Category: Late blooming daylilies

Indian Sky

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Indian skies remind me of camping trips to the Southwest.  And, today, my Indian Sky bloomed for the first time.  Well, second time.  But the first time it was still on the back porch for the winter and it was April.  It only had 2 buds then, and the blooms lasted 2-3 days on the cool porch.  They were faded, but I could see the shadow of what they would be someday.

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Today’s bloom was so much more colorful than that poor anemic bloom.

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But, still some difference from the more colorful (with yellow) web images.  See below.

Indian Sky

I loved the colors enough to superimpose Indian Sky a sunset from last summer near Monument Valley, UT/AZ.  I think it turned out cool.

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Other first blooms (I don’t want to use them all up at once, but I had 3 today) included Best Seller.  I am so jazzed that this one finally bloomed . . . a gift plant the summer of 2014, I believe.  I like the purple hue and ruffles! I was so impressed with this one when it arrived – it’s been a long wait.

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Lastly, an inexpensive late bloomer that I got to put in last year, Little Cadet.  It is the first bloom in my yard.  It is a cute little thing, and the scapes are too short this year.  But, it is here.

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Honorable mention to my best (and last) Zuni Thunderbird for the season.

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After work, I ventured to Home Depot for supplies to start my daylily buried pot project.  I figured out that I have lost 1.5 daylilies in the front part of the walkway garden to competition.  So, tomorrow, I move the ones who have virtually no chance of blooming this year into pots – then back in that garden.  I feel overwhelmed – I have around 20-30 in the front area that may benefit from a pot.  I need to plug away at it, because I need to be done in about 6 weeks so they can resettle before freeze.

I have decided that I need to learn how to get daylilies to flourish in the desert before I get too many more new ones . . . and that means trying different things. I read somewhere recently that you should put your daylily where it can grow huge before putting it in less desirable places.  My potted daylilies are so much happier than my in-grounds for the most part.  I am curious to see what happens.  Oh, and then there are those who need to be divided.  Some, I’ll keep.  Others will need to find new homes.

Late Bloomers

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I have not blogged for a couple of months. Daylily season has passed. I started a new job. It’s almost Thanksgiving.  No, wait, Red Hot Returns and Ruby Stella are still blooming despite a few freezes. Grit.

Red Hot Returns

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Ruby Stella

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Speaking of winter, this year I’m taking up Amaryllis.  Their big bright flowers remind me of daylilies. And, their spring is just starting.  Watching for signs of new growth every day. And, when they fade, it’ll be time for the daylilies, again.

 

A Time to Every Purpose

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Today, Ruby Stella bloomed.  She only has two buds left and freeze is headed our way soon.  I was thinking of firsts and lasts today.  My first daylily bloomed in March . . . in zone 6A.  Indian Sky was accidentally forced on my porch and produced two blooms.  She did not rebloom this year.

 

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Indian Sky – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

 

My first in-yard bloom was another container that was forced a bit early from winter on the porch – Electric Lizard.

 

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Electric Lizard – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

 

My first planted in the dirt daylily to bloom was Dream Keeper (6/13) – this is my daughter’s choice for a painting for her birthday.

 

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Dream Keeper – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

 

And, the last . . .  Miss Ruby Stella from today.  Last, but not least.

 

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Ruby Stella – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

 

They spanned seven months . . . maybe we make it to October?  Then, eight.

The other thing I hope spans a lot of months are the new labels.  What a project to make these for every daylily, not just the 50 or so southwestern garden ones that I blogged about earlier this month.  They have held up, so I am giving it a shot.  I just want labels that last more than a month or two.  So, we will see.  Fingers crossed.

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PS – I did become a Doctor of Nursing Practice.  And, then I went on a camping road trip through SE Utah.  New job starts next week.  Time to get cracking with some winter strong labels!

