50 Startling Southwest Spider Daylilies!

August 1, 20191 Comment

Only 40 something daylilies today and no Premiers. So, it leaves time to talk about some of my daylily categories. I have talked a lot about my Ned Roberts spiders. I originally started collecting them after seeing Kokopelli on the Lily Auction – I love the Southwest and had to have her (I got the bid)! From there, I added more = lots more. At first, it was all fully Southwest names. Then, I gathered some animal and insect names to my Ned collection. And, some stellar names. IDK, is Dancing Maiden a name from the Southwest?

So, tonight, I will show you my purely Southwest named daylilies – the obvious names from the Southwest. But, first, Mildred Mitchell had an extra petal today – a genetic flaw that made her look pretty cool.

OK – Here are my Southwest Ned Roberts spiders. (These are the ones that have bloomed the last two years. Mostly this year, except Kokopelli did not bloom this year – which is unusual).

Adios Albuquerque – 2019

Apache Bandana – 2019

Apache Beacon – 2019

Aztec Firebirds – 2019

Black Arrowhead – 2019

Chaco Canyon – 2019

Cheyenne Eyes – 2019

Chief Four Fingers – 2019

Chokecherry Mountain – 2019

Comanche Princess – 2019

Coral Taco – 2019

Desert Icicle

Dream Catcher

Echo Canyon – 2019

Feather Woman – 2019

Ghost Ranch – 2019

Glen Eyrie – 2019

Happy Hopi – 2019

Iktomi – 2019

Kachina Firecracker – 2019

Kokopelli – 2018

Land of Enchantment – 2019

Laughing Feather – 2019

Mama Cuna – 2019

Maya Cha Cha – 2019

Medicine Feather – 2019

Mount Echo Sunrise – 2019

Navajo Curls – 2018

Navajo Grey Hills – 2019

Navajo Rodeo – 2019

Ojo de Dios – 2019

Pink Enchalada – 2019

Pink Rain Dance – 2019

Purple Corndancer – 2018

Purple Many Faces – 2019

Purple Thunderbird – 2019

Santa Fe Christmas

Shape Shifter – 2019

Skinwalker – 2019

Spirit of the Morning – 2019

Star Over Milagro – 2019

Taco Twister – 2019

Talon – 2019

Truchas Sunrise – 2019

Twirling Pinata – 2018

Wild Rose Fandango – 2019

Zuni Eye – 2019

Zuni Thunderbird – 2019

A Celebration of Spiders! (Ned Roberts)

August 7, 20183 Comments

The days grow August-quiet. It seems a dream that I had nearly 60 blooms per day just a month ago. So, today, we will do finales. And, then, a roll-call of my Ned Roberts spiders.

Finales:

Chorus Line 8.5

Rosie’s Red 8.6

So, maybe if I do the Ned Roberts spider roll-call it will entice one more into bloom this year. My Ghost Ranch is a fall bloom, but I am having a rough time getting her to thrive here. Maybe some fish fertilizer? Our temps are still above average with little rain.

Ned Roberts Spiders for 2018 Season:

Adios Albuquerque

Apache Bandana

Aztec Firebird

Black Arrowhead

Black Ice

Chaco Canyon

Cheyenne Eyes

Chokecherry Mountain

Comanche Princess

Desert Icicle

Dream Catcher

Dream Keeper

Fox Ears

Happy Hopi

Iktomi

Kachina Firecracker

Kokopelli

Laughing Feather

Mama Cuna

Moon Over Chimayo

Navajo Curls

Navajo Rodeo

Papa Longlegs

Pink Rain Dance

Pueblo Dancer is her label, but she doesn’t look like that one. So???

Purple Corn Dancer

Purple Grasshopper

Purple Many Faces

Purple Moonrise

Purple Thunderbird

Raspberry Propeller

Raven Woodsong

Rocky Mountain Pals

Santa Fe Christmas

Shape Shifter

Skinwalker

Taco Twister

Talon

Twirling Pinata

Wild Rose Fandango

Zuni Eye

Zuni Thunderbird

Out of interest, here are my Ned Roberts spiders that bloomed last year but did not bloom this year:

Coral Taco 2017

Glen Eyrie

Pink Enchilada 2017

And, we had a few in 2016 that have not bloomed again:

Chief Four Fingers 2016

Ghost Ranch

Winds of Love 2016

I have around 64 of Ned’s spiders in my garden. I had 42 bloom this year or about 65%. Last year, I had 13 (about 20%) bloom. Marked improvement. All total, to date, I have had 48 (or 75%) bloom. That is a long way from 100%. But, marked improvement. I think some of the ones that bloomed in 2016 were put in that year (still flourishing from the nursery), struggled last year in the clay soil, and are recovering (growing new roots) this year in their pots. I am sure that the drought had an impact, as well.

