It’s gotten hot, and my yard is exploding with many daylilies. Peak season is still a couple of weeks away, and I have about 130 cultivators with scapes! I lost a couple over the winter, so I need to update my total number one of these days.
All American Chief first bloom 6.22Bluegrass Music first bloom 6.23Burgundy Crab first bloom 6.18Candy Cane Dreams first bloom 6.22Comanche Princess first bloom 6.21NOID Dark Mystery first bloom 6.20Happy Returns first bloom 6.21Hopi Jewell first bloom 6.20Jungle Queen first bloom 6.16Land of Enchantment first bloom 6.23Orchid Moonrise first bloom 6.21Prairie Wildfire first bloom 6.19Primal Scream first bloom 6.23NOID Red Riddle first bloom 6.22Return a Smile first bloom 6.18Ruby Spider first bloom 6.18Stephanie Returns first bloom 6.23The Potter’s Touch first bloom 6.23Wild Horses first bloom 6.16Yellow Punch first bloom 6.22
Wow! That’s 20 more cultivators in bloom since my first post of the year! My very large array is getting larger! Today, I celebrate 3 years retired from 40 years of nursing. Quite a retirement anniversary bouquet.
I will say that some of my buds opened funny today – Stephanie Returns and Bluegrass Music both look like they wanted to sleep in. We have had days of fire weather with highs in the 90s, wind speeds 35+ MPH, and humidity under 15% (often single digits). And, we are still in extreme drought here (although no water restrictions yet). I think the buds get dried out! I will also say that the super ruffled blooms just don’t open right in such low humidity. I stay away from super ruffles now.
My community work consumes me. I don’t feel as retired as I did last year. I have always made time for the daylily blog. This year, I feel what I am doing is time-sensitive, and I need to balance my time with that in mind. I am not doing daily Instagram posts this year. I think I will update my latest blooms and gardening tips here about once a week.
Tip for today: Deserts don’t have ruffles! They have ridges.
Which of my blooms from this blog is your favorite?
Last week, I got news that my favorite online daylily grower was closing. I absolutely adore Doris at Shady Rest Gardens and I am still adapting to the idea that this summer is her last ever sale. She and her husband are on to the next chapter, as I was a couple years ago. I knew I had to be one of her last customers and order something, despite my pots being pretty full currently. So, last night she posted the sale daylilies for this fall. It was like midnight-thirty and I was shopping for daylilies from my couch.
Comanche Princess in bloom today came from Shady Rest
How did I get started shopping for daylilies online? It was 2015 when I returned to school for my doctorate and somehow daylilies became my healthy escape from studies (I loved my program but needed stress management breaks). I had a few daylilies around the yard for years and found them pretty hardy here, but they weren’t really a hobby until I went back to school at age 60.
Online Doctorates and Daylilies
Before becoming a serious hobbyist, I picked up a daylily or two at the local nursery here and there. I don’t remember what spurred me to try online, but I did. I mean, if you can get a doctorate online then why not a daylily? It was a lesson that bare roots are not the same as blooming plants and I had to be patient. But the varieties were endless and they were less expensive. Because of my love of the Southwest US, I was especially attracted to the ones with names that were also Southwestern. That helped me hone in on my favorite hybridizer – Ned Roberts. He lived in the Southwest and his daylily names showed it.
Ruby Spider is originally from a local nursery and in bloom today.
It was a web search for his daylilies that led me to Doris and Shady Rest. It was like striking gold – she had so many of his daylilies for sale. Way more than I could afford. So, every year, I added a few. Now I have 74 Ned Roberts registered daylilies and a grand total of 198 different daylilies. They aren’t all from Shady Rest, but I loved getting my packages from her and they were a substantial contribution. More than a grower, Doris became my garden mentor. Fortunately, we are still friends on social media, but I will miss those packages.
What is your favorite place to shop for daylilies???
Prairie Wildfire originally came from a local nursery and is in bloom today.
Speaking of my beautiful Ned Robert’s spider daylily collection with Southwestern names – this original wood panel painting of Skinwalker is on sale until my last daylily blooms in 2024. The original wood panel is only $26.25 during the sale. And, I have signed prints of the painting that are only $9 with free shipping. If you miss daylilies in the winter, then now is the time to hang one on the wall! Click here or on the photo below to go to listing.
