HEMEROCALLIS. Daylily. Central Europe to Japan. Vigorous and easily grown perennials of the lily family. They form fountain-like clumps of closely packed shoots with arching, folded leaves, which normally disappear in winter. Throughout the summer months they display large lily-like blossoms on branched stems. Each lasts only one to a few days, but is quickly replaced by another. The color range for commonly available hybrids was once restricted to yellow, orange, and some odd tawny shades. It has grown to include every imaginable shade of red, white and cream, pink and reddish purple, often in interesting combinations. Recently there has been a mild stir over so-called evergreen hybrids. These retain at least part of their foliage in winter. However, they are not much more attractive than the others where winters are more severe, unless the older leaves are regularly stripped away. Better, I think, to focus on features like compact habit, bright, clean leaves, long blooming season, and the colors which most strike your fancy. Names are another matter: Daylily breeders seem to delight in burdening perfectly good hybrids with cute and tasteless names. Sun, most soils, regular watering for best bloom, though the plants will endure some drought. Hardy to below 0^oF.

Standard hybrids. The following are an assortment of exceptional full-sized hybrids. They bear broad-petalled, often ruffled blossoms on 2-4’ stems. Here are our current selections:

‘Adrienne’s Surprise’. An evergreen hybrid, flowering late in the summer. It has rose pink flowers 4" broad, marked with darker reddish lines around the centers.

‘By Myself’. An outstanding hybrid in several ways. It has exceptionally dark, thick leaves and sturdy 30" stems. Flowers are thick-textured, lasting at least two days, and deep gold in color.

‘Catherine Woodbury’. An old hybrid enjoying a new burst of popularity. It grows around 3’ tall and has lavender-pink flowers with yellow throats, up to 6" broad.

‘Christmas Candles’. A prolific plant with exceptionally long blooming season. It has beautifully ruffled, deep yellow flowers.

‘Coming up Roses’. A full-sized (to 30") daylily with smallish (3½”) but many flowers. The leaves are particularly lush, broad and attractive. The flowers are quite full and ruffled and colored a rich rose pink. This was recommended by and received from Steve Brigham at Cordon Bleu, guru of daylilies and many other plant groups, to fill a gap in our color palette of daylilies.

‘Dead Ringer’. Another of the “more and smaller” flowered group of daylilies. It clumps profusely but grows only about 2’ high. The flowers are of an unusual shade described by the grower as “rosy apricot”; I am not in complete agreement but can’t come up with better words. It also has dramatic central markings of maroon.

‘Derby Bound’. Flowers of this selection are more narrowly parted and colored dark, almost blackish maroon.

‘Frank Gladney’. A prolific and floriferous selection, with flowers up to 7" broad. Flower color is described by Cordon Bleu as hot coral pink. I think of it as tending closer to peach, still quite unusual and beautiful.

‘Gentle Shepherd’. This is one of the few white (or in most cases, near-white) daylilies. It is a fairly profuse grower with 2’ flower stems and cream-colored to pure white (according to the weather) 4-5" flowers.

‘Heirloom Lace’. This one has heavily ruffled blossoms colored soft flesh pink, on relatively short stems.

‘Hyperion’. One of the great old favorites, still popular after many years. It is a strong plant, quickly forming many-stemmed clumps. For several months each year, it is graced by sprays of fragrant, bright yellow flowers on 2’ stems.

‘Java Sea’. A floriferous selection, producing many 2’ stems. These carry brilliant yellow flowers with light green shading, measuring over 6" across.

‘King’s Cloak’. This is the logical companion to ‘Coming up Roses’, above, and similarly provided by Steve Brigham at Cordon Bleu. The plant is bright and attractive, with relatively short stems—about 2’ high, bearing 6" flowers colored rose pink throughout.

‘Kwanso’. An ancient selection, but unusual even by modern standards. The flowers have at least two sets of segments, which are orange overall with red central markings.