So, for fun, here are the ones I have that have never bloomed (photos from the web):

Apache Beacon

Coyote Laughs

Cricket Call

Cripple Creek

Dancing Maiden

Echo Canyon

Feather Woman

Golden Eclipse

Kachina Dancer

Kiva Dancer

Land of Enchantment

Maya Cha Cha

Medicine Feather

Mount Echo Sunrise

Navajo Grey Hills

Ojo de Dios

Orchid Moonrise

The Real Pueblo Dancer

Spirit of the Morning

Star over Milagro

Truchas Sunrise

Wildwood Flower

We made improvements, but we have aways to go. That’s life

Horses, Canyons, Rodeos, and Our Blooms for the Week!

June 25, 2018Leave a comment

Summer is here! I got home from camping 6 hours ago and am still trying to get everything done for the weekend! When I don’t take photos in the morning, the blooms are pretty sunburned by noon. And we had wind today. And single digit humidity. So, for today there were 5 new blooms.

Wild Horses is a favorite, dependable bloomer. I have had her 3 years and she puts on quite a show. Can you see the wild horses in her pattern?

Wild Horses 6/24

So, Chaco Canyon bloomed when we returned from this same camping adventure last year. I love her stripes!

Chaco Canyon 6/24

A brand new face for this year is Navajo Rodeo. Waiting 3 years to see some of these has taken patience. She reminds me of Talon, but redder. I am sure they are related.

Navajo Rodeo 6/24

Ruby Spider is one of my oldest blooms, and always a favorite. She is huge, and oh so red!

Ruby Spider 6/24

And little Happy Returns is back. She is such a delicate little yellow trumpet.

Happy Returns 6/24

And there is the long roster (with photos) of all or our blooms from 6/18 through today:

Bluegrass Music 6/21

Canyon Colors 6/21

Comanche Princess 6/22

Dark Mystery 6/20

Dream Keeper 6/22

Funny Valentine 6/19

Holy Sombrero 6/22

Hopi Jewel 6/20

Indian Love Call 6/20

Jungle Queen 6/20

Kokopelli 6/19

Laughing Feather 6/19

Mesa Verde 6/22

Nurse’s Stethoscope 6/21

Painted Petroglyph 6.21

Pink Rain Dance 6/22

Platinum Palate Pink Whispers 6/22

Prairie Blue Eyes 6/19

Pueblo Dancer 6/22

Purple Many Faces 6/22

Purple Mystic 6/20

Red Riddle 6/21

Return a Smile 6/19

Saratoga Springtime 6/21

Stella de Oro 6/19

Talon 6/21

The Colorado Kid 6/22

Treasure of the Southwest 6/21

Wineberry Candy 6/24

Yellow Punch 6/22

Zuni Eye 6/20

So far, that makes 36 that have bloomed in the yard. Of 170-something. 21% or so of my cultivators have bloomed so far. Tomorrow, it looks like more new faces will join the count!

Mountain Daylily Time

June 17, 2018Leave a comment

My current faculty position has me talking with students all over the United States – every time zone in the continental US. I have to type my time zone and theirs into every note – twice. This meeting and next meeting times. I think a lot about time zones!

Daylily season brings a profound shift in my off-time schedule during the week. I wake up earlier to take photos. I also have to spray the orchids most mornings. I prefer it when I can go for a run before work, too. That means I am dead by the time I get off at 8 PM. I walk the dogs, blog, go to bed. And, the more blooms, the earlier I need to set my clock. That is Mountain Daylily Time.

So, I surpassed 10 blooms in the yard today with some cool, new Ned Roberts southwest named spiders. I love these flowers! Talon has been with me going on 3 summers and has never bloomed. The first year, she tried, but they dried up. It is surprising that the blooms are this huge. I organized my garden by the hight listed by the hybridizer. This is in the front row – but it is Huge. Can you see the talons?

Talon 6/17

Comanche Princess was a new add last fall after my first one died. I like her curls! It is beyond cool to finally get to see these blooms 3 years later.

Comanche Princess

The other first bloom (for this year – she usually blooms well) is Funny Valentine. She has a million buds this year! This is the first bloom in my side porch! It is interesting, because I always thought of this area as my first bloom cycle area – hot, light. The flowers just grew to maturity more quickly than the walkway garden out front. With the tree gone and the new systems in the Southwest Garden – this is my new first bloom area. Also, the driveway Rain Barrel Garden pots are now in the equation (added last year).

