Southwestern Treasures

June 12, 2018Leave a comment

Manic Monday is manic during daylily season. I get up and take care of orchids, take daylily photos. I want to start jogging in the morning, but dealing with some exhaustion issues already.

Anyway, today Treasure of the Southwest bloomed for the first time in my yard. This cultivator has a story. She was a bonus plant 2 years ago when I first built the Southwestern Garden. And, she arrived with 2 scapes. I planted her and waited for blooms, but they dried up in our low humidity. She grew big and last year, I was sure she would bloom, but she stayed quiet. This year, I finally get to see her.

Treasure of the Southwest

Other blooms were as follows:

Passionate Returns

Saratoga Springtime

I remember when the first daylily in my yard usually bloomed around the solstice. More varieties mean more months of blooms. I have several that are close to bloom . . . in the next week. Many of these I have never seen because of my low bloom rate the first two years of the Southwestern Garden. I should triple my bloom rate in the Southwest garden at a minimum. I hope to do even better than that!

A watched pot . . .

June 11, 2018Leave a comment

A watched pot never boils, they say. And watched daylilies don’t bloom . . . until you go camping. Friday, I had 4 in bloom. Saturday, it was 5. Today, back down to 1. I guess the advantage orchids have over daylilies is that the blooms last months. Still, I think my first love is the daylilies.

Here are the Friday Four (Dream Keeper bloomed Friday and today):

Dream Keeper

Passionate Returns

Stella de Oro

Saratoga Springtime

I think I will have a few more tomorrow – Treasure of the Southwest is half opened, already! And, I have 30 scapes (bud spikes) in the Southwest Garden now. I will finally get to see some of these blooms! It has been a wait!

Yoga in the Garden

June 7, 2018June 7, 2018Leave a comment

It is that time of year where one of the first things I think of when I start to wake is the daylilies. Is anything in bloom? I try to assess scapes the night before so I have some idea . . . but it is always a surprise to see which ones actually opened.

Next, I get up and do maybe 30 minutes of watering and spraying of my orchids . . . my winter daylilies that get kind of needy at 6% humidity. I have 2 big vanda orchids that I water twice a day. Actually, soak the bare roots that hang in a glass vase is more like it. I grow mainly in water culture for my phals, so I check every AM for new roots while I spray the existing roots. I have an orchid growing area outside – and those orchids all look dry enough that tomorrow I hook up a misting system. I only have about 4 dozen orchids, but in the AM it feels like a million. I keep hoping that once they fully adapt to water culture that they will be a bit easier. I’ll never have 170 orchids . . . just take too much time to nurture in the desert.

Next, it is off to photograph my daylilies. That is what I call yoga in the garden because I have a little garden fence around the Southwest Garden and I have to step over it onto one of the stepping stones to take some of the photos. I am sure some of my poses are pretty ridiculous. Of course, about that time someone walks by and starts talking to me about the garden. I am trying to hold the pose and look graceful.

Today, Dream Keeper was the only bloomer. A few new scapes every day around the yard. It is pretty exciting. As for tomorrow, I am not sure if I will have any blooms. Maybe a Stella or Kokopelli or Dream Keeper. Maybe not.

Dream Keeper 6/6/18

Like an Advent Calendar (sort of)

June 6, 2018June 6, 2018Leave a comment

Last blog, I compared daylilies to popcorn – starting to pop slowly, then reaching peak season. That is a good analogy, but it is incomplete because each kernel of corn is the same basic size and color. So, my other analogy is an advent calendar minus the religious meaning.

Kokopelli 6/5/18

When I was a kid, I loved my advent calendars every year. I have curiosity as a strength, so opening that little paper window every day was thrilling to me. What was behind door #1, door #2 and door #3? So, something in daylily blooms that is like opening a surprise door to see each cultivator. Today’s doors were Kokopelli and Saratoga Springtime.

Saratoga Springtime 6/5/18

This time of year, I hunt scapes every day. Today, I bet I found half dozen new ones . . . Route 66, Happy Returns, a couple of mystery ones, and one from the Southwest garden (but I forgot which one). And, last but not least, Nurse’s Stethoscope!

Nurse’s Stethoscope scape 6/5/18

I am super jazzed about Nurse’s Stethoscope because I helped to name it! You see, during that whole deal about “Show me your stethoscope” a few years ago, I posted the suggestion to the national daylily society Facebook page. The hybridizer is also in healthcare – she liked the name and the next year Nurse’s Stethoscope became a registered daylily. I held off buying her because she is new and still expensive. But, last year, I decided she would be the last major daylily purchase (other than replacements) for my yard. She cost $100. I thought myself crazy, except I helped to name her. She is my daylily legacy! I worried all winter that the drought would kill her – and winter waterings hold some risk with freeze-thaw plant loss. But, she turned green and got big. Today, there they were, two beautiful scapes. Advent calendar joy fills my heart!