Skinwalker daylily – original painting or signed print
What happened today was a couple first blooms for the season – Comanche Princess and a NOID that I call Dark Mystery. But that’s not all . . .
Today, I wrestled daylily pots! Nothing is as frustrating as grass and creeping bellflower in my pots! Desert daylilies need water – so I have drip systems for 90% of my daylily pots. It is like velcro for grass seeds, grassroots (despite having weed fabric under each pot), and the bellflower. Additionally, the bellflower has tuberous roots that look very much like daylily roots – but lighter in color. Left unattended, they can eventually crowd the daylily out. (Tips for keeping weeds out of pots.)
Unfortunately, chemical choices are limited because the roots of these plants intertwine with the daylily. I have had some luck with the coir rounds – but they wear out in a couple of years and are somewhat expensive in bulk.
I extract the inhabitants of the pot and slowly pull soil and roots away until I expose the daylily roots. Then, I hydro-wash the daylily to get any remaining alien roots off (hopefully) and I repot in new soil. It is a time-consuming process and the pot’s old dirt must be discarded. If you know of an easier way – please post a reply and share your expertise. It is my least favorite part about my daylilies.
Video showing daylily root system.
But, I digress. The day started with me wanting to get the high-bloom fertilizer that I talked about in the blog yesterday. I decided to daylily shop while at the nursery because I had some strugglers that needed to be replaced. I stopped at three nurseries and only one had any daylilies that I don’t already have. So, I got the fertilizer, 2 new daylilies, and some filler plants.
Video on how to fertilize daylilies.
When I got home, I freed the strugglers from their grass and moved them to a different spot to (hopefully) recuperate. I filled the pots with the new daylilies. Now, we wait. I’ll fertilize tomorrow before the storm on Thursday – and I will talk about that in my next post.
It’s been a weird year. Not just the weather, but definitely the weather. Cold, wet spring. It felt like winter until it was summer – then BAM we get into fire weather with high winds and low humidity. I also lost my beloved soul dog, Sazi, in March. I adopted a new special needs senior in April and she had major surgery in May. Oh, and my art/houseplant business, Art from the Hartt, changed locations in May.
My dog, Kachina, and her new sister, Kokopelli
So, daylilies have been on the back burner. But, hey, it is July 1, and only 6 cultivators have bloomed so far this season, anyway. Mostly Saratoga Springtime – who bloomed on June 7th and is now finished. I lost almost all of the daylilies that I added last fall plus a couple old timers 😦 I added a few new ones from local nurseries to fill gaps – I am also using coleus as pot savers. I ordered a few new ones for fall, but I think I am out of space to nurture too many more.
Saratoga Springtime began blooming 6.7Dream Keeper first bloom 6.25Comanche Princess began blooming today (7.1)Kokopelli began blooming 6.30Open My Eyes began blooming 6.25Stella de Oro began blooming 6.28
I can’t believe it has been nearly 11 months since my last blog. One would think I had 4 other websites and a bunch of social media to run. . . Wait, I do. LOL. Plus, it was past peak when I stopped blogging last year in early August and we are no where near peak today. Anyway, enjoy my list (with pictures) of cultivators that have come through the cold spring and into bloom. I call them psychrophilic.
Today, the rain came. It is monsoon season. Sometimes you get rain, and sometimes it moves right past you. The moisture is good but it may make all hell break loose.
Today, however, the season continued at it’s slow pace. I had two premiers and a ton of fat buds.
Comanche Princess 6.26
Comanche Princess, one of my Ned Roberts spiders bloomed for the first time this season. She always looks like she is doing somersaults to me.
Wild Horses 6.26
To go along with the theme of a Comanche Princess, Wild Horses also made a premiere today. I actually googled both names together and got a lot of photos of Native Americans and their ponies.
Today’s boutique is dedicated to my beloved but estranged daughter, Erica. We haven’t spoken in 25 years or so. Today is her birthday. I hope she is safe, healthy, happy, and at peace. Happy birthday. I’m proud of you.
I have exciting news! My Etsy Store is up and running. And, I am having a Fall Daylily Sale. I actually divided several of my Ned Roberts spiders. I have the following listed on Etsy for sale (link to my shop click here):
So, what have I been up to the last month? Starting my business on Etsy and working in nursing academic leadership 3 days a week. Some year, I am going to blog every day in August! I have Purple Grasshopper still in bloom – she was one of the first and will be the last. It is like she is on steroids this year.
