New 2012 Introductions . . . Part 4

Just after we finished our lining out, Tropical Depression, Lee came through and dumped somewhere around 10" of rain on us. We were in dire need, so it was very welcome. Fortunately, the rain did not come down in a deluge and most of it soaked into the ground. A day after, I dug some plants to ship and the ground was damp, but not muddy. Of course, if I had driven the tractor into the freshly tilled ground just before the rain, they would still be looking for me.

It is time to begin thinking about the Hybridizer's Summit in December. Many of the most famous hybridizers in the world will gather at the Chattanooga Choo Choo on Friday, December 2 to meet old friends and make some new ones. Lots of dinner selections in downtown Chattanooga where a free shuttle will take you from the Choo Choo to the downtown destinations. I know many of you are prone to lick your fingers at Sticky Fingers. Friday night the hospitality room will be open and we urge you all to bring your bottle of wine, jug of white lightening, or other libation along with your favorite munchies to share.

Saturday morning we will convene at the Finley Lecture Hall at the Choo Choo for a showing of the finest new daylilies to come in the future. If you have been to the Choo Choo, you know that the Finley Lecture Hall is a theater style room with high backed easy chairs that if you get bored you can certainly fall asleep. Noon you can again take advantage of all the fantastic food selections for lunch, then back to the images. We try to end by dinnertime, but if we have too many slides, we will convene after dinner to finish. Then it is back to the hospitality room.

By the way, there is no charge to attend. If you are ready to say "YES, I want to attend", you should call the Chattanooga Choo Choo, 1400 Market Street, Chattanooga, TN at 1-800-TRACK29 to make your reservation. Rooms are $89.00 +tax, single/double. Mention you are with the Daylily Hybridizer's Group. All interested in daylilies are invited to attend . . . you do not have to be a hybridizer.

2012 Introduction No. 4 (Left click for a larger image)

 H. 'How Sweet You Are'

s/f ... $85.00 ... d/f ... $125.00
32" M SEv EMO Ext Fr Re 6". 4-way branching, 21 buds. Petals 3¼” sepals 2”.
    A subtle bi-tone of very pastel mauve.  The bright yellow/gold petal edges are heavily ruffled and crimped. Some light relief sculpting is seen in the petals. A bold yellow/gold throat leads to a green heart. The color is slightly moderated in rebloom. Substance is heavy and holds up well against most rains. A very showy flower in the garden. Fertile both ways in the greenhouse.
No. 9057 (Robert W. Carr X Some Sweet Day)

As always, we thank you for visiting our blog. Please leave a comment below.

Life is very, very good.

Lee

2012 Introductions . . . Part 3

We are finally getting some rain! Have had over 1" so far and Tropical Depression Lee is just getting started. It is predicted that we will continue to get rain through Wednesday. We are happy, happy. Luckily we had all the planned lining out done in the field before this rain started. I have some orders to be dug for shipment on Tuesday that will have to wait until this weekend . . . probably ship Saturday if the Post Office is still in operation. Just heard on the news that they may have to close down because they cannot meet their financial obligations this month. The are looking for a bailout from Congress. I guess the times are hard all over!

2012 Introduction No. 3 (Left click for a larger image)

 H. "Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead'

s/f ... $100.00 ... d/f ... $150.00
24” EM SEv EMO Ext 4¼”, 4-way branching, 23 buds. Petals 2½” sepals 1¼”.
    Teeth, hooks and fringes on the petals surround the lemon yellow segments which are washed lightly in pink. Opens well and is like the picture every morning. The substance is very heavy and this one holds up well in rain and sun. Pod and pollen fertile in the greenhouse. A very nice cultivar to add to your toothy program.

No. 0751 (Horny Devil X Golden Tentacles)

As always, we thank you for visiting our blog. Please leave a comment below.

Life is very, very good.