‘Mountain Violet’. My favorite of the lot, with fragrant blossoms of a shade difficult to describe, on the lavender side of deep rose.

‘Pure Light’. A robust, floriferous plant with broadly-parted, heavy-textured flowers. Color is a dark, non-fading red overall, the centers chartreuse.

‘Russian Rhapsody’. A semi-evergreen daylily with 30" stems and purplish pink flowers, each up to 6" broad.

‘Scarlet Tanager’. Another red flowered selection, as floriferous as the last, but with shorter, stockier stems and flowers of a very bright, rather than dark, red. The flowers are similarly long-lasting and non-fading.

‘Shady Lady’. The bright yellow flowers in this selection are given added interest by broad red V-marks on three of the segments.

‘Siloam Bye Lo’. Vegetatively this is a full-sized daylily. However, the sturdy stems are 1½’ high or less and bear an abundance of flowers only a little over 3" in diameter. Their color is a rather light coral pink overall, with dark red central markings. Received from Caprice Farms.

‘Varsity’. The background color in this selection is pale peach, while the three inner segments are marked with dark red V’s. A most prolific bloomer.

‘White Zircon’. The flowers attached to this rather contradictory name open pale yellow, then quickly fade to ivory. They are also sweetly fragrant. Large, dark leaves are an added attraction.

Dwarf and Miniature Hybrids. The term “dwarf”, as used among daylily fanciers, refers to small overall plant size (both foliage and flower stems), regardless of flowers, which may still be quite large. “Miniature” refers to small flower size alone, though many of the miniature selections are also dwarf. Is everything clear now? In any case, we offer selections in both categories, from several sources. Flower colors now cover nearly the full range of the standard hybrids.

‘Bonanza’. This is one of the most prolific of the dwarf selections, quickly making many-stemmed clumps. Flowers are large and colored gold with red V-marks.

‘Cranberry Baby’. About 1’ tall, clumping freely and producing relatively large, ruffled blossoms of true cranberry red.

‘Grapette’. Dwarf with rather small, ruffled flowers of purple-rose.

‘Little Dandy’. Similar to ‘Grapette’, above, but with more broadly parted flowers.

‘Little Idy’. A sturdy plant with relatively broad leaves, 1½’ stems and full, ruffled flowers, light pink in color.

‘Little Miss Sunshine’. Bill Teague, an outstanding plantsman in the San Diego area, recently selected this one from a group of seedlings of ‘Stella d’Oro’, described below. It is actually a significant improvement on ‘Stella’, being more profuse in growth and bearing masses of bright yellow blossoms much of the summer and into the fall. An incidental advantage is that it is evergreen in mild winters.

‘Little Monica’. Evergreen—at least in our climate—and vigorous, with clean, dark foliage. Stems are about 2’ tall. The flowers are broad-petalled and shaded buff and pale peach.

‘Little Wart’. A true dwarf with slender 8-12" stems and purple-rose blossoms.

‘Pizza’. A nearly evergreen dwarf/miniature selection, with narrow, shiny leaves, blackish flower stems and broadly parted, golden yellow blossoms.

‘Plush’. This one is on the border between dwarf and standard selections, with stems up to 2’ tall. It is an outstandingly heavy bloomer, with large, lightly fragrant blossoms painted deep rose.

‘Red Mittens’. A dwarf/miniature selection with bright red blossoms.

‘Stella d’Oro’. This is one of the few specific selections to become widely recognized by the gardening public–and by nursery growers dreaming of instant riches. It is remarkable mainly for its prolific growth and bloom. Leaves are narrow and grassy. Flowers are of medium size, borne on short stems, and bright yellow in color.

‘Terra Cotta Baby’. Miniature flowered but at the upper limit of the dwarf category in stem height, with blackish stems and tan flowers.

‘Tropical Sherbet’. An extremely floriferous selection, growing about 1½’ tall. The flowers are about 2½" broad and the color of orange sherbet.