I have gone through the database, with my number one criteria being rust resistant, and come up with a list of plants that are all available now and for $10 or less. I have a bed with room for 20-25 plants an I would love to hear any response from anyone who grows or has grown any of these plants. I have looked at every single listing in the database and have read all the comments on these plants there. Some were very helpful and I based a few of my decisions to buy some of these already on those comments. So these ones I have already decided on:
1. 'Beautiful Edgings'
2. 'Lady Neva'
3. 'Sings The Blues'
4. 'Smoky Mountain Autumn'
5. 'Inner Destiny'
Now I would love to have any comments about the rest, I am looking for daylilies that would make good "garden daylilies". Naturally at these prices these are all older daylilies, and I have found that the newer ones don't have rust resistant ratings yet. So if any of these did well in your garden or did not do well let me know, and please state what zone it was growing in.
1. 'Apple Tart' 2.'Brocaded Gown' 3. 'Gleber's Top Cream' 4. 'Gypsy Rose Lee' 5. 'Houdini' 6. 'Jason Mark' 6. 'Jealous Refinement' 7. 'Little Print' 8. 'Marjorie Kinnebrew' 9. 'Monica Marie'
10. 'Optical Delight' 11. 'Paige's Pinata' 12. 'Pink Flirt' 13. 'Prester John' 14. 'Princess Ellen'
15. 'Savannah Art' 16. 'Silk Road' 17. 'Socially Acceptable' 18. 'Soothsayer' 19. 'Timeless Fire'
20. 'War March' 21. 'Yellow Exaltation'
Any comments about the plants will be welcome!

Not much help here but Beautiful Edgings is one of the best daylilies we grow.
Smoky Mountain Autumn is nic too.
Don't have any of the others.

Thanks!

Not much help here either, but I have 'Beautiful Edgings' and 'Brocaded Gown', though the deer keep getting the latter.

'Beautiful Edgings' is beautiful, and has thus far proved very rust resistant. The downsides are that the edge is photosensitive (so I advise planting it in morning shade), and for me, the sepals don't necessarily curve under properly by themselves; they kind of kink a little. That means that every morning when the plant is in bloom, I have to go out and poke and prod the sepals into shape. (Well, I don't have to, but if I want the blooms to look their best....) I don't know if this sepal behavior is a quirk of the plant, or some artifact of dry soil, or pertains to our climate, or what.

I have 'Beautiful Edgings' planted next to a red maple, where it gets morning shade and it looks very good there (the faint color on the bloom edge echoes the red foliage of the maple, at least while the blooms are still shaded). You may want to consider some similar placement.

As for 'Brocaded Gown', my recollections from when I last saw it in bloom (literally years ago) are that it is indeed a beautiful flower. Supposedly the plant is rust resistant, but it is in a part of the garden where it has had little exposure to rust, so I cannot verify that.

I have to say that my problem with 'Brocaded Gown' is that the scapes are short; I don't think that I have ever seen them make it to 26". (Maybe that is due to our soil or my neglectful cultural practices... ) I have it placed in a bed atop of/behind a retaining wall, right along the edge, so as to give it a proper height and close-up location for my viewing pleasure.

FWIW, I obtained Tetra 'Brocaded Gown' from the Lily Auction earlier this year. It is in a pot and is now sending up bloom scapes, and I have caged the plant in hopes of fending off the deer. It is already too slow to bloom to cross it with the plant that I bought it to mate with (unless I remember to save pollen off the last bloom of that plant, assuming that I haven't already missed that bloom (it's been a busy few days)). But I am anticipating the blooms on this tet conversion nonetheless.

Edited to correct grammar, and also to add that the blooms on 'Brocaded Gown' have a crepe texture. This may or may not be a deal killer for you, but I thought that I ought to mention it, in case you missed it. (You can see the crepe texture on the images in the database.)

Lady Neva - is in her 8th season in my garden and I've noticed that the scapes have gotten taller than 42 inches over the years. More like 50 inches if they were standing straight up. But as they got taller, the scapes didn't want to hold up the blooms so I put a small piece of fencing at the base of the plant. I do love LN though!

2013 picture.


Apple Tart - is a nice red and has been in my garden 9 years. I would definitely recommend it. If you look in the database, you can see that it throws a few polys every now and then. It seems to be more fade resistant than some of my other reds.

2013 picture.


Smoky Mountain Autumn - 6 years in my garden and has not grown much. I would have liked to have a bigger clump by now, but it could be my soil conditions. But I love the color, so it will stay in my garden for a good long time!

2014 picture.


Also, Lady Neva and Apple Tart start blooming later than others in my zone 6b garden, which means they don't get started until at least the first week of July.