A photo of Nurse’s Stethoscope from her hybridizer’s page

Popcorn

June 5, 2018June 5, 2018Leave a comment

Daylilies remind me of popcorn. When I was a kid, we had a metal tray with a screen over it and a handle that was our popcorn popper. No nuking a sack for a few minutes. No, you had a jar of corn and you poured it in with oil. It was usually over the gas flame on the stove or fireplace. You had to shake the popper the whole time or the popcorn would stick. Good exercise.

Pretty soon, though, if you were persistent enough, you would hear a pop. A few seconds later, another. Pretty soon, the kernels are popping so fast that you can’t count them anymore. Keep shaking that popper! Eventually, they slow to almost a stop. If you wait too long for the last few to pop, the whole thing burns. It is an art, really.

In early June, the daylilies start to pop. One cultivator at a time, the buds get bigger and bigger. The early days are like a treasure hunt in the morning, looking to see if any popped during the night. In a month, we will be at peak. This honestly scares me a little, because if my bloom rate improves like I think it might, I have no clue how I will keep up with photographing them all. It is possible I’ll have days with 100! Crazy. I burn more space on my memory card during daylily season than any other time all year. Then, come mid-August, the explosion begins to settle down. It is back to treasure hunt mod, again. Except it is usually a couple months at the slower rate.

Dream Keeper 2018

So, today Dream Keeper came to visit. She is another Ned Roberts spider daylily. Her sibling (or parent?) is Dream Catcher – one of my most flourishing daylilies. Dream Keeper bloomed early in 2016, right after I put her in, but not again since that time. I love her orange coloring.

Saratoga Springtime 2018

The surprise today was Saratoga Springtime. This is her first ever bloom in my yard. I have had her for 2 years – but she was small and I put her in not the best place. Last summer, I moved the daylilies out of garden areas where they never bloomed. She is now by my driveway on a solar drip system. It seems to agree with her. The surprise was that her pot was mislabeled and I thought she was orange flurry. Geez, I need to get my labeling caught up soon.

I am guessing that the three that have bloomed thus far will be the early popcorn for the next week or so. They are really the only ones ready to pop. But . . . keep shaking because it won’t be long now.

Kokopelli has Landed!

June 3, 2018June 3, 2018Leave a comment

Kokopelli has made history as the first daylily bloom of 2018! In Native American folklore, the Kokopelli turns winter to summer (and visa versa). Today, Kokopelli brought thunderstorms . . . badly needed thunderstorms to our exceptional drought area. Chilly, overcast. When I first went out this AM, it was hot and dry, now it is cool and 60s. I hope she brings more rain.

Kokopelli6.3.1.JPG

Kokopelli was my first Ned Roberts daylily. Now, my Southwest garden bulges with them. I have around 66 Roberts cultivators – most with southwestern names in my Southwestern Garden. I have just over 75 cultivators in the Southwest Garden. What bonds the is names from the Southwest US. They live with some big yucca out in that garden, and a Kokopelli sculpture.

Kokopelli6.3.2.JPG

Last year, I had about 15 different cultivators bloom in the Southwest Garden. Not such a great rate out of 75. That meant I needed to make changes. My soil here is heavy clay with roots embedded. We don’t get much rain, even on a good year. So, that is when I started looking around and noticing that my potted cultivators did better. Therefore, I dug up around 60 of the daylilies in the Southwest Garden, put them in better soil in a quick draining container, and buried the container. Broke a rib and got sciatica in the process.

But, it seems to be paying off because I now have 20 cultivators in scape out there! It is early in the season so I only have 8 scapes in all my other gardens combined. Last fall, I had the elm tree that cast shade on the Southwest Garden removed. I also added a soak hose watering system. 20 in scape by 6/3. . . I can’t believe my eyes. It is the first time I ever had my first bloom from out there, too.

So, once the elm was a stump, I had to figure out what do with said stump. I decided on a native garden. It is raised on one side and slopes down so that the yucca that have been under the tree for years could be part of the new garden. It has sage, Morman tea, ornamental grass, cactus, and several zeroscape flowers. Today, I want to share photos of the current bloomers – neighbors to the Southwest Garden. The new garden is the Hovenweep Garden.

PS – Next up is Orange Flurry – maybe tomorrow. Who knows what a cool, rainy day might bring?

It’s Almost Daylily Season!

June 3, 2018June 3, 2018Leave a comment

Maybe even tomorrow! Kokopelli is busting at the seams – so soon, for sure.

It is interesting to watch the variables at work. Last year, Kokopelli bloomed on June 21st. Almost 3 weeks early this year. Why? Is it that she is in a buried pot? Is it the new soak hose watering system? Is it the lack of one tree what was blocking light? Is it the extreme drought that has been upon us since last fall (and winter watering)? Is it just that she is older? Who knows?

Kokopelli bud 6/2/2018

Last year, my new Lowes daylilies (Stella offspring) gave my first bloom. Then, my old Stella, Then Return a Smile. My Stella offspring do not have scapes yet, but the other two have early ones.

Another big shift this year is 20 daylilies with scapes in my Southwestern garden . . . already. Last year, I don’t think I got that many blooms all season. So, something I did shifted the ecosystem . . . or the extreme drought. Or, the plants are just more mature. Or, a combo. I vote for the latter. Here are a couple of comparison shots – a year apart late May/early April. Bigger plants!

