Month: July 2025

Tacos, Firebirds, and Skinwalkers: Come see what is new in my drought ridden daylily garden!

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Droughts, Wildfires, and Daylilies

Droughts and wildfires go together, daylilies not so much. The smoke has cleared (mostly) from the Black Canyon of the Gunnison South Rim Fire (<10 miles away), and they have the fire 15% contained. My last blog post talks more about the fire. Some rain has fallen on my garden since the last post, too. The drought continues, though. Keep reading to enjoy my daylilies from the past week!

Colorado Drought Monitor for this week.

Monitoring and Maintaining My Resilient Daylilies

I am surprised my daylilies have done as well as they have this year with the heat and drought. I have somewhere around 190 cultivators. I badly need to do inventory, maps, and labels this year. I love the Flower daylily software, but I struggle to keep it updated. I seem to lose a lot of the newer ones from other climates over the first winter/spring – but I am not even sure what I have lost until I do inventory because some lost tags.

Black Canyon South Rim Fire – Watch Duty from today. About 15% contained.

Honestly, though, I am limited by time and water. I may replace some cultivators if I lose them, but I won’t be adding many more to my total. I’m at capacity. I am growing ditch lilies in the desert drought. I love daylilies, and they are survivors! My time goes into keeping those I have alive and healthy. And, my money goes into city water. I can’t imagine trying to hybridize or sell in my situation.

New Blooms and Current Bloom Rate

I have had a total of 139 cultivators bloom this season (out of around 190). That is a 73% bloom rate. Last year, we only got to the mid-sixties, so I am thrilled. And, the season isn’t over. In the high desert, 80% is a huge win. I need to fertilize, but without the monsoon moisture and cooler temps, I am waiting until next month. With daylilies in pots, I find applying liquid fertilizer improves bloom rate for the following year because the plant is more resilient.

Here are my “first bloom for 2025” cultivators since my last post:

Apache Uprising first bloom 7.17
Autumn Jewels first bloom 7.13
Aztec Firebird first bloom 7.19
Black Arrowhead first bloom 7.15
Carlotta first bloom 7.18
Coburg Fright Wig first bloom 7.14
Coral Taco first bloom 7.15
El Desperado first bloom 7.19
Fox Ears first bloom 7.16
Ghost Ranch first bloom 7.15
Golden Eclipse first bloom 7.15
Heirloom Heaven first bloom 7.18
Indian Sky first bloom 7.14
Just Plum Happy first bloom 7.15
Navajo Grey Hills first bloom 7.15
NOID Ned Roberts (possible Skin Walker or Winds of Love) first bloom 7.17
Orange Vols first bloom 7.15
Route 66 first bloom 7.16
Royal Palace Prince first bloom 7.16
Shape Shifter first bloom 7.19
Skinwalker first bloom 7.16
Taco Twister first bloom 7.13
Zuni Thunderbird 7.18

The bloom peak is now over the top and past the plateau. However, I still have 30-40 cultivators in bloom daily, with 2-3 new ones most days. My beloved Ned Roberts’ southwest names spiders are just now peaking! Life gets extremely busy during daylily season, especially with my business and volunteer work.

Which is your favorite daylily from this post? For me, Zuni Thunderbird has always been a favorite! This computer is even named Zuni Thunderbird after the daylily.

Keep flourishing, Cathy H

Drought Impact on Daylilies: Black Canyon of the Gunnison South Rim Fire & Garden Update

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Hi Daylily Lovers,

The South Rim Fire, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

I want to start by saying a few words about the drought that has been growing in Western Colorado all season. Yesterday, in the early hours of the morning, a “dry lightning” storm came through and set off multiple fires in our region. This is like striking a match to dry kindling.

7.10 Colorado Drought Monitor

Now, the Black Canyon of the Gunnison is evacuated because of an active fire on the South Rim – about 15 miles away on the road – maybe 10 miles as the crow flies. The smoke and air quality are bad. The South Rim Fire is one of three very active fires in my county – the others are the Sow Belly Fire and the Deer Creek Fire. I can hear the aircraft humming almost constantly from my garden, about 2 miles from our airport.

Watch Duty screen shot 7.11.24 Montrose County, CO

So many daylily farmers live in places that get regular rain. Here, the daylilies often get their only water from my City water hose. But, beyond the daylilies, please keep our firefighters in your thoughts as they battle these blazes in 90+ degree weather and single-digit humidity.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park photo (credit Facebook) 7.11.25

Garden Update: First Blooms for 2025 Since July 4th

I’ve had a lot of bloomers since I last posted on July 4th. It’s hot now, too uncomfortable to garden. And, now there is smoke. But, I still manage to get out everyday for my photos and a jog around the neighborhood.

I hit peak bloom 2 days ago, with 60+ in bloom that day. As of today, I have had 113 total cultivators in bloom this season for a bloom rate of 60%. I am hoping to make it to 80% this season. If I keep all the current buds and add a few more, I’ll be OK. Bud blast happens in these conditions, thought. I need 39 more!

