 36330 (Zone 8b)
Composter Daylilies Garden Photography Million Pollinator Garden Challenge Garden Ideas: Master Level Plant Identifier
Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Region: Alabama
Mayo62
Welcome!
Got a list of the ones you bought? Any photos of the beds and plants? Tell us what gardening is like over there.
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Jun 4, 2015 8:44 AM CST
Name: James
South Bend, IN (Zone 5b)
Annuals Region: United States of America Plant and/or Seed Trader Seed Starter Region: Indiana Hostas
Dog Lover Daylilies Container Gardener Birds Enjoys or suffers cold winters
Leslie, are you tying your own string loops or did you find them for sale somewhere?

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