 

The Art of Labels

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It used to be that I adopted miscellaneous daylilies and planted th em in amidst my other flowers without much thought.  What’s in a name, after all, as long as the flower is hardy. Then, I started collecting them.  Some I got for the names.  Others, I just needed to organize.  So, I got cool software called Plantstep to manage my habit.  One part I like about the software is that you can print labels for each flower.  However, with inkjet, they never lasted long.  And, I have enough now that relabeling is a major chore.  What to do?

My first thought was to paint names on my plastic labels . .prime, outdoor paint, polyurethane.  I especially wanted my Roberts southwestern garden to have sustainable labels until I learn the blooms.  Somewhere in the process, I began to wonder if you could seal the inkjet labels with the polyurethane.  It worked!  (I googled it later, and they use the process to seal inkjet photographs).

So, I decided that my Southwest garden will have two-sided labels.  One side is painted, the other is a plasticized label.  I’m only half done – it is a multi-step process.  But, I have a good start with the first batch in.  I think I will just use the plasticized labels on the other gardens for now.  It is an experiment . . . we will see what spring brings.  (I like that I painted the label with the color of each bloom.)

My blooms for today are Heirloom Heaven (almost done for this cycle):

 

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Heirloom Heaven – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

 

And, Red Hot Returns (darn thrips are back):

 

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Red Hot Returns – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

 

Best of all, it looks like Ruby Stella is sending up yet another scape!  This may be my graduation day flower!!! Rock on Ruby.  2016 came in with the yellows and is going out with the reds.

 

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My new Ruby scape!!!

 

Just a Painter Passing Through in History

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“If you want to know my secret don’t come runnin’ after me
For I am just a painter passing through in history” – Gordon Lightfoot

“A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself. What a man can be, he must be” – Abraham Maslow

 

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Painting of Kokopelli by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

 

And, so it is.  Yesterday, I painted Kokopelli.  One of my early bloomers is now always in bloom in my house.  It settles my nerves.  Lots going on in my life – but I slept like a baby.

I woke up to a pretty bloom from Red Hot Returns.  Nice way to start the day.

 

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Red Hot Returns – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

 

 

Fall Blooms and Roots

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Time flies . . . it has been a couple of weeks since I posted.  A lot has happened. I am less than two weeks away from my doctorate.  And, I believe I have a full-time job in my future. A couple cultivators are still in bloom, and I have new roots in the ground.  Perhaps returning to school is like planting new roots.  You give them water, soil, sunshine, and fertilizer.  Then, in time they bloom.  Blooms are like jobs – the reward for the TLC given to the roots.

Today’s blooms were Heirloom Heaven:

 

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Heirloom Heaven – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

 

And, Red Hot Returns (with less thrip damage than before):

 

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Red Hot Returns – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

 

As promised, here are the Painted Petroglyph roots from a couple weeks ago next to the photo from a few days ago:

Progress toward that 2017 bloom.  Like submitting an assignment . . .  it takes time.

Fall is here and my attention is turning to my winter indoor blooms.  My amaryllis bulbs and poinsettia need to go dark soon.  I got a new mum, Thanksgiving cactus, and designer begonia.  My Gerber Daisy is in bloom, as is my azalea. Oh, and those geraniums.  They tend to be my winter bloomers.   I will probably blog about those some over the winter.

I’m also working on my fall daylily fertilizing program.  My re-bloomers ran out of steam this year, so that is a sign that they need more nutrients.   I have added some great Ned Roberts roots to my Southwest daylily patch – Glen Eyrie, Adios Albuquerque, Twirling Pinata, and Truchas Sunrise.  I got extra fans (as bonuses) of Echo Canyon and Desert Icicle that will thicken up my existing plants.  My Navajo Rodeo roots are booming this time.  And, I think I am already getting my spring daylily order planned.  That paycheck will be great to feed my daylily habit.

The Scapes of Late August

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Today, my granddaughter, Maia, turned 10.  Today, my daughter started nurse practitioner school.  Today, I interviewed for a job.  And, today Ruby Stella started sending up a new scape.  It is late August.  Back to school time.  And, I still have scapes.  I might – just might – make it to freeze.  In spring these things are thick as fur on an angora.  Now, I savor each one.   When I brought Ruby home, she had one bud left . . . that has been a month ago.  A sign that the earth is still alive.