Apache Bandana first bloom 7.5
Baja first bloom 7.5
Cherokee Star first bloom 7.7
Cheyenne Eyes first bloom 7.6
Chokecherry Mountain first bloom 7.8
Dr. Doom first bloom 7.9
Fairy Tale Pink first bloom 7.9
Heavenly Curls first bloom 7,5
Hesperus first bloom 7.8
Ink Heart first bloom 7,8
Laughing Feather first bloom 7,5
Lobo Lucy first bloom 7,9
Marque Moon first bloom 7,11
Memories of Oz first bloom 7,5
Mesa Verde first bloom 7.10
Mildred Mitchell first bloom 7.5
Nearly Wild first bloom 7.10
Orange Flurry first bloom 7,5
Painted Petroglyph first bloom 7.9
Petite Petticoats first bloom 7.10
Pink Enchalada first bloom 7,8
Prelude to Love first bloom 7.8
Red Bird Mary first bloom 7,6
Rocky Mountain Pals first bloom 7,8
Ruby Stella first bloom 7.8
Soco Gap first bloom 7.8
Star Over Milagro first bloom 7.8
Talon first bloom 7.8
The Colorado Kid first bloom 7.6
Treasure of the Southwest first bloom 7.8
Truchas Sunrise first bloom 7.8

I continue with my community volunteer work. I feel that is my priority this summer, but I miss my more frequent and in-depth posts about daylily gardening. Fortunately, it has been a better bloom year than I expected with the drought. And, I am getting a couple of hours on my porch editing my photos every day. It is a joyful escape (even in the heat) from today’s politics. I am grateful for my daily daylily escape!

Until next week, keep blooming! Cathy H

Late June/Early July Daylily Blooms: A Peak Season Update

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July is here, and with it comes peak season. I don’t think we are quite to peak yet, but it is approaching quickly. My day starts with photographing each daylily in bloom. Then I feed dogs, irrigate, jog for an hour. When I return, I sit on the front porch and edit the photos. Then, I put them in folders online and post to my personal Facebook page. By then, it’s 2 PM and time for breakfast!

I have had a bunch of new ones since my last post. I will put them in a gallery below. I’ve had 50 new ones since my last post last week!!!

Alabama Jubilee first bloom 7.2.25
Apache Beacon first bloom 7.1.25
Baby Blue Eyes first bloom 6.27.25
Bela Lugosi first bloom 6.28.25
Blackthorn first bloom 6.28.25
Buttered Popcorn first bloom 6.29.25
Canyon Colors first bloom 6.25.25
Catherine Irene first bloom 6.24.25
Chaco Canyon first bloom 6.27.25
Chief Four Fingers first bloom 6.27.25
Chorus Line first bloom 7.2.25
Cricket Call first bloom 7.1.25
Early Bird Cardinal first bloom 6.28
Echo Canyon first bloom 7.2.25
Fine Time Lucille first bloom 7.2.25
“Fringe Benefit” (mislabeled) first bloom 6.28.25
Funny Valentine first bloom 6.24.25
Grape Smash first bloom 7.3.25
Holy Sombrero first bloom 7.3.25
Indian Love Call first bloom 6.24.25
Inwood first bloom 6.25.25
Jog On first bloom 6.27.25
Lady Fingers 6.24.25
Lime Frost 6.26.25

I have had 73 cultivators bloom so far this season out of approximately 190. I lost some last winter. I really need to update my inventory in the software program. Based on those numbers, my bloom rate is about 38% currently. My hope is for 80% this season.

Longlesson Showoff first bloom 6.24.25
Lullaby Baby first bloom 7.2.25
Mauna Loa first bloom 6.28.25
Maya Cha Cha first bloom 7.2.25
Melon Balls first bloom 6.28.25
Mount Echo Sunrise first bloom 6.26.25
Nona’s Garnet Spider first bloom 7.3.25
Nurse’s Stethoscope first bloom 6.29.25
Oh Erica first bloom 7.2.25
Ojo de Dios first bloom 6.24.25
Pandora’s Box first bloom 6.28.24
Papa Longlegs first bloom 8.29.24
Pardon Me first bloom 7.3.25
Passionate Returns first bloom 7.2.25
Pick of the Litter first bloom 7.2.25
Prairie Blue Eyes first bloom 7.3.25
Pueblo Dreamer first bloom 7.2.25
Purple Many Faces first bloom 7.3.25
Purple Moonrise first bloom 7.2.25
NOID “Purple Mystique” first bloom 6.26.25
Quilt Patch first bloom 7.2.25
Royal Palace Prince (maybe) first bloom 6.29.25
South Seas first bloom 7.2.25
Strutter’s Ball first bloom 6.27.25
Thin Man first bloom 6.27.25
Titan Skye first bloom 6.28.25

Today, the rain came. Finally! I am hoping for a good monsoon season. We need it. The drought lingers and is growing to the north. So many wildfires out west. I’m surprised that my daylilies are as happy as they are all things considered.

I adore daylily season. But it is always a lot of work that takes a chunk of the day with the photography. However, at this elevation, heat and humidity, the blooms don’t last long. Somedays, they are pretty faded by noon. They look like melted wax to me.

It’s a very different summer with my civic volunteer work. I adore my mornings on the porch editing daylily photos. Finding balance is hard in a “drought of time.”

Catcha next week. I hope your 4th of July garden brings you joy. Sometimes, we are best to focus on the small things right before our eyes and feel gratitude.