Anyway, please visit my Etsy Shop for photos and more info on the daylily sale. It only goes until 9.11 due to the fact the freeze will get here in October. If the daylily you are interested doesn’t have a listing, please email me at cathy.hartt55@gmail.com to see if I have it available. Growing in fairly small pots means I usually only get 2-4 extra fans when I divide.
I will be back with my end of month list of bloomers for August in a couple days. See you then!
The next two posts are a listing of the daylilies that have bloomed ANYTIME during July – even if they started in June. It is a large list but also a colorful one. I believe only 3 of my cultivators were totally done in June – Saratoga Springtime, Scorpio and yellow Stella de Oro.
If you like Ned Roberts cultivators, you have come to the right place because I have about 70 of them, and most (except Navajo Curls and Adios Albuquerque) that are going to bloom the year have bloomed sometime during July.
I went to the rodeo here last night, so I am all practiced-up and ready to go.
Alabama Jubilee 6.26-7.10All American Chief 6.22-7.9Apache Bandana 6.30-7.10Autumn Jewels 7.16-presentAztec Firebird 7.8-7.31Baby Blue Eyes 7.6-7.27Baja 7.10-7.29Bella Boo 7.2-7.16Bela Lugosi 7.4-7.26Big Red Rhyme (NOID) 6.22-7.11Black Arrowhead 7.6-7.30Blackthorne 7.6-7.13Black Eyed Susan 7.4-7.19Black Ice 7.4-7.18Blue Beat 7.9-7.17Buttered Popcorn 7.7-7-25Candy Cane Dreams 7.1-7.19Canyon Colors 6.15-presentCatherine Irene 6.24-7.13Chaco 6.27-presentCheddar Cheese 7.3-7.17Cherokee Star 7.9-8.1Cheyenne Eyes 7.6-7.19Chief Four Fingers 6.12-7.15Chokecherry Mountain 7.5-7.27Chorus Line 7.6-presendClassy Lady 7.6-7.29Coburg Fright Wig 7.11-7.30Comanche Princess 6.18-7.11Coral Taco 7.2-7.16Cricket Call 7.3-7.17Cripple Creek 7.19-presentDancing Maiden 7.16-presentDesert Icicle 7.26-presentDr Doom 7.30-presentDream Catcher 7.14-presentDream Keeper 6.11-7.1Early Bird Cardinal 6.27-7.13Echo Canyon 6.21-7.10El Desperado 7.17-presentFairytale Pink 7.11-7.17Feather Woman 7.5-7.9Fine Time Lucille 7.10-7.17Fol de Rol 7.4-7.17Fooled Me 7.10-7.16Frans Hals 7.15-present“Fringe Benefit” 6.27-7.12 (mislabeled bonus)Funny Valentine 6.20-7.8Ghost Ranch 7.12-7.17Glen Eyrie 7.25-7.30 (started while I was on vaca 7.19-24)
Golden Eclipse 7.16-present
Happy Hopi 7.7-7.31Happy Returns 6.27-7.12Heavenly Curls 7.5-7.17Heirloom Heaven 7.25-presentHesperus 7.12-presentHoly Sombrero 7.7-7.25Hopi Jewel 6.27-7.17Iktomi 7.9-7.29Indian Love Call 7.13-7.27Indian Sky 7.13-presentIndian Giver 6.30-7.17Inwood 6.22-7.12Jungle Queen 7.1-7.19-24? Finished during vacationJust Plumb Happy 7.4-7.15Kachina Dancer 6.30-7.16Kokopelli 6.25-7.19Lacy Doily 7.3-7.16Lady Fingers 6.23-7.19Land of Enchantment 6.23-7.11Lime Frost 7.11-7.16Lobo Lucy 7.13-7.31Longlesson Showoff 7.5.7.18Lullaby Baby 7.7 to presentMama Cuna 7.11-presentMarque Moon 7.13-7.19 (ended 7.19-7.24 during vaca)Mauna Loa 6.27-7.10Maya Cha Cha 7.4-7.19Medicine Feather 7.5-7.18Melon Balls 7.6-7.15Mesa Verde 6.15-7.13Mini Pearl 6.26-7.31Mount Echo Sunrise 6.28-7.19
I Dig The Mamas And The Papas At “The Trip, “ Sunset Strip In L.A. And They Got A Good Thing Goin’ When The Words Don’t Get In The Way.