Lee

2112 Introduction - Part 2

The heat continues here in Tennessee. We just had the driest month in history (at least since they started keeping records), 0.01" of rain for the month of August. Also, this was the third hottest month on record. Jean says we are seeing a new variety of mosquito, one that is bigger and has stripes on it's wings. Just what we need, a mosquito capable of drawing enough blood for a transfusion.

Lining out is finished here at Chattanooga Daylilies. This is probably the least we have ever done. At this rate, we may not do any next year. I have approximately 3000 seedlings in No. 38 seed trays that someone could pick up pretty reasonable. If you are interested, call me or email me at leepickles@epbfi.com.

2012 Introduction No. 2

H. 'Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy'

28" M SEv EMO Ext 6". 5-way branching, 27 buds. Petals 3”, sepals 1¾”.

s/f ... $100.00 ... d/f ... $150.00
    This flower is a very clean regal velvety purple with a faint watermark of white. Deep ruffled white edges with a yellow throat leading to a green heart. Opens well every morning. The scape is well branched with lots of buds. A garden show flower admired by visitors. Fertile in the greenhouse. 

No. 8067 (Mandalay Bay Music X Larry Allen Miller)

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Life is very, very good.

Lee

2012 Introduction - Part 1

Jean and I have been lining out 2012 introductions the last few days. I know it is hot, but it had to be done. When it is hot like this, I use the Karen Newman approach which she claims gives her very few losses. Clumps are dug and separated into 1 and 2 fans. They are then set aside for at least 48 hours which allows any cut crowns to heal over. Plants are then put in the ground and watered in. No water is added for at least a week. In my opinion, excess water and high temperatures make for ideal rot conditions. The plants look like they have gone into summer dormancy, but Karen assures me that they will revive. I certainly hope so!

2012 Introduction No. 1

 H. 'Body and Soul'

37" M SEv EMO Ext 5¼". 3-way branching, 18 buds.  
s/f ... $85.00 ... d/f ... $125.00
    One of the most distinctive flowers in the garden, the pastel orchid of the flower contrasts with the lavender etched halo. The double edges of lavender and lemon/green  give a distinct appearance. The throat matches the lemon/green petal edge and leads to a green heart. Tall scapes carry the flowers well above the foliage. Substance is good for this color range. Fertile.
No 9060 (Mandalay Bay Music X Wonder Of It All)

Thank you for visiting our blog.

Life is very, very good.

Lee

Seedlings germinated in 5 days

Last year I purchased peat pots to plant many of the seeds that I planned to transplant to trade one gallon pots and grow in the greenhouse over the winter. These peat pots were in flimsy trays of 50. To be able to handle them, I placed them into regular trays. The peat pots were 2" x 2" x 3" deep. I did enough to plant into approximately 1000 trade one gallon pots. I grew these pots in water beds, so the plants were never dry. I would estimate that I had 50% bloom in 9 months. So, I thought I would try it again this year and push the seedlings more and try to get a higher bloom rate in 9 months. It is fun to see 9 month seedlings like the BIG boys in Florida.

This year I purchased more peat pots, only these are 2" x 2" x 2". We will see if the smaller depth effects the germination or growth. I really appreciated using 1/3 less seed starting mix as it is rather expensive. In the image showing the peat pots on the growing bench, you can see the difference in height, the 3" pots are in the back.There are 24 trays. You can see that the first 6 trays are even with the top of the tray and the last 18 are approximately 1" above the tray.

The first seeds were planted in the peat pots this year on Saturday, July 23. The first seedling that I saw germinate was the one to the left in the picture below. The seedling on the right germinated the 6th day. The cross was (Cimarron Rose X [(Camelot Red X Doug's Caress)]. Today, there were several more seeds from this same cross that had germinated.

How can you not get excited when the seeds begin germinating? More later.

Life is very, very good.

Lee

Planting Seeds 1

Seed planting has begun . . . 700 seeds planted the last two days in 2" x 2" x 3" peat pots. These peat pots were left from last year's plantings. This year I purchased 2" x 2" x 2' peat pots to plant the seeds in. They should use 1/3 less seed starting mix, which is rather expensive. We will see if germination or growth is affected using the smaller pot.