Funny Valentine

Other blooms today are as follows (some are tattered from the rain we got during the night):

Dark Mystery 6/17

Kokopelli 6/17

Indian Love Call 6/17

Canyon Colors 6/17

Purple Many Faces 6/17

Wineberry Candy 6/17

Stella de Oro 6/17

Saratoga Springtime 6/17

PS – Starting tomorrow, I will only blog about the new daylilies in bloom (including first bloom for 2018) for the day, but will list all the bloomers. On Saturday or Sunday each week, I will add photos of all the bloomers for the week in my blog (with the date of bloom). I will try to pick the best photo of each. New year, new system! Pilot. Because it is Mountain Daylily Time!

Very Pregnant and Ready to Deliver

June 15, 2018Leave a comment

Yesterday, I predicted a trifecta of daylilies would bloom today – Indian Love Call, Talon, and Purple Many Faces. Well, I lost that bet on all three counts . . . maybe tomorrow, though. Actually – maybe a lot more than that tomorrow. Several look very pregnant and ready to deliver.

Today, I had one 2018 first bloomer – Wineberry Candy. She was a purchase last summer to spruce up a corner daylily pot. Last summer was when I decided I needed to stop buying daylilies whilst my ones from previous years stopped blooming. Instead, I would add systems – pots, drippers, etc. But, once a daylily passes it’s natural call to bloom, you wait a year for your next chance. So, for the corner pot, I added Wineberry Candy.

Wineberry Candy

Other bloomers for today were as follows:

Dream Keeper 6/14

Kokopelli 6/14

Saratoga Springtime 6/14

Stella de Oro 6/14

Tomorrow is my early day at work . . . no breaks, end of week 6-hour marathon. I could have a dozen blooms. Who knows? And, the photos need to be early because the UV taters them fairly quickly. Besides the trifecta – I have a big mystery red one, Bluegrass Music, Canyon Colors, Hopi Jewel . . . and several of the current bloomers. Who knows what’s behind door #1? Two weeks to peak!

Say that three times fast!

June 13, 20181 Comment

What is in a name? I don’t know – for some of my daylilies, I choose them partially for their Southwestern names. Platinum Palette Pink Whispers was not picked for her name, though. In fact, I paid no attention to her name. What I know is that the garden shop had a 2 for $10 special on daylilies this spring. I said no more, but I had an empty container due to loss of one of my bonus plants from last fall. So, I got two different ones that were not Stella De Oro. I really didn’t notice the tongue-twister name until I went to put this one in my software program. Say that 3 times fast!

Platinum Palette Pink Whispers 6/12

My yard is getting so full of spikes. It is seriously worrying me how I will handle the photography. And, the blog. Posting every one, every day . . . that may get crazy cause I don’t get off until 8 PM. Wondering about a weekly list of all the blooms? I have done a collage, but then you can’t really pull up the individual photos later. I don’t know, but I better figure in our because these blooms won’t be slowing down any time soon. I have 3 dozen with scapes in the Southwest garden, alone. Probably 60+ total in the whole yard. I wonder how many I’ll have in bloom on the peak of the peak day?

Here are the other blooms for the day:

Kokopelli 6/12

Dream Keeper 6/12

Saratoga Springtime 6/12

Stella de Oro 6/12

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

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?

Grit

August 3, 2017Leave a comment

Today was split shift . . . a day of grit to get more daylilies protected from the soil and roots in my home ground. I gotta tell you, I am ready to be done. And, yet, I have barely started in the Southwest garden. Ugh, that clay soil is definitely part of the problem in the area where the daylilies are not thriving as much. I put my first two full pots out there, buried. The challenge is to make sure the sprinkler hose hits them. Some others are in bottomless pots, and some in the black nursery containers, mostly without bottoms. We will see what works. It is possible that what works is just digging deeper in that clay and replacing it with real soil. But, the pots keep the unwanted roots out. Grit.

So, I had no new blooms. Decided to play with my photo editor. So, here is Indian Sky from today in colored chalk.

Also, I am resharing my Ned Roberts spider collage because I forgot Glen Eyrie. I guess 19 out of 69 could be worse. Almost 30%. But, that clay has to get split up to improve things. Next year, I would like to hit 40. Keep on digging. Grit! Except, this weekend I have a date with my tent.

Left to Right: Top Row – Adios Albuquerque, Aztec Firebird, Black Ice, Chaco Canyon, Chief Four Fingers, Coral Taco. Middle Row: Desert Icicle, Dream Catcher, Dream Keeper, Ghost Ranch, Glen Eyrie, Kokopelli, Papa Longlegs. Bottom Row – Pink Enchilada, Pueblo Dancer, Rasberry Propeller, Skinwalker, Twirling Pinata, Zuni Thunderbird

Colorado Kid Daylilies

A Blog About My Western Colorado Daylily Adventure

Tag: Kokopelli