Viewing comments posted by adknative

African Violet (Streptocarpus 'Stargate') is listed (registered) to have dark green foliage. I started my plantlets with (2) leaf cuttings which were received directly from Lyndon Lyons Greenhouses, Inc. (who originally created and registered this variety). And some of the off-spring do precisely match that description: dark green foliage and blooms true to description.

And then there are the others... I have at least a half-dozen off-spring of Stargate which are all exhibiting variant foliage... an almost mosaic blend of golden/beige/ bright green foliage as it ages, with green at the crown. So far, the blooms are correct to description but there is clearly something hidden in the genes that is appearing in the foliage.

I started all of my AV 'Magic Charm' plants from (2) leaf cuttings which I originally obtained from the creator, Lyndon Lyons Greenhouses, Inc. One is never sure, with newer African violets, how stable the genetics are ... how likely, in fact, that a leaf cutting will reproduce the original plant and flower.

I am happy (but baffled) to say: Magic Charm African violets have been all over the place ... some appearing to consistently display the "Huge, double and semidouble pink stars, with frilled edges" described by the creator but, rather than a bountiful splatter of purple fantasy flecks ... some are simply a lovely double pink star with an occasional fleck of purple. Other plantlets from the leaf cuttings have turned to full double purple stars, in a lovely, bright shade.

And then there are the really odd ones: one of my Magic Charms off-spring is displaying both solid pink and solid purple double blooms... not only on the same plant, but on the same bud stems. And the other, truly exotic child ... is now exhibiting bicolour double, frilly blooms... with one half of each bloom being pink and the other half being purple. If I can get this to continue, I may have a chimera. (Hoping to root the bloom stem.)

'Barbary Corsair' was a gift, years ago, included on an order from Oakes Daylilies. It was small, both in bloom and as an overall plant ... 3 inches and 16 inches, respectively, in the stats...

I planted it into the gardens in a good location, with a full day of direct sun, and into compost (as I do every other plant and all other daylilies in the gardens). It bloomed modestly the first year, but came back in a smaller clump the next year, was barely hanging on the third year... and disappeared altogether at some point thereafter.

While I do successfully grow many daylilies here in zone 3 that are listed for warmer zones (including zones 5 and even 6), 'Barbary Corsair' did poorly here and then died (one of, literally, only a handful that has ever completely failed here). - As it was a 'gift' (and cost me nothing except time and space) I do not complain - but I would not recommend it for cold northern gardens.

'Angels over Me' was new for my gardens in 2022. Surprisingly, it bloomed its first summer ... which, in zone 3, is not all that common. The blooms were slightly smaller than the 6.5 inches noted but it budded well and bloomed for several weeks. Once it has matured, become a better-established clump, I have great expectations for this lovely pastel lavender / pink daylily. It also consistently shows a pale creamy-yellow watermark, which is echoed along the ruffled petal edge by a creamy matching tone. And it's fragrant. This one is elegant and lovely.

'Join the Party' (Hanson, C 2009) seems to have either fallen out of favour or just never quite caught on, and in either case, that's unfortunate as I believe this daylily is undervalued.

With 6-inch blooms on 33-inch scapes, it begins late in the season (here in the north) but blooms reliably and with no special fuss or care each year. The petals have a light ruflle, it boasts a distinctive white midrib, and has a sculpted / pleated texture etched out of the throat onto the petals. And this is a true red (not an orange-red or a pink-red) which flags your attention from across the garden.

Yet, when I do a 'google' search for it, the only listing I find for it is here, in the NGA database. I think a lot of folks missed the boat on this one.

I added Raspberry Griffin to my gardens in 2022, so I only have one season to review (at this point)... and already, I absolutely LOVE this daylily! It started blooming for me the last week of July and continued into the 2nd week of August. Not only is it gorgeous, it just kept cranking out blossom after blossom (on its very first season in the gardens).

The blooms held well on scapes above the foliage - not the tallest by any means, but showing well. And they were extremely consistent not only in the pattern itself but the well-balanced positioning of the petals and sepals being evenly spaced and well-formed. There were 'no' flawed or misshapen blooms. It sent up several scapes and definitely stood out. I can only wonder how much more Raspberry Griffin will offer, once it matures and has become established in the gardens. Definitely one to keep an eye on!

I do have the 'imposter' variant daylily which is the bicolor spider form, and can attest to having purchased it in 2018... sold to me under the name 'Chloe' ... by Oakes Daylilies. However, while it is 'not' the registered daylily, this is still a very lovely bloom.

The unregistered 'Chloe' is tall, above 36 inches, the bloom is as large as my hand (or slightly larger), and it's growing very well in zone 3, therefore I would recommend this for a cold-climate garden. I will also note, along with its quirky spider form, it also has produced a number of poly blooms each summer.

I have been growing Cherokee Pass in zone 3 for a number of years, it does very well in northern cold-climate gardening. Blooming from mid to late season, it keeps the colour in the gardens going after many other daylilies have finished blooming.

It multiplies well and will produce a large clump and many scapes, with so many flowers from day to day it creates a running bouquet of cinnamon-eyed gold flowers. Cherokee Pass also produces poly blooms off and on, most years. For bright, late colour and a hardy, care-free daylily, I would recommend this for any cold-climate garden.

I've had Bridget in the gardens for a number of years (zone 3) and can attest to its cold-hardiness, as it comes back each year with a flourish. The blooms here are a bit smaller than newer intros (stats say 3-inch, but I think they are slightly larger here, closer to 4 inches).

