The problem I have found with TET conversions is: hardiness. I am on my third purchase of TET Connie Burton. The first bloomed, then promptly died after the summer heat started. The second lasted through Winter, but came up as a clump of "grass" the next Spring---then died. The third is doing much better. After the first Winter it looked pretty rough, but did grow a bit over the summer. The next Spring it looked really rough, but got over it and grew a bit more. This past Spring I thought it had died, and was going to toss it, when lo-and-behold, both fans came back. It had gone Dormant. I hesitated to use it because I thought it may have converted back to the diploid form. However, when I tried it on some dips, it did nothing. But, pollen put on tetraploids--made pods! So I started using it around mid-season, and got so many seeds I put some in my Specials on the Auction. The flowers this year were larger than in the past, and with very heavy substance, so I think it is going to be a winner for me---finally.
This past summer I got a clump of TET Evelyn Gates from my dear friend Peggy Jeffcoat at Singing Oakes Garden. It is in a large pot next to the house by my back door where I can keep an eye on it. I'm Xing my fingers it will make it thru the Winter, so I can use it for Xing next Summer.
Daylily Rust is a hard thing to deal with. Some cultivars are not resistant at all and are, or nearly so, destroyed by it. Others have some resistance, but still can get it. This year was a fairly bad one for rust in my garden. A sudden week of 93+ temps in early June weakened the plants. They recovered, but then later it got hot again and very DRY. I had to water ($190.00 water bill August), and there is no way to water so many plants without getting at least some wet. I watered in the morning in hopes that all would be dry by night. It did not help. weakened by drought, and increased humidity, with night temps in the 70's (perfect growing temp for fungus), the rust exploded into the worst it has been since it first came around. It did not help that it had a head start this year because of a very mild last Winter, and the purchase of new plants from Florida last year and this past one. Rust resistance evaluation needs to be done over more than a few years. Weather plays a big role in it.