I chuckle today at the double meaning in the old Peter, Paul and Mary song. I do dig the Mamas and the Papas – literally and figuratively. Mama Cuna and Papa Longlegs, that is. Well, hey, today they showed up on the same day so the song has been in my head all day. See the featured photo for the cultivator blooms together today.
And, all day, I have been working in the daylily garden or on my photos because another record was broken today . . . 69 cultivators in bloom. It is partially bloom rate and partially bud count. These guys are blooming for weeks instead of days. I do have other things I need to do . . . I am glad I cleaned the house before this hit!
OK, so in addition to Mama Cuna of the Mamas and Papas, I had 6 premiers today – 7 total. We are still on top of the Grand Daylily Mesa with the blooms – this high plateau is like watching COVID cases last summer – but hopefully it dies down without a real epidemic because I have altitude sickness already.
Coburg Fright Wig 7.11 – I ordered this years ago for my front garden when I was filling it out with daylilies.Fairy Tale Pink 7.11 – I believe this was a bonus several years ago. She is doing better with a drip system!Lime Frost 7.11 – I wouldn’t mind a lime frost from the 7.11 about now. She was mail order several years ago, I believe. I really need to move my daylily software to my functioning computer because it knows.Mama Cuna 7.11 – all wrapped up in the yucca. She has great big blooms.Nearly Wild 7.11 – She was a bonus and I think she got her name because she looks like her ditch lily ancestor. Purple de Oro 7.11 – A small grape colored bloom. I have never been super attached. Her pot is full of grass. Maybe I should put another mini in with her? Red Hot Returns 7.11 – A parent to Passionate Returns. Local nursery cultivator.
This is usually about the time of year when I see the peak fading and I hate my bloom rate so I head to the nursery for a couple that still have buds so I can have a few more blooms. I am not doing that this year – although there is a Ned Roberts that I may add to the collection next year. Help me, I am drowning in the Mamas and the Papas! Please, dig me out of these blooms!
So, here are the finales so far this year.
Saratoga Springtime finale 6.23Yellow Punch finale 7.4Stella finale 7.1Funny Valentine finale 7.8Petite Petticoats finale 7.10Alabama Jubilee finale 7.10Scorpio finale 6.29Mauna Loa finale 7.10Platinum Pink Pallet Whispers finale 7.2Land of Enchantment finale 7.11Apache Bandana finale 7.10Purple Moonrise finale 7.5Orchid Moonrise finale 7.8Dream Keeper finale 7.1Echo Canyon finale 7.10Comanche Princess finale 7.11NOID Big Red Rhyme finale 7.11NOID Red Riddle finale 7.9Feather Woman finale 7.11Pink and Cream finale 7.11
That is 117 in and 20 out, meaning I have 90 some actively blooming and others with premiers coming soon.
I’m back! My house is cleaner and I feel like I can pick-up the blog, again. Don’t worry, I spent my usual amount of time with my daylilies in the AM. I love getting photos of them – something to get out of bed for. After three years of a stressful job and a commute, I just had to clean because my poor home has been like a neglected garden. I needed to pull weeds and plant some new seeds.
I am going to show off my June blooms (A to Z) for June in this post. I am going to have a good bloom rate this year and it sort of scares me what peak will be like with all my plants so happy. Good thing the house is clean. I count 51 cultivators for June 2021. Last year, it was 50 in June – so close. I think I have about 180 cultivators now – almost 30% have bloomed.
