Last Final, First Bloom

Whew.  Today was my last school final... and boy am I whooped!  I am glad it was my last test too because I was greeted this morning with my first bloom!  Now I will have the time to take photos and see all my seedlings bloom!

It was one of my seedlings from HALF MOON KEY X MUSICAL MEDLEY.  It has a great scape and the flowers are opening nicely... it does have a pointy sepal that I will have to keep an eye on.  I love that it is a bitone and the piecrust edges.

I also found one of my CV's blooming - MIAMI HEAT.  This baby sure puts on a great show every year.  Glad I put it by the driveway so that I can see it when I drive up.

Can't wait to see what this summer will bring!

Many, many scapes!

 Still going with keeping track of what is scaping in the gardens.  I think I may put these in an excel spreadsheet to better see any trends.  If I can keep up, maybe the dates over a few years would be very interesting. 

"Extra Earlies"
0/2

no scapes on the EE's so far

 "Earlies"
3/12 or 25%
1.  S.C. SURPRISE PURPLE  - 4/25/11
2. KATHERINE CALDWELL - 4/25/11 (forgot this one in my last post, opps!)
3.  HEAVEN'S DECLARING  - 5/1/11

"Early-Mids"
  19/70 or 27%
1.  NEON PINK (First Up) - 4/15/11
2.  CHINESE WATERCOLOR - 4/25/11
3.  GARDEN GREETINGS - 4/25/11
4.  HONKY TONK BLUES - 4/25/11
5.  CINDY JONES - 4/25/11
6.  VELVET EYES- 4/25/11
7.  LOVE SPILLS OVER  - 5/1/11
8.  PALLADIAN PINK  - 5/1/11
9.  TRUE NORTH  - 5/1/11
10.  BLUEGRASS MUSIC  - 5/1/11
11.  PIRATE KING  - 5/1/11
12.  JAMAICAN LOVE  - 5/1/11
13.  SOFT SUMMER NIGHT  - 5/1/11

14.  PANCHO VILLA - 5/7/11

15.  JENNIFER TRIMMER - 5/7/11

16.  NAVY BLUES - 5/7/11

17.  MILDRED MITCHELL - 5/7/11

18.  GOLDEN THRONE - 5/7/11

19.  SANFORD INTERMEZZO - 5/7/11

"Mids"
18/76 or 24%

1.  IDDY BIDDY GAL - 4/25/11
2.  JUST A WHILE LONGER - 4/25/11
3.  PURPLE PAJAMAS - 4/25/11
4.  WHEEL OF TIME - 4/25/11
5.   WEST COAST BLUES  - 5/1/11
6.  S.C. BODACIOUS BLUSH  - 5/1/11
7.  FORSYTH FROSTBOUND  - 5/1/11
8.  ROMAN COHORT  - 5/1/11
9.  PICTURE IN PICTURE  - 5/1/11
10.  LIMEHOUSE BLUES  - 5/1/11
11.  BORN TO RUN**  - 5/1/11
12.  LAVENDER EXALTATION  - 5/1/11
13.  MIAMI HEAT  - 5/1/11

14.  AVA GARDNER - 5/7/11

15.  CRYSTAL SEA - 5/7/11

16.  PETE HANSEN MEMORIAL - 5/7/11

17.  MATISSE - 5/7/11

18.  WILLIAM AUSTIN NORRIS - 5/7/11

"Mid-Lates"
1/22 or 5%
1.  SWEET ISABELLA - 5/1/11

"Lates"
1/4 or 25%
1.  MISSOURI MEMORIES

"Very Lates"
0/2

More Scapes Up! (Creative, huh?)

Alright, fighting the wind and wearing my rain boots (yippee!!), I walked the garden this morning to find more scapes!  I can't wait for blooms.  I guess, technically, Stella is blooming... so that would be my first blooms, but do do you count your Stellas?  :o)

The daylilies in highlighte in purple are the ones that I found up today...

"Extra Earlies"
0/2

no scapes on the EE's so far

 "Earlies"
3/12 or 25%

1.  S.C. SURPRISE PURPLE  - 4/25/11
2. KATHERINE CALDWELL - 4/25/11 (forgot this one in my last post, opps!)

3.  HEAVEN'S DECLARING  - 5/1/11

"Early-Mids"
 13/70 or 19%

1.  NEON PINK (First Up) - 4/15/11
2.  CHINESE WATERCOLOR - 4/25/11
3.  GARDEN GREETINGS - 4/25/11
4.  HONKY TONK BLUES - 4/25/11
5.  CINDY JONES - 4/25/11
6.  VELVET EYES- 4/25/11
7.  LOVE SPILLS OVER  - 5/1/11
8.  PALLADIAN PINK  - 5/1/11 
9.  TRUE NORTH  - 5/1/11
10.  BLUEGRASS MUSIC  - 5/1/11
11.  PIRATE KING  - 5/1/11
12.  JAMAICAN LOVE  - 5/1/11
13.  SOFT SUMMER NIGHT  - 5/1/11     


"Mids"
13/76 or 17%

1.  IDDY BIDDY GAL - 4/25/11
2.  JUST A WHILE LONGER - 4/25/11
3.  PURPLE PAJAMAS - 4/25/11
4.  WHEEL OF TIME - 4/25/11

5.   WEST COAST BLUES  - 5/1/11 

6.  S.C. BODACIOUS BLUSH  - 5/1/11 

7.  FORSYTH FROSTBOUND  - 5/1/11 

8.  ROMAN COHORT  - 5/1/11 

9.  PICTURE IN PICTURE  - 5/1/11 

10.  LIMEHOUSE BLUES  - 5/1/11 

11.  BORN TO RUN**  - 5/1/11 

12.  LAVENDER EXALTATION  - 5/1/11 

13.  MIAMI HEAT  - 5/1/11 

"Mid-Lates"
1/22 or 5%

1.  SWEET ISABELLA - 5/1/11

"Lates"
0/4


"Very Lates"
0/2

Scapes Up!!