 

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Ruby Stella scape from today – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

 

Actual blooms today were Heirloom Heaven:

 

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Heirloom Heaven – Photo by Colorado Kid Dalilies – C. Hartt

 

Red Hot Returns:

 

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Red Hot Returns – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

 

My last Orange Flurry in wth my big old Banana Yucca:

 

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Orange Flurry – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

 

And, both colors of Stella:

It is threatening to rain . . . it is suppose to be raining.  At least it is cool.  Not a drop on my desert daylilies yet, though.  Come on, August showers bring September growth.  Getting strong for the spring.

A Good Day . . . in the Daylilies

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Today started with an email from one of my resilience websites.  I have seen this before – but it is still as beautiful.  I wish I had the patience for time-lapse of these blooms.  If you want to feel a little positive emotion and wonder, give this a few minutes.

So, here are my weekend miracles. Frans Hals:

 

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Frans Hals – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

 

Orange Flurry:

 

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Orange Flurry – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

 

Red Hot Returns:

 

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Red Hot Returns – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

 

Stella:

 

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Golden Stella de Oro – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

 

Not bad for late August. PS – I could have sworn that Heirloom Heaven bloomed yesterday but no photos – I must have missed it somehow.

Today brought a light application of Mir-Acid. (Miracle Grow for acid loving plants).  My soil here is so basic that it won’t change. The base in the soil quickly neutralizes the acid.  The iron is bound at that pH, so it can’t be absorbed.  Anemic daylilies.  Mulch, manure, peat moss, acidifiers can all help.  They probably won’t change the pH for long (if at all), but they do boost the availability of nutrients.  The joy of living in an ancient sea bed. It’s trial and error.  I am grateful for the lessons of my garden.  It makes me feel like a hands-on healer, again.  A good day.

 

Tiptoe Through the 2016 Daylilies with Me!

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I may be dating myself, but I will never forget Tiny Tim singing Tiptoe through the Tulips on Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-in.  When I decided to make this compilation of all my 2016 cultivators (all have bloomed, although some still have scapes/buds), it was a little like tiptoeing through my garden.  The song came to mind.  I would like to redo this with the day of the first and last bloom (in blooming order) sometime this winter when it is minus something and I need a daylily fix.  It serves a purpose of not just lifting the spirit, but providing a timeline for predicting future years.  So, here is the movie.

PS – My blooms today were Red Hot Returns, Frans Hals, Heirloom Heaven, and Orange Flurry.  Mostly, though, my work was fertilizing pots and moving one daylily to a sunnier spot.  I was just reading up on it, and I do think I need to give these guys some nutrition twice a year.  It is the desert, after all.   I need this foliage to be a bit less anemic when the spring comes around, again.  It is all a learning curve.

Live Life Like a Daylily, One Day at a Time

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One of the things that I like best about daylilies is that they are in the moment.  And, when the moment is over, they move on.  They don’t hold on to the past, like we humans do.  So, today they are my mentors.

Today I had four bloomers.  Perhaps this is a sign of optimism from my little friends.  I had little Heirloom Heaven:

 

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Heirloom Heaven – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

 

And, Frans Hals:

 

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Frans Hals – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

 

Orange Flurry:

 

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Orange Flurry – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

 

Finally, Stella de Oro:

 

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Stella de Oro – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

 

I love the late fall-colored blooms, but I have got to tell you that I find new roots almost equal in their awesomeness.  I mean, you get some stuff in the mail that looks like wilted root veggies and you trim them back and plant them.  And, within days, they start becoming daylilies.  They are so optimistic about the future!

These are the Painted Petroglyph roots that I planted on Tuesday and they already have new green growth.  I’ll try to take another photo next week for comparison.  Next to the roots is a web photo of the cultivator in bloom.  I cannot wait for spring.