Polymerous,
I really appreciate the feedback on 'Beautiful Edgings', knowing in advance that it needs a shady location is just the type of info I need. Yesterday I created a small new bed and it should be just the place for 'Beautiful Edgings' under the shade of a Crape Myrtle tree that will provide it with morning shade.
The crepe texture of 'Brocaded Gown' is not a plus exactly in my garden, but it is not a deal killer for me. I love having a mixture of textures and heights throughout the garden. Even though the plan is is to plant the new acquisitions in non mixed plant all daylily beds, as they multiply I plan to work them in with other plants in different areas of the garden. Great to hear it had beautiful blooms, the height does not bother me all that much, I have 'Jolyene Nichole' a very short plant and I love for the abundance of beautiful blooms it has provided this year.
Thanks very much for taking the time to respond.

blue23rose.
Thank you so much for your response!
I really hate it when plants flop, but there are times when they have such beautiful abundant blooms that they are worth giving them a little support.The beautiful clump photos I have seen of 'Lady Neva' make me think this is worth the extra support, thanks for mentioning that. I think I have a perfect spot for that after it get older. I was having a very hard time finding tall rust resistant daylilies.
Love that positive feedback on 'Apple Tart', a nice red that is fade resistant, sounds like just what I need!
I do need more late bloomers in my garden so the fact that 'Apple Tart' and 'Lady Neva' make a later appearance is great to hear!
I'll have to pay particular attention to the growth of 'Smoky Mountain Autumn" and make sure to give it extra fertilizer and water. I'll see if that will speed up it's growth a bit. The color is a little different and that makes it even more attractive.
Thanks for all the info!

'Hearts of Fire' is supposedly a rust resistant red daylily; I bought it on the strength of that evaluation (plus, it's fragrant! ), but it is a new plant here this spring, and has not bloomed. I have no idea how it holds up to the sun or weather; I really hope it has some sunfastness. Our climate is very hard on reds and purples.

I grow both Beautiful Edging & Smoky Mountains Autumn. Have has both since 2009.

I love BE and it does well for me. Mine gets full sun from about 12 on. Big Smile is very similar and have considered getting it seeing if one performs better for me.

Love the color of SMA! Like nothing else I have seen. I have a very nice size clump. I would be happy to send you some this fall if you would like.

Smokey Mountain Autumn has been a slow grower for me. Lady Neva always blooms well and it blooms later in the garden.

Claudia,
Thanks for the offer. I have a trip to a daylily "farm" planned, that is the reason for the list and wanting opinions on these plants. I am sure many have bought from "Peace on Earth" daylilies over in southwest Ga. Their site says this will be their last year, so I thought I would go see them before they close. I am so close to them, couple of hours, and I have never been. I figure what grows well there will do well here. I am hoping to get a lot of feedback here, and then a lot of good info from them when I get there. They wanted to have my list before I went so they could be digging before I arrived, I have added a couple to my lists of plants I know I want because of feedback from here, So those they could go ahead and dig, but it seems the great majority of plants on my list are not grown frequently by members here. So I am looking forward to seeing the actual plants. I wanted to go earlier but it has not worked out that way and it is getting late in the season, so many of the ones I am interested in may not be in bloom, might be a good time to check on the rebloom abilities of them though.
All these plants are on the "cheap" side of pricing, but if for some reason I return without SMA, I may get back up with you. Thanks again for the offer, it is much appreciated

Sounds good!

Larry - I just read this thread and have also found the info that others have shared VERY useful. I, too, would like to grow only rust resistant daylilies, so this thread is extremely helpful to me as well. I have partially shady beds and full sun beds, so I hope more comments are posted here with that kind of information. I was hoping some folks from Florida would share info about any of their rust resistant daylilies because the rust is really bad here.

Ashton, Vickie, Polymerous, Cindy, and Claudia - Thank you so much for your input! Very, very much appreciated!

The rust problem is such an issue here in the south that many people no longer consider adding daylilies to their gardens and I think that is the main reason I rarely see any for sale at local garden nurseries. I garden organically, so spraying is not an option. Nice foliage is one of my top 3 requirements for a daylily cultivar to have a "permanent" place in my yard. I grow mostly seedlings for the very reason I can't spend a lot of money on registered daylilies not knowing how rust resistant they might be here. I really, really appreciate the list you are compiling! Thank you!

Larry - I wanted to suggest another one for you: Siloam Double Classic

It was suggested to me and has a good rust resistance rating. I recently acquired a couple fans of this beauty. It is listed as a dormant, so not sure if it will survive here (though I've been told it should because others in Florida grow it). So far, I've not seen any rust on it at all. It is a smaller daylily plant, but the blooms are so pretty. They look like carnations and it actually has a nice soft scent. I am very pleased with this cultivar so far. I have plans to possibly make mine into a nice border plant.

