Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Joining the Crowd

Took two of our granddaughters to Discovery Depot in Galesburg IL.  (Started with three but one didn't last a mile out of town.) Goodness they were busy; both are social children.  They assume other children are gathered because they want to play with them.  Love that attitude.  They're sweet, thoughtful, mannerly and love life.   But then, I'm a little biased.

I suppose I'm a little biased about the beauty of my daylilies, too.  Today's first bloom goes to "Green Flutter".  
Hemerocallis "Green Flutter"
A 3 1/2 inch very bright yellow self with slightly ruffled edges and vibrant green throat.  Held on 18 inch scapes.  Diurnal.  Late bloomer with extended bloom.  Semi evergreen.  Diploid.  Winner of the Strout Silver Medal, Lenington All American Award, Annie T. Giles Award, Award of Merit, Honorable Mention and Junior Citation.

I've divided this lily four times.  Even though it's an older introduction (1964) the hybridizers are currently bringing in more and more chartreuse into their new registrations.  This little beauty was at the forefront of glowing green.
I sometimes mention the date a daylily was introduced and the cost because those new to gardening with daylilies don't need to spend a fortune on some of the new introductions.  Don't get me wrong, I drool over some of the new ones.  I also can wait for the price of new bells and whistles (or new colors, forms and fancies) to go down as another new something is introduced.  

Many of my top award winning daylilies - the most hardy, substantial and vigorous - were under $10 a plant.  Considering they will last longer than most of us, it's a pretty good investment.  
In this area, Hornbaker Nursery, Princeton IL has the best and largest selection on hand.  Being able to see them growing in the field, in our climate and up close is unbeatable.  They carry many newer varieties at reasonable costs.  

I occasionally find a nursery that specializes in daylilies; Klehm's Song Sparrow in Wisconsin was an example.  Klehm's has some of their own introductions and they are also reasonably priced.   

Other nurseries have several varieties but seldom anything "a crazy daylily person" doesn't already have planted.  
I also use Oakes Daylilies, an on-line/mail order source.  Their plants and customer service are always perfect and they aim to give you more than you expect.  They have a variety of prices to choose from and try to keep their costs down by not offering the most recent introductions but certainly enough beauty to let you find something you love within your budget.
I think we all started this obsession with a few pretty daylilies that are popular at all nurseries.  For some of us, it's like tasting chocolate Halloween candy and then one day, someone offers you Swiss dark chocolate and you can never go back.  Pretty soon you're ordering direct from the chocolatier and sneaking them into the house.  Yes, an obsession always seems so innocent at first.          

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