Southwest Daylily Patch: End of April, 2017

Southwest Daylily Patch: Early May, 2018

Bets on a bloom greeting me tomorrow?

Changes

May 25, 2018Leave a comment

Last summer, I put most of my daylilies in buried bots. Over 100 daylilies. But clay soil and tree roots were issues not to be ignored if I was to improve my poor bloom rate. I simply looked at the difference in size between pots and ground. I also put down soak hose and chopped down one off the trees. It was a lot of work. I broke a rib.

It was months of waiting to see if it all made a difference. So far, the plants mostly look bigger. A couple were lost, and two look like bugs or something have made them sick. The real difference is that I have 10 plants with scapes put in the southwest garden. 10! I think I only got a dozen scapes all last summer out there. I’m pretty jazzed. First blooms are maybe 2 weeks away. I think Kokopelli, maybe. Stay tuned.

Daylilies teach living in the moment; Orchids teach patience.

May 9, 2018Leave a comment

Spring has sprung and today brought the first glimpse of summer weather. My houseplants moved outside this weekend. Well, most of them. My daylilies are doing well. Passersby often comment on them . . . even now, before the blooms. No scapes yet, but I keep checking.

It has been a strange winter – we are in an extreme drought here in Southwest Colorado. The Four-Corners is in an exceptional drought just south of us. I didn’t shovel snow once all winter. My strawberries and ice plant felt it. I winter watered the daylilies at least once a month. I’m hoping my blooms don’t suffer. It will be a bad fire season.

My last post was in the late fall about Santa’s Pants. Unfortunately, that plant was one of my few losses this year. After those blooms faded and I got my poinsettias to rebloom, I needed projects to get me through the winter. I took on orchids. Not just orchids, but learning about different types of media. For some reason, I was drawn to water culture.

My first partial water culture plant was a vanda. Man, I nearly killed that thing. It lost most its roots and got stem rot. I finally found a group dedicated to water culture orchids on Facebook. From there, I watched YouTubes . . . I got smarter. My vanda is alive and putting out new roots, living on my porch now.

I started trying phalaenopsis orchids in water culture. Winter is a bad time to start cause old roots rot while they grow new roots that are adapted to water. Only about 1/4 to 1/3 of the root goes in the water. Oh, and I tried an oncidium in water . . . it flourished so now I have 3. In fact, I have quite a collection now. Three phals are from last year. I currently have about 2 dozen phals, 3 dendrobiums, 3 oncidiums, 2 miltoniopsis, 2 cymbidiums, 2 cattleya, 1 common ground orchid, 1 paph, 1 phrag, and the 2 vandas. Oh, and some very small baby cuttings of Pleurothallis sclerophylla, Masdevallia, Liparis, Bulbophyllum, and Coelogynes.

Not all are in water culture. I learned about growing in semi-hydro (lava rock with some water at the bottom). And, I have a few around in regular wood chips or moss. I love the way the roots look in a container . . . reminds me of a placenta.

I like orchids for much the same reason that I love daylilies – big, colorful blooms. Some of the species even have similar strap leaves. Interestingly, neither species can produce a true blue flower. What I find enticing about orchids is that the blooms last for months. And, some species bloom year around. Mostly, they bloom fall-spring, which makes them a good match for my summer daylilies. They teach patience, though, as buds, roots and leaves take forever to do their thing. Daylilies teach us to live in the moment because nothing lasts forever.

I wanted to log in and start gearing up for blogging season. I hope you enjoy my winter bloomers. Most will rest and grow new leaves and roots for the fall bloom whilst we enjoy the upcoming daylilies. Do you prefer orchids or daylilies?

The Ugly Daylily!

November 6, 2017Leave a comment

Here comes winter. And, time to focus on my indoor bloomers. I am taken back by still having buds on my Santa’s Pants daylily. Especially when my poinsettia is in bloom. For fun, I plucked off the bloom late in the day and placed it in the poinsettia.

I have increased the sun to the poinsettia since that time, and the pink is really darkening up. This was dapple pink last year. This is my second time to rebloom a poinsettia – and I did better this year. Boy, you gotta want that bloom. I have been covering with black trash bags and putting under my desk (that now has a curtain to block the light underneath). This one bloomed quickly and easily. My smaller one lingers in deciding to bloom.

Oh, and I got 3 new amaryllis bulbs to start. Mine are still in hibernation and set to come out in about a week and a half. I am guessing I will have blooms through January. Of all my winter bloomers, the amaryllis remind me most of daylilies. The bid stalk and the huge bright blooms.

And, a new poinsettia – orange is what I wanted most to replace. I think a purple if I see one, too. Maybe a variegated one. That is it though.

A new Thanksgiving cactus, too. I’m about done planting up my house now. It is on to creating grow light areas in a couple new places to boost the light.

Colorado Kid Daylilies

A Blog About My Western Colorado Daylily Adventure