Mike
I enjoyed the Benz article and feel a bit annoyed when members of the science committee feel the need to chastise a noted northern hybridizer for having used the jargon of northern hybridizers.
The jargon is well accepted....there are various states of dormancy so the point was missed in an effort to malign someone who is well respected who is not a member of this forum and is not here to defend himself.
The term "anti-freeze" is a more recent term that everyone knows is something different....as with the term "pony sized" or "popcorn" doubles....they are something different as well. Northern hybridizers have long recognized there is a difference in foliage habit in describing "dormant" daylilies. Some that completely die back going into winter have a "resting bud" above ground that remains greenish and others have their resting bud below ground. The term "hard dormant" has been used (again in jargon) to describe these below ground resting buds. Northern hybridizers LOVE this type of dormancy because these are the ones that come up later in the spring.....so late that sometimes you wonder if they are dead because absolutely nothing shows above ground. I like the "hard dormants" for my zone 7, too, because they miss the spring freeze/thaw cycles. When they do come up, they often display that beautiful blue green foliage that seems thicker and more resilient to freezes....and that is how the term "anti-freeze" came about....even though everyone knows that is something that people put in cars. I do not have to be "Published" in order to observe plant habit IMHO
I started reading this thread, Larry, because those dormant plant habits where there is a resting bud above ground DO respond and start growing sooner than the resting buds below ground. Some seem to lack the "anti-freeze" factor, too, so if they start growing too soon, the foliage may be nipped by severely cold spring temperatures that dip into the lower 20s. So it is something that should concern people in zone 6, 7, and 8 when we have abnormally high winter temperatures.