Alabama Jubilee – premiered 6.26All American Chief premiered 6.22Apache Bandana premiered 6.30Big Red Rhyme (my NOID name for her) premiered 6.22Canyon Colors premiered 6.15Catherine Irene premiered 6.24Chaco Canyon premiered 6.27Chief Four Fingers premiered 6.27 (with some bug damage but more buds ahead)Comanche Princess premiered 6.18Dream Keeper premiered 6.11, finale was 7.1Early Bird Cardinal premiered 6.27Echo Canyon premiered 6.21“Fringe Benefit” premiered 6.27 (mislabeled bonus but I still call her that)Funny Valentine premiered 6.20Happy Returns – I believe the real cultivator is yellow and some of my gold ones are actually Stella – this one premiered 6.25Hopi Jewel premiered 6.27Indian Giver premiered 6.30Inwood premiered 6.22Kachina Dancer premiered 6.30Kokopelli premiered 6.25Lady Fingers premiered 6.23Land of Enchantment premiered 6.23Mauna Loa premiered 6.27Mesa Verde premiered 6.15Mini Pearl premiered 6.26Mount Echo Sunrise premiered 6.28Nurse’s Stethoscope (the only registered daylily I helped to name) premiered 6.24Ojo de Dios premiered 6.28Orchid Moonrise premiered 6.17Pardon Me premiered 6.30Passionate Returns premiered 6.28Petite Petticoats premiered 6.26Pink and Cream premiered 6.24Platinum Pink Pallet Whispers premiered 6.21Primal Scream premiered 6.25Purple Grasshopper premiered 6.11Purple Moonrise (larger bloom on the R, to the left is Orchid Moonrise) premier bloom 6.15Purple Mystic (my name for NOID) premiered 6.24Red Riddle (my name for NOID) premiered 6.23Return a Smile premiered 6.25Ruby Spider premiered 6.22Santa’s Pants premiered 6.26Saratoga Springtime premier 6/3, finale 6.23 – The star of early daylily season. A big, fancy yellow trumpet.Scorpio premier 6.26, finale 6.29. Only two buds for the first bloom ever after 5 years in my yard.South Seas premier 6.30Stella premier 6.7 and dwindling – I don’t think we have a finale yet but maybe.Stephanie Returns premier 6.30The Colorado Kid premier 6.23Wild Horses premier 6.15Yellow Punch premier 6.15Yellow Stella premier 6.18
Let’s close the book on June for 2021 – It’s a wrap!
I can’t believe it has been almost 10 days since my last post. That doesn’t mean that daylilies aren’t blooming – although I think peak bloom is going to be a week or so later than usual. Maybe the drought . . . maybe some late cool days in the spring?
All I can say is life is in transition, so blogging had taken a back burner while I continue my job (part-time), clean and organize my house (also put on the back burner too long), and start a business. It is 11 PM (or later) when I finally have time to blog, but my heart and soul need rest.
So, since my last blog on 6.12, there have been a lot of premier blooms! (Premier meaning first bloom of the season) and I have 120 in bloom or with scapes. Here we go:
Rich-colored Canyon Colors made her debut on 6/15. She didn’t bloom last year so I had to dig her roots out of grass that had taken over her pot. She is recovering, but I don’t anticipate more than one scape this year.Comanche Princess had a premier bloom on 6.18. She looks vigorous in both locations this year.Echo Canyon made her debut today with three blooms. Our lead photo is her other two blooms.Funny Valentine had her first blooms open when I returned from camping on Sunday. She has a ton of buds and scapes this year.Mesa Verde showed up on 6.15. I love her colors, too. Makes me want to take a roadtip . . . actually, I will be at Mesa Verde next month.Orchid Moonrise had her premier-premier bloom on 6.17. That means, despite having her in my garden for 4ish years, this is the first bloom year. She likes being in the pot away from the tree roots, I think.Platinum Pink Pallet Whispers premiered today. Who names these daylilies, anyway?Purple Grasshopper premiered on 6.11 but I can’t remember if I included her in my last blog. Ruby Spider – One of my first and favorite daylilies. Premier was 6.21.Wild Horses bloomed for the first time this season on 6.15. Always a stunning bloom.Yellow Punch, my Lowe’s special a few years ago, opened on 6.15.My first yellow Stella de Oro opened on 6.18. She is a very different color than my golden Stella and rates her own listing.
That’s about 12 premiers since the last blog. 100++ more to go. What’s next? I guess we will see tomorrow. I would like to get back to blogging regularly, at least on Sunday. I feel like daylily season will come and go so quickly this year. The plants (mostly) appreciate all the work I did potting them and/or refurbishing the soil. A few are too crowded now and seem hesitant to send out a scape. Fortunately, I can divide and sell them this fall.
Speaking of which – please drop by my Art and Nature from the Hartt website to see what I plan to carry in my Etsy store. I have lots of begonias and coleus cooking now . . . and some succulents. I can’t wait to start making daylily art, again, too. I will clean my house first, though. Come visit us at this link – http://www.artandnaturefromthehartt.com
Colorado Kid Daylilies 