The excitement of the upcoming season continues to build. I have scapes coming up everywhere! It sure looks like it's going to be an early bloom season this year. I hope there will still be lots of bloom when show time comes around.

Great Smoky Mountains

This is Great Smoky Mountains (Stamile, 2009). It has done well in my garden and it has a nice double edge.

I can't decide if I'm going to mulch the front yard beds again this year. For the past 2 years I have been putting down medium screened hardwood mulch and the results have been very good. I now have more earthworms than I've had for years. The smaller particles in the mulch have broken down and are feeding the soil. The larger pieces haven't broken down yet so I'm still getting benefit from the amount of mulch that remains.

WHO DO VOODOO

Today's image is Who Do Voodoo (Kinnebrew-J, 2007). If you're looking for something a little different, this fits the bill. It performs well in my Houston garden.

This morning I sprayed for daylily rust. Up until about 15 years ago there was no such thing as rust, at least in this country. Then one of the big box stores brought it in on some daylilies they were growing in Central America (at least that's the story I heard). The rest is history.

The good news is that there are ways to keep rust under control but it means regular sprayings at least during the peak rust seasons. This year I have been much more diligent than in years past as the daylily foliage is looking great.

Dayglow

This is an image of Dayglow (Harry, 2010). I used it in some crosses but never got anything worth keeping. Too bad, it's a pretty face.

Ah.... the first day of spring! It was a little cooler than normal but once the temperatures reached the upper 50's it was pretty pleasant to be outside. More and more scapes are beginning to emerge. It looks like I'll have a fair amount of bloom at the end of April when I have my daylily yard sale. That will be nice as I really enjoy it when people stay after the sale to chat and walk the garden. Few people stay when there are only a handful of blooms to look at.

Bit of a bummer yesterday... My first bloom of the season and I was so involved with my day job that I completely forgot to check it out when I got home.

Nicole's Plum Crazy

I still have some images that I can post until the new season gets started. This is Nicole's Plum Crazy (Harry 2010). More eye and edge color than petal color. I have always liked those wide edges!

Tomorrow daylight savings time will be in effect. I have always appreciated daylight savings because it gives me an extra hour of daylight after dinner. That's a real bonus because of my day job even if all I do is sit outside and enjoy the last rays of sun.

I saw another scape today, this time in the evaluation bed. That's the second scape of the season and it means I should start seeing blooms in a few weeks.

Ivan Attitude (Harry 2008)

Ivan Attitude has a striking bloom. The cream yellow petals with the dark purple eye and edge is always admired by garden visitors.

It has been a wet week so far with 3" in my rain guage over the past few days. The daylilies are loving it! Unfortunately so are the weeds, so I had to spend a good part of the day bent over removing them. When I was younger I used to make sure I pulled out even the tiniest weed. Eventually, I smartened up and now I'm satisfied with just trying to keep the weeds from taking over. It seems like a reasonable compromise and my back thinks so too (smile).

I noticed that there's a significant difference between weeding in January and weeding now. It's not necessarily the weather as each time has it's advantages. In January the temperatures are relatively cool and while I prefer it to be a little warmer, it's good weather to work outside. Now it's mild and very comfortable to be outside but the afternoon sun can get a bit intense. The big difference however is that in January the daylilies are basically languishing while now they are growing like gangbusters! The excitement comes from seeing those fat fans and imagining what kind of scapes will soon be emerging!

Red Edition (Pierce-G, 2013)

Today's image from last year's garden is Red Edition. While the bloom is not the well behaved and symetrical form that I prefer, it's the color that makes this a standout. This is not just red, but a bright red that really jumps out at you from the garden.

Last year I did something that I really hated to do. I cut down two 40' pine trees that were growing in the center of my front yard. It was a most difficult decision because I love trees. That's why I live in this neighborhood... it is full of old established pine, oak, and pecan trees. But the neighbors on both the east and west sides of my yard have oak trees that have have become very large over the years. Between those and the pines, my daylilies were getting so much shade that they were doing quite poorly. So the pines had to go.

Fast forward a year and the difference in my daylilies is truely remarkable. The fans are much larger and they are multiplying nicely again. I can't wait to see how the sunshine will affect the blooms!

Thomas Tew

This is Thomas Tew (Stamile 2008). It's another of the Tet. Peppermint Delight offspring that exhibit the round bagel form that I like.

Spring is here for sure... Today I saw my first scape. It was on Luck Be A Lady. While it's registered as an early to mid-season bloomer, it always blooms early for me.

