Sorry, Larry, didn't mean to hijack your thread.
If you only follow that one rule...to sit back and enjoy it sometimes, it is all worth it.
Sounds like 100 may be your number to go with...
At least you are doing some homework on the ones you do have as far as rust resistance and such. This should make them more ideally suited for your garden.
Another hint to help 'get rid of a few' if needed: when my DLs are in full bloom, I walk around with a roll of orange stretchy surveyor tape. Anything that's just not performing well (if everything else around it is), has really low bud counts, or doesn't impress me much gets a long piece of tape attached to it. If I think I won't remember why, I write on the tape with a sharpie or paint pen. Those are the ones that I find homes for to make space for a new DL (or if I want to downsize). Or I can leave them for another year and watch to see if it happens again the next year...then they really have to go! I also do this with cultivars that I have multiples of, then I can choose one to keep and the other(s) to give away/sell if I need space.The tape will fade color over time, but will still be a reminder that the plant is on your 'watch list'.
I use a different color tape to attach to the ones I want to move to a different spot or to a different bed. This makes them easy to locate when all the blooms are gone.
Larry, Teresa, Cindy, and Natalie for the comments on our place. We love it here.
