Not all of my daylilies are seedlings; most of them are registered cultivars. The pollen dabbing is just an interest of mine; I am interested particularly in near-white, polymerous, and polychrome daylilies (though I also like yellows, lavenders, saturated pinks, and large sunfast reds). I have hopes...
, and if nothing else, it is interesting to anticipate what might (or might not) show up in the seedling patch each year.
I am having problems with my dahlias. A couple in pots (one black, one blue plastic inside of a ceramic pot) in a lot of sun have either cooked or rotted (I have been trying not to over water). Three other dahlias all in black pots (all the same purple leaf cultivar) which get more shade are doing fine.
Who'd have thought that dahlias needed some shade??? (I also have some dahlias in the ground (under irrigation), but that is an iffy proposition with our heavy soil. I lost one last summer to rot.)
I have been refreshing the ATP main page so I can see random tips, and one person uses large bubble wrap (has 1" or so bubbles) to line her pots - it cools them down some. When all else fails, it is probably worth a shot.
There are also those fabric grow bag planters, which are said to be cooler than plastic or ceramic pots. (A link to some:
http://www.gardeners.com/buy/o... ) I bought a few of those at the local nursery (thinking to use them for veggies, but didn't); I haven't tried them with any ornamentals. Yet. (If the dahlias keep failing on me, I might try one in a bag.)