Seedling 15-048

Springtime RomanceDiamond Silk

Today's image is another new seedling from last year. It had nice bud count and branching for a first year bloom. The cross was Springtime Romance X Diamond Silk.

Today, after a several hours of working in the garden, I settled back to relax and enjoy the latter part of the beautiful spring afternoon. The temperature was about 70 degrees with a slight breeze and the sky was blue with puffy-whites gently floating by. I had relaxing music playing in my headphones with the volume set so I could still hear the birds singing. As I watched the squirrels chasing each other around the trunk of a large pine and a dove trying to attract a mate, I wondered if others find the same relaxation that I do just by watching nature.

Seedling 15-065

Blooms season is still a ways off for most of the country so I'm going to continue to post pictures from the 2015 garden. These aren't my best but when there's snow on the ground, they hopefully will be appreciated. This is Seedling 15-065. It is the result of a cross between Honky Tonk Floozy X Jessica Lynn Bell.

Someone once noticed that in my newly transplanted seedling bed, all the fans were oriented in the same east/west direction. I was asked if they grew better when they were oriented that way. The answer was yes... but only in this specific situation. The reason I planted them east/west in that bed is because I plant the seedlings 4" apart in rows 8" apart. The rows go north to south and if the fans were oriented north/south, as the fans got larger they would quickly start competing for the 4" space between the plants. With east/west orientation they would have the 8" space between the rows to spread into as they grow.

I have two new seedling beds. One is oriented north/south and the other east/west. The seedlings in one of the beds are always oriented east/west and the ones in the other bed are always oriented north/south. I haven't seen any noticable difference in how well the seedlings grow. I suppose that's just common sense because if they did prefer a specific orientation, it would become apparent with new fans as the garden becomes established.

Unspoken Love

FractalJ.T. Davis

This is Uspoken Love (Jarvis 2011). In this cross, I was trying to put an edge on a patterned bloom. While I did not get the heavy edge I was looking for, I did get a double edge. I only wish the bloom was 6" instead of 5" (smile).

So far this spring I have given my potted daylilies some vitamins (fertilizer) and some veggies (alfalfa pellets). Today I gave them some minerals and a sweet. I mixed the following in a 5-gal bucket and applied 4 cups of the resulting mixture in each 7-gal pot.

• 3 Tablespoons Epsom Salt
• 1 Tablespoon Sequestrene
• 5 Tablespoons Humate
• 3 Tablespoons Agricultural Molasses

Epsom salt is magnesium sulfate. The magnesium is beneficial in that it strengthens the cell walls and assists in the creation of chlorophyll used by the plants to convert sunlight into food. It also helps plants soak up phosphorus and nitrogen. The sulfate performs similar functions so they work well together. Epsom salt reportedly does not build up in the soil.

Sequestrene is an iron chelate. It is used to produce nice dark green foliage. I first heard about Sequestrene from the 'Hooker Formula', a special fertilization treatment developed by Dr. George W. Hooker many years ago. He used it on both his daylilies and his roses. I don't use a lot and I only use it once a year in the spring.

Humate is a concentrated source of humic acid which is a soil builder. Natural, unaltered oxidized lignites, or humates, are ancient geological deposits of mainly vegetable matter. It is not a fertilizer but works by freeing up nutrients in the soil so they are more available to the plants. Humate also improves the soil structure and water-holding capacity and stimulates microbial activity.

Agricultural molasses is a sugar refining by-product. The primary reason I use it is to stimulate the growth of beneficial soil micro-organisms. These micro-organisms break down organic matter making the nutrients available to the plants. Increasing their soil population increases the nutrients available to the plants.

Seedling 15-103

This is one of those seedlings that seems to have both good and bad traits. The bloom is big enough (6") and I like the double edge. The bud count was reasonable for a first year bloom but the plant was not particularly robust (something I like in my seedlings). So I decided to give it a chance to show me what it can do after a couple of years under good growing conditions.

Spring continues with temperatures in the upper 70's. This is the perfect weather for puttering around the garden.

Today I pruned and fertilized the roses. I probably should have done it a little earlier as they had already started producing buds where the new branches would form. I had to remove much of those buds which will probably set the roses back a little.

I just had to post this picture of my first Camelia bloom of the season. I ordered this Camelia from a mail order nursery over 30 years ago. When it arrived, it was an 18" stick with no branches or leaves. It was about as big around as a pencil with a small root on the end. I almost didn't plant it. Today it is almost 8 feet tall and is covered with blooms every spring.

As I was heading out to run an errand today, I caught myself scanning the daylily foliage looking for scapes. Oh my... it's way to early, but the foliage is getting so lush.