The weather here has been horrendous.  Winds topping out at 70mph, cloud to ground lightening, tornadoes, but not a whole lot of rain.  :o(  I took a quick stroll through the garden today to check for any major damage.  So far there are two wax myrtles that have broken some major limbs.  I think they may have to be sacrificed.  :o(  But that is for another day.  Today, while walking the garden, I found scapes up, although not on the plants I expected...

These are my Extra Earlies and Earlies:
Extra Earlies:
     Wren's Song
     Laughing Skies

Neither have scapes.

Some Earlies:
     Ballerina Beautiful
     Spacecoast Surprise Purple
     Pixie Plaything
     **Precious Candy
     Pink Flirt 
     Katrina Heroes
     **Leslie Renee
     Lavender Fantasia
     Heaven's Declaring
     Itty Bitty Blue
**just planted

Only S.C. Surprise Purple has scapes.

Most of my scapes are on Early Mids, with some Mids...

Early Mids:
Cindy Jones
Chinese Watercolor
Garden Greetings
Honky Tonk Blues
Neon Pink
Velvet Eyes

Mids:
Iddy Biddy Gal
Just A While Longer
Purple Pajamas
Wheel of Time

I also have scapes on some seedlings that I am excited to see:

[(Clothed in Glory x Elizabeth's Magic) x John Peat ] x I Wanna Piranha
Velvet Eyes x West Coast Blues
Half Moon Key x Musical Medley (2 sibs scaping)
Lavender Fantasia x Musical Medley (2 sibs scaping)
Set Me Free x Green Revolution

Here we go!!

Winter Losses Part Deux... Great Daylily People

After loosing so many new daylilies this past winter, I was trying to soothe myself with my seedlings, and being excited about what might bloom this year.  But.... I was still a bit bummed out.  They were some really nice daylilies!  Thankfully there are some wonderful people who have picked up this hobby.

A friend that I met through the Garden Web Forums plant swap was SUPER SWEET and sent me a very nice replacement fan of PRECIOUS CANDY,  ~*AND*~ a couple of fans of ZAHADOOM!  (It needs the exclamation point, don't you think?)  So, now I have a new CV that I love.  Thank you Dianne!!

I also contacted Dan Hansen about the cost of replacing some of his CV's that I purchased at the Region 6 Daylily Auction, and he said he would replace them gratis!  Wow, that is really generous!  So, two days ago I got a package in the mail.... and I could tell by the smell (don't you love that smell?) what was inside!  A box from Ladybug Daylilies!!  There was PURPLE PAJAMAS and BEACHIN' BABE, and nice, huge fans!  I couldn't believe it, but BEACHIN' BABE already had a scape on each of the four fans he sent.... wow.  Thank you Dan Hansen!!

These acts of generosity really take the bite out of the winter losses!  I love daylily people!

Look What I Found!!

Isn't he the cutest thing ever??  I know, I know... they eat stuff, as in my garden stuff, but he was so darned cute!  I had to just put him back in his nest.  Awww... so cute, and he was so soft and happy to be cuddled!  I was surprised that he was not skittish at all.  Not a daylily, but just as good to look at! 

Winter Losses...

Well, I guess here is a good place to cry about my winter losses.  I had some new acquisitions, transplants  and seedlings in pots from last fall.  This past winter, we had the longest, coldest stretch in Texas history since, well, forever.  This spring, when the weather warmed up, and the daylilies started poking up again, I was really bummed to find quite a few didn't make it through.  Here is the list:


Beachin' Babe
Beauty Of His Grace
Born To Run
Blue Eyed Angel
Cerulean Warbler
TET Crystal Blue Persuasion
Heavenly Mansions
Mississippi Blues
Moments Rich In Blessing
Moonlight Sail
Plum Eyed Delight
Precious Candy
Purple Pajamas
Shores Of Time
Standing On The Promise
West Texas Windmill

All of them had just simply turned to mush.  It was strange, but there were still some solid storage roots all the way at the bottom of the pot, but the rest of the root system leading up to them, including the crowns were just spongy, mushy, bad smelling (don't you HATE that smell??), muck.

Ah, well... I planted some new seedlings, and I will try to replace a few of these since I got them for hybridizing.

Now off to study a bit for my Calculus test later today!!  Ack, can you see my diversions??  LOL.

2011 Crosses

Well, there were a few seeds in the fridge that just wouldn't stay any longer!  Their radicles were poking out and getting so long, I couldn't put off planting a few of them... This year, I am SO busy with school, that my hybridizing has really been put on the back burner.  I managed to repot all of last years seedlings and start getting them ready to go out in my new bed (to be finished next week!), and a few seeds planted for a VERY SMALL 2011 crop.  Mostly, the few seedlings will be something to keep me from feeling like I have totally given up!  :o)

Here is what I planted today!!

DIPLOIDS
CARIBBEAN TWILIGHT TIME x BARN OWL
PINK FLIRT x EMMA TOMLINSON MCHUGH

TETRAPLOIDS
HEAVEN'S DECLARING x LUCID MOMENT
BALLERINA BEAUTIFUL x S.C. SURPRISE PURPLE
WEST COAST BLUES x BLUE HIPPO

GILLIAN x BLUE HIPPO

I'll try to come back and put in pictures of the crosses....