admmad said:@bobjax
A couple of weeks ago I brought 11 'Stella de Oro' plants inside. They were all dormant with buds and all their leaves dead and dry or drying. They all started into growth within a couple of days of being brought inside. They have had no special treatment to break their dormancy. They did not require winter cold.
Your entire post provided excellent information!! Thanks!
In my study of plants over the last 30 years, something became very clear. The hours of sun in a day and the temperature are significant factors for when a plant goes to sleep and when it wakes up. Of course, that is common knowledge among plant lovers.
Survival often depends on the intensity of the sun in the summer. Florida sun and sun as you move closer to the equator gets more fierce. I always think to forget the temperature; it's the sun intensity. Even I can work better in the shade when it is 100 degrees. In the sun, it wipes me out fast!
Which brings us back to can a daylily "go" to sleep simply because of the hours of sun (or moon) in the day and be awaken because of temperature increases? To me, it all goes back to the habitat the underlining species plant originated in. Sure a plant can survive somewhat higher or lower regions then the place it originated. Many have a wide range but I think some of that is genetic evolution. I can raise a plant that struggles but a couple of generations of self-seeding and a plant can begin to withstand my extremes better. I have to believe evolution can take place quickly, maybe even with dormant and evergreens daylilies.
Also about: "Even worse, the normal winter rest period in those locations is not conducive to rest." I can go to sleep at 11PM and be permanently woken by the cat at 3 AM, every day, but after two or three years of this, I would probably fade away like many northern dormant daylilies in Florida.