I know it's still cold in many parts of the country so I'm going to continue to post pictures to try and fend off some of those winter blahs. This is Sweet Tranquility (Salter 2005). The first year after transplanting it was not very impressive but by the second year it had clumped up nicely and put on quite a show. It multiplies very quickly in my garden.

Sweet Tranquility

I have used Sweet Tranquility in some crosses and find it passes on a nice edge. I have three seedlings currently under evaluation with this as the pollen parent.

Being Valentines day I decided to dig back in the picture archives and post a picture of Hearts And Lace, one of the very first daylilies I ever registered. A number of crosses were made between this and some other reds and with some interesting results. However they were all poor performers and were eventually discarded.

Hearts And Lace (Jarvis 1999)

Hearts And Lace seedlings

Another beautiful day yesterday but I didn't do anything daylily related in the yard. Sometimes I just have to work on general maintenance... you know, the things that I've been putting off because I'd rather work with my daylilies. I had an area behind a fig tree that had become overgrown and I cleaned it out. What a job... no wonder I prefer working with my daylilies (smile).

Moon Over Tibet

Today's image is Moon Over Tibet (Jarvis 2014). The pod parent was a (Victorian Lace x J.T. Davis) seedling crossed with May I Have This Dance. It is a vigorous grower with large fans. It's also fragrant.

There's so much to do in the garden when springtime rolls around. At least the weather is cooperating as yesterday's high temperature was 80. I was off from work and got a couple of things checked off my to-do list.

I finished weeding my potted daylilies and top dressed them with a little Milorganite and alfalfa pellets. I also gave the new seedling bed another lite snack of water soluble fertilizer. I'm not putting out a lot but the bed is shared with the roots of a nearby oak tree so a little extra fertilizer and water from time to time should help the initial bloom.

I also put out my new garden markers. With seedlings, it is necessary to mark each plant with the number especially the new additions if any sort of performance records are to be kept.

Passion And Pride

Today's image is Passion And Pride (Bell 2010). For some reason I didn't get as good a picture this past year as in previous years, but even on a bad-hair day it is still fairly impressive.

Yesterday I sprayed again for rust. I am determined to keep it under control this year and we are supposed to have a few days in the 70's coming up.

Every year while watching the Super Bowl I make marker tags for the new seedlings and any additions to the garden. I use a Brother P-Touch labeler for the names and attach the labels to the sign inserts. The P-Touch labels are almost indestructable. They don't peel or fade in the sun and last as long as the galvanized metal signs.

Honky Tonk Floozy

Sunshine KissesUnregistered Salter seedling

Today's image is Honky Tonk Floozy (Jarvis 2015). This was a cross that worked fairly well. I liked the red edge on the Salter seedling but the bloom was barely 4.5". Sunshine Kisses has a 5.5" bloom so I was hoping for a nice red edge and eye on a large bloom. Honky Tonk Floozy is 6.0" which is larger than both of the parents and the red turned out to be more vivid than the seedling.

Ah spring... the signs are everywhere, especially with the reappearance of many birds that have been absent for a while. The nights have still been chilly but as the sun warms the air the symphony of birds singing begins.

Another sign of spring is getting the urge to plant something. I confess that I succumbed yesterday and went to the local big box garden center to get some foxtail ferns and geraniums for a couple of planters. I would never buy daylilies at one of these places but they are usually ok for general garden plants (IMHO).

Diamond Silk

Today's image is Diamond Silk (Pierce-G 2010). It is a nice flat light pink with a heavy yellow gold edge. The only issue I have with it is the substance. It is a little too thin for my liking but the beauty of the bloom made it a keeper.

Yesterday the weather was sooooo nice! How nice was it? 79 degrees in January with puffy clouds and a nice breeze - shorts weather!

I gave my 2016 seedling bed a little snack to help them with their spring growth. I used Miracle Grow 24-8-16 Water Soluble in my hose-on sprayer. This is about all I can use to feed this bed because the new seedlings are spaced close together and are growing through X's cut in weed block.

I also fed my potted daylilies. For each 7-gal pot I spread a handful of Milorganite 5-2-0 topped off with a handful of alfalfa pellets and watered it in. I used Miloranite because it won't burn. The alfalfa pellets provide a slow release nitrogen plus triacontanol a natural plant growth stimulant. It promotes healthy, deep green foliage.

Frank's Hot Tamale

Today's image is Frank's Hot Tamale (Smith-FR 2007). While only a 5.5" bloom, it stands out in the garden because of it's bright color. It is also a daylily that 'behaves itself' and opens round and flat most of the time.