But what I find endlessly delightful about this daylily is that, far more often than not, the bloom looks like black velvet on red ... This is not just a deeper red eye, this is full-on black velvet tones laid over the deep ruby tones below. It's so dark a velvet black on some blossoms that the orange pollen contrasts vividly against it, as though dotted with flecks of gold.

This daylily reminds me of smokey, dark rooms with someone playing blues music in the background somewhere... the colours stand up even to the hot, bright afternoon sun. Like vintage wine, it has held its own against time.

Cold-hardy in zone 3, Accidental Tourist shows its connection to Trahlyta through the 'frosty lavender watermark' ... but, IMHO, is even more beautiful. The deeper 'rose red blend' gives a striking contrast to the eye, with a hint of Trahlyta also in the frosty edges that show on some of its blooms.

Accidental Tourist flowers steadily and really stands out when it's blooming - an eye-catcher! I have seen some streaking and water-spotting after steady rain but for the most part, it holds its colours. The watermark appears to leech into the outer petals, looking like a watercolour painting where the pigment has bled... There is also a bit of curl / recurve on the sepals, framing the petals. And then there is the fragrance: always a bonus. This daylily is beautiful and, in a garden where every bloom seeks attention, this one stands out.

'Browns Ferry Peaches N' Cream' is listed as diurnal, but in my zone 3 gardens I notice that the blooms are open every morning before the sun rises... my guess would be, maybe EMO? 2022 is its first year in the gardens... I actually received this daylily in error (tagged as a different daylily) but the seller is sending the correct daylily in September; and this is a gorgeous daylily! A lot of blooms for its very first year, and flowers are perfect every time. Really looking forward to seeing how it does next year.

When I bought this tomato for the gardens (one of only two this year not grown by me personally from seeds), the tag stated: "A Bonnie exclusive to mark the company's 100th anniversary." It's a determinate tomato and can be grown in a container.

'Polywog in a Bog' is cold-hardy to zone 3, I have been growing it now for several seasons. However (as one of my photos, above) will show - it does show water-spotting from the rain. Despite that, it does reliably produce poly blooms and it's fun to grow it in the gardens.

'Dixie Dazzle' exhibits a deeper pink tone in early morning, which begins to change to a golden peach tone by mid to later morning, as though the sunlight itself is absorbed into the pigment of the blooms. The rich tones of peach and pink are edged with a deeply ruffled gold edge, and the petals are sculpted to look nearly quilted.

While this is an unregistered daylily, it's been sold and marketed under the name "Plum Perfect" since at least as early as 2003 (when it received the All-American Daylily award) and is still being sold commercially in 2022 under the same name. It should not be confused with the AHS registered daylily 'Plum Perfect' by Maryott, 2012.

Although this daylily is cold-hardy in zone 3, it almost never doubles here. Not sure if that is an effect of zone 3 being too far north for it, or if it's just that temperamental.

And it is temperamental here... the longer I grow it, the more I tend to notice how often it fails to perform: the blooms seldom double but they also often fail to open fully, looking more like a green tunnel at the far inner core of the bloom / half-open bud. There are just so many other daylilies out there, when I do run out of room in the gardens this one will be one of the first to go.

As we all know, many earlier daylilies were registered without any photo ... and descriptors can be confusing! I purchased my 'Travers' in 2021 from Daylily Days, registered AHS Display Garden in Johnstown, NY. But I still found the description questionable when the daylily began blooming... so I did a search for another source of info, and found that 'Travers' is also registered in South Dakota State University's gardens' Daylily Collection.

I contacted them, and my original request was passed to their garden manager, Barb Laschkewitsch ... who has replied: "the good news is our plant looks just like yours". So, based on both the AHS display garden and SDSU's matching plants, I do believe that my 'Travers' is the Saxton 1976 registered daylily.

While I find the description of the edge as 'snow pink' confusing (at best) I am happy to provide photos of the daylily for all concerned.

Seeds are available via Monticello, whose site states that: "While there is no direct evidence that Thomas Jefferson cultivated this species, it was available on an 1810 broadsheet of Philadelphia nurseryman Bernard McMahon ..." In other words, this is an heirloom plant variety. Note that while the scapes can grow to 5 feet, the blooms themselves are much smaller than what one would usually think of ... mine are about 1/2-inch across the mouth of the blooms and the depth is roughly an inch deep. So, a third the size of purpurea (?). They will self-seed, if given the chance.

This is a gorgeous flower, no doubt, and also cold-hardy in my zone 3 gardens. The scapes are strong and sturdy and the blooms have a very good substance. But... when 'Ring the Bells of Heaven' gets caught in a rain burst, it will have water spots and discoloration every single time.

On a sunny day, it's one of the most beautiful blooms in the gardens ... after a rain, I want to pop every single flower off the scape that has opened. It's just unsightly... particularly as I gave it a prominent location at the edge of a path, where the flowers show up very well. So, for me, that's a negative.

First year in the garden, so the foliage has not filled out very much yet, but already it is producing quite a lot of buds. These are large blooms that do match the stat - my hand-spread, from thumb tip to pinky tip, is just 9 inches and these flowers are as large as my hand spread out. The scapes are shorter than they will be once they reach maturity, but considering the fans were only planted a month ago, I am amazed. The green throat is richly green and, being nocturnal, this one is open before the sun is above the horizon.