Tag: Ink Heart

Surviving a 1,000-Year Drought: Daylily Care in High Desert Conditions on the Colorado Plateau

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Hello Daylily Fans!

July, she flies. In fact, all of daylily season flies. Every year. It seems like the time between Saratoga Springtime and Purple Corndancer is about a week. But, in reality, it’s generally late May through sometime in August or September.

I have had several bloom since my last post on July 6th. We are getting into middle-late bloomers now. The temps have been close to or at 100 degrees daily for several days with minimal humidity. The smoke has cleared some, but the daily poor air quailty reports continue. And, we had about 10 minutes of rain a couple days ago – the first in weeks.

While droughts are common here in the high desert of the Colorado Plateau, this year is different. According to Drought.gov, this is the most severe drought period the region has experienced since at least 800 CE, beating out droughts that led Ancestral Puebloan cultures to abandon the Four Corners region.

And, despite that, my daylilies have done OK. Not great, but OK enough that I am at a 61% bloom rate for the year so far. The sad part is that it is my Southwestern Roadtrip Garden that is hardest hit. And, that is where my favorite cultivators live – my Ned Robert’s spiders and others that bear high desert names. The list of what hasn’t bloomed is bigger than the list of what has – at least for that garden.

I am planning to do some hardcore rehab of my pots in the Southwestern Roadtrip Garden this fall. And, the winter looks good for snow so far. Hopefully, my high desert spiders will be back in 2027.

Here are all my cultivators that have bloomed since July 7th. Enjoy!

Apache Uprising 7.10
Autum Minaret 7.13
Aztec Firebird 7.15
Black Arrowhead 7.11
Coburg Fright Wig 7.11
Cowardly Lion of Zo 7.7
Cripple Creek 7.15
Dancing Maiden 7.14
Fairytale Pink 7.10
Fooled Me 7.8
Ghost Ranch 7.14
Glen Eyrie 7.8
Golden Eclipse 7.13
Indian Sky 7.8
Ink Heart 7.8
Just Plumb Happy 7.11
Marque Moon 7.10
Nosferatu 7.10
Prairie Blue Eyes 7.11
Raspberry Propeller 7.15
Red Riddle (NOID) 7.10
Shape Shifter 7.8
Skinwalker 7.10
Taco Twister 7.10
Treasure of the Southwest 7.11
Western Sandstone 7.12
Winds of Love I 7.13
Zuni Thunderbird 7.15

I should add, that I have had about 34 of my Ned Roberts spiders bloom so far this year. That’s a gift. Last year, I had about 50. I still have a few left to bloom. But, it won’t be close to last year. I will do a whole blog on this once they have all bloomed.

Until next week,

Keep on blooming, Cathy Hartt, DNP (Daylily Nerd Person)

Visit my Art from the Hartt website for some great garden and daylily art from the high desert of the Colorado Plateau.

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

New 2024 Daylily Blooms: Stunning Photos and Varieties Revealed

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Return from the Colorado Mountains: Fourteen New Bloomers for the Season

I always feel overwhelmed the day after I take a camping break – especially during daylily season! Fortunately or unfortunately, my underwhelming bloom rate for 2024 has made it more manageable. But, it is still a lot of photos to organize and turn into an Instagram reel/blog post.

Below are my Ned Roberts’ spiders that are new since my last post.

Cricket Call
Dancing Maiden
Fox Ears
Pink Rain Dance (from last year, missed this year’s only bud.)
Raven Woodsong

So, how is the bloom rate doing now? I have had 84 of 196. So, 43%. That’s way down from the past few years for this point in time. I am hoping to hit 60%. That would take 34 more new blooms for 2024. I think that’s optimistic. Too many pots decided to rest this year.

Here are my other first blooms for 2024 (since my last post.)

Coburg Fright Wig
Heirloom Heaven
Ink Heart
Irresistible Charm
Off to See the Wizard
Orange Flurry
Rosie’s Red at dusk
Ruby Stella
Western Sandstone

Remediating a Poor Bloom Rate

Gardening is a science experiment. I am going to try some liquid spray fertilizer once we have a some cooler weather in the forecast. I will probably do more time release before the end of the season – and I am considering working some manure into the pots in September, about a month before freeze.

My Wildflower Dogs on our camping trip this week.

Peaks and Wildflowers

I have a wonderful trip to Hahns Peak, Colorado – and to Pearl Lake State Park which is named after my grandmother. The land was once a summer sheep pasture for my granddad’s companies. Grandma sold it to the Forrest Service – and the State Parks owns that portion with the Lake. This is my blog post from last year – I am still working on my post for this year so please check back in a few days.

Pearl Lake State Park, Colorado

If I didn’t get much of a daylily peak this year, at least I got a break in the heat at a picturesque Colorado peak.

Hahns Peak (background) from Steamboat Lake State Park, July 2024.

Until the Last Daylily Blooms Sale: 30% Off Starting Tomorrow

Just a quick reminder about the Until the Last Daylily Blooms sale. Prices drop again tomorrow – 30% off for the next month on daylily wall art, tile art, planters, and cards. I also added my hypertufa and cement yard art and pet memorials. Please visit my last post to see details on the yard art and memorials. So, please come check it out at my Etsy shop!

I wanted to share my Pearl Lake Wildflower Cards as today’s listing. I just added these to the Until the Last Daylily Blooms sale that goes live tomorrow. They will be 30% off for the next month! Perfect for flower lovers. The cards will be approximately (depending on Etsy’s calculator) $2.80 for a single card or 10.50 for a set of all 5 cards. This is in addition to FREE SHIPPING. Click on the photo below or this link to go to the listing.

Questions on the sale? Special order requests? Please reach out and email me!