So far, it appears that this is going to be my "RED" year. I have more seeds using red parents than all the others put together . . . and yes, it was on purpose. My red seeds involve crosses using a lot of seedlings, many of them mine, one of Larry Grace's and one of Bill Waldrop's. Then named varieties, like DAVID L. HANSEN. JEAN PICKLES, MAX PICKLES, CHRISTMAS GREETINGS, CIMARRON ROSE, HAWKEYE PIRDE, CHERRIES JUBILEE, and the wonderful CAMELOT RED. Yes, these are exciting days contemplating what magnificent wonders I have created.

I do remember planting SOME seeds from HORNY DEVIL, BASS GIBSON, RAZORWIRE, IRISH HALO, ANGEL'S GATHER ROUND, and a multitude of others SO YOU CAN SEE THAT ALL WERE NOT RED. It is fun to look into my crystal ball and see what beautiful cultivars I have created. So you see, I have been busy!




I would like to take a look back at the 9 month red seedlings that bloomed this year, in particular those involving H. 'Camelot Red' (Salter 2010). I was really excited about the kids I saw blooming from CR. The depth and clarity of red was just outstanding. Here is an image of CR.

H. 'Camelot Red'
(Salter, 2010)








Here are some of the kids

Seedling No. 1004
(Camelot Red X Doug's Caress)

Probably my favorite of the group and one that I used a lot of pollen in the greenhouse this year. The seedlings that I am going to show you all bloomed as 9 month seedlings in the greenhouse in March of 2011. This is the first time I have bloomed 9 month seedlings and it was really a pleasure to be able to use pollen from these seedlings.

Seedling No. 1016
(Camelot Red X Jean Pickles)

Seedling No. 1028
(Camelot Red X Jean Pickles)

Seedling No. 1040
[(Awesome Bob X Larry Allen Miller) X Camelot Red]

Seedling No. 1042
(Waldrop Seedling X Camelot Red)

Seedling No. 1052
[(Shores of Time X Larry Allen Miller) X Camelot Red]

Seedling No. 1061
[(Shores Of Time X Larry Allen Miller) X Camelot Red]





The next blog page I will show some of the parents used in making this years crop of seeds. I am excited about my red crosses this year and can't wait until next March to see some of them bloom in the greenhouse. They are then moved to the display beds outside and we hope they are as good out there.

Life is very, very good

Lee

Northern Mecca/Display Bed Lineout

Jean and I climbed into the car about 7:30 AM last Thursday (June 30) to make the trip to Northern Mecca. We arrived at the hotel about 2:30 PM and when we walked in the door, I could smell some type of cleaning agent. I did not pay any attention and should have. Over the next two nights my sinus swelled to what seemed double their size and my nostrils swelled to where I could not breathe through my nose. By Friday night I could not sleep because of the swelling. So after visiting only two gardens, those of Jamie Gossard and Mike and Sandy Holmes, we headed home on Saturday. Since arriving home, I have started on a prednisone (sp?) regimen to reduce the swelling in my nose so I can breathe. What a disappointment not to see the remainder of the gardens.

We met Bob and Barb Pappenhausen at the hotel and rode with them to the two gardens on Friday. We enjoy their company and friendship. Here we all are with Jamie Gossard in his garden.

Now that I have been home a few days, my breathing has returned to normal. I will be seeing an allergist on Monday because I have a chronic problem with my nose.

Since returning home, Jean and I have completed transplanting the selected greenhouse seedlings from their trade one gallon pots to the display bed that we started before heading north. The bed is 8' wide and 40' long, and plants are planted 2' apart. Their are 20, 19, 20 and 19 plants in respective rows, plants staggered between the front and back plants in each row. Except for having the pine bark mini nugget mulch, the bed is done. Here is what it looks like.

Thanks for looking at my blog

Life is very, very good.

Lee