Anticipation

It’s that particular time of the season again … the time where the daylily beds are just loaded with buds; thousands of them, some just emerging and others growing longer and fuller every day. You can almost feel the energy of blossoms close to bursting open, and the anticipation is delicious. Every morning we start the day with a walkabout, looking to see which of the earlies has opened; there have been several so far, but most of the bloom is still a week or two away.

Along with a few hundred registered varieties of daylilies, we are growing hundreds of daylily seedlings planted from seeds produced after two varieties crossed. Each of these will be a new genetic combination, technically a daylily never seen before. Waiting for these seedlings to open their first blossoms creates a somewhat different kind of anticipation; it’s like opening Christmas presents – maybe you have some idea of what it’s going to be, but then again, it could be a complete surprise. And it might blow you away, or be a dud! And whether or not it shows a pretty face is just part of it, although certainly the most eye-catching part.

It takes several years to truly evaluate a seedling. Will it increase well? Does it have a good bud count and branching? Does it hold its blossoms above the foliage? Can it cope with dividing and transplanting? We have seedlings in various stages of these “tests.” Some of our 2008 seedlings have passed very well and have joined the ranks of varieties for sale this year; after four New Hampshire winters, and one or two moves to different beds, they’re clearly hardy and reliable.

Will we ever register them? Well, maybe … and maybe not. Registration is costly and time-consuming, and really, folks, it doesn’t guarantee much of anything, as far as I can see, especially for a small-scale nursery like ours. The performance of registered varieties I’ve purchased over the years has been all over the place: most have thrived beautifully, but some were lackluster and underwhelming in terms of vigor and numbers of blossoms, and a few simply disappeared after their first winter here. It’s much more important to acquire varieties that are tried-and-true in your climate zone and/or region.

And how can you know that? – not by shopping at big garden centers that import their plants from far away, but by purchasing from local growers. When plants are field-grown, it’s fairly obvious; when they’re in pots, ask questions: did you grow these yourself? If not, where were they grown? Were they overwintered in a greenhouse? (this means that you can’t be sure of their hardiness) How many years have you been selling this variety?

Even better, visit other gardens and see what’s thriving. Ask for plant names and take notes (I’ve got my little daylily notepad with me at all times!). Trade plant divisions with friends. Go to local garden club plant sales. There are plenty of ways to fill your gardens with a variety of beautiful, hardy daylilies that will delight you for years to come.