Can anyone suggest a good source to get the first 5 Larry listed?

Becky,
I ordered Siloam Double Classic and planted back at the end of March along with several others, it has already bloomed, but it only produced a few small mal-shaped blooms. But I do have high hopes for it and am hoping for re-bloom later in the year with better blooms.

Becky, "Peace On Earth" daylilies has almost all if not all the plants on my list at very reasonable prices.
1. Beautiful Edgings $5.00
2, Lady Neva $5.00
3. Sings The Blues $5.00
4. Smoky Mountain Autumn $5.00
5. Inner Destiny $5.00
6. Apple Tart $5.00

Larry - Hmmm ... I wonder why your Siloam Double Classic produced mal-shaped blooms? Mine bloomed after I received it and the blooms were perfect. I wonder if heat is a factor in the bloom quality? It's certainly been hot enough here. I don't know if mine will rebloom this year or not. It seems to be focused on producing foliage right now ... which is good as I was worried it looks pretty sparse on the foliage. I didn't want to lose it.

Thanks for the heads-up as to where and how much for the 6 rust resistant daylilies that I was wondering about. I will check out their website. Good prices for all of them. Appreciate you sharing the info with me! I am interested like you in obtaining 10-15 rust resistant daylily cultivars to use in my hybridizing efforts. I am hoping the genes pass on to some of the crosses to produce some rust resistant hybrids with patterns, ruffles, and teeth. I don't know about you, but I see several of my spider daylilies that show rust resistance on the foliage. I wonder if spiders tend to be more rust resistant because they often have the thinner leaves?

Hello to all, Beautiful Edgings grows well here in South Alabama and is very pretty. It gets some morning sun. Big Smile is very similar in the looks of the bloom. I can tell the difference in them. Big Smile multiplies faster than BE and it repeats. Both tend to lean a little but not bad. Big Smile grows in full sun here.
Lady Neva is one of my favorites. Lots of blooms and very tall.
Sings The Blues is pretty but few blooms, in between 2 other daylilies that have lots of blooms, probably not the soil.
Smokey Mountain Autumn is very pretty but slow to increase.
Saw first bloom on Inner Destiny in June, very pretty with a big eye.
Siloam Double Classic--GREAT!! Is low plant but worth it to bend down. Many blooms, seems to keep on going, very pretty.
Marjorie Kinnebrew--nice double, lots of buds and scapes are strong.
Jason Mark has a pretty eye, grows and blooms good here
War March multiplies fast, pretty red blooms.
Soothsayer --like it but needs some shade for color to be prettier.
Hearts Of Fire --a nice red with strong scapes. I had some in full sun, some in afternoon shade. Bloom held up best on blooms in afternoon shade.
Brocaded Gown--ok and grows like was mentioned, shorter than 26 inches. Good thing, reliable bloomer.
Hope this information helps.

Granalene,
Thanks so much for your reply and loved getting all those comments of the plants!
That is exactly the type of feedback I was looking for.
Comments like "slow to bloom" can be a plus or a minus in the garden, if a limited space spot, that is perfect, in a very large spot that was chosen for a fast increasing plant that would be a negative, so all comments are welcome. They are not necessarily positive or negative, even for height. I am specifically needing some tall plants, but I do also love some of the very short ones also. Knowing which ones need full sun or a little shade is also great info.
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

Granalene - Thank you for your information about many of the cultivars that Larry (and I) are interested to know more about! Great info!

Just wondering though, do all of those you mentioned seem to show rust resistance in your garden? With those cultivars, that is the #1 characteristic I am interested in. I'd really like to know if these cultivars have nice foliage.

Larry - Thanks for tipping Granalene. I'd have tipped BOTH of you if I had any acorns left. I've given away all of my acorns. I don't have any luck in the not-a-raffles, so I have been passing my acorns on to others hoping they have better luck.

You all are welcome. Glad the info was helpful.
Becky, being in South Alabama I am going to have some rust. Siloam Double Classic and Jason Mark on the list is the only 2 that has never had any rust at all on them. SDD has been here for 8 or more years and JM for at least 5 yrs. They have never been isolated from other plants. I think Hearts Of Fire has the most. In the Fall, all others show very little compared to others that I grow. I do not spray for rust because of my pets. I trim and burn foliage. It is extra work for me but it helps to keep the rust from getting to bad on my plants. Simply something that I have to deal with if I want to see daylilies in bloom here.