It is a drought in the high desert this year. Every day it seems I get a fire weather warning from Montrose County. It’s been consistently in the high 80s to mid 90s with very low (single digit) humidity. And, the daylilies are blooming, anyway. They bloom in their little pots that keep the desert tree roots out and the moisture in. They bloom in the middle of my rock easement on the alkaline, hard, clay soil. They bloom in the high UV until they melt into translucent shadows of themselves.
This is not the land where daylilies flourish in huge patches that can be divided and sold or shared at any volume. It’s the land of the Colorado Plateau with Arches, Monument Valley, Zion, Canyonlands and Horseshoe Bend. It’s the land where they film western movies. How many daylilies have you ever seen in a John Wayne movie?
So, it’s late and I don’t have a lot of time to blog. But, I don’t want to get behind. In the last week – here are the new faces (premier blooms for this year’s cycle) in my hot, dry desert garden:
That’s 18 in a week! Peak may come early because of the drought. It feels like it went from 0 to 60 in a New York Minute. Can’t wait to see what happens next week. Hope I can stay caught up!
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!
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!
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 CallDancing MaidenFox EarsPink 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 WigHeirloom HeavenInk HeartIrresistible CharmOff to See the WizardOrange FlurryRosie’s Red at duskRuby StellaWestern 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.
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!
Peak this year is going to be more of a Kansas Peak than a Colorado Peak. So many plants either succumbed to the prolonged freeze-thaw or they just didn’t put out scapes. Many early bloomers seem to be missing, but my garden is trying.
I came home from camping to 15 new cultivators in bloom for the first time in 2023. Here is my Instagram reel from today.
I have no idea where to even start with premiers. I’m buried in catching up with daylily photos. I’ll give it a shot. Thank heaven I post to Facebook every day. Sometimes I do miss things, though.
7.11: Lobo Lucy, Laughing Feather, Happy Hopi, Chokecherry Mountain, Apache Uprising, and Soco Gap
Lobo Lucy Laughing Feather Happy Hopi Chokecherry Mountain Apache Uprising Second Gap
7.14: Ruby Stella, Hesperus, Orange Flurry, Purple Many Faces, Kachina Dancer, Kiva Dancer, Cherokee Star, Papa Long Legs, Western Sandstone, Classy Lady, One of my new OZ daylilies that need labels (I believe).
Ruby Stella Hesperus Orange Flurry Purple Many Faces Kachina Dancer Kiva Dancer Cherokee Star Papa Long Legs Western Sandstone Classy Lady Possibly one of my new OZ daylilies.
7.15: Glen Eyrie, Scorpio, Route 66, Fooled Me, Echo Canyon, Twirling Pinata, Medicine Feather, Star Over Milgro, Black Ice, Winds of Love, Nearly Wild, Rosie’s Red, Mildred Mitchell, Fairytale Pink, and Navajo Rodeo
Glen Eyrie ScorpioRoute 66Fooled MeEcho Canyon Twirling Pinata Medicine Feather Star Over Milgro Black Ice Winds of Love Nearly Wild Rosie’s RedMildred Mitchell Fairytale Pink Navajo Rodeo
And, whatever I missed. And, my one bud on Lacy Doily bloomed when I was gone. So, if lighting strikes but no one is in earshot, is there thunder? Yes. To the bees and butterflies.
I need a stiff drink before I finish. Lol. That’s 31 new faces since I posted on Sunday. Sometimes, I wish we could flatten the curve of peak a little. Gonna be crazy for a bit.
I remember my sister had a gold colored Chipmunks record when I was a kid. Dad got frustrated by Alvin, Theodore and Simon. The record was broken. We will leave it right there.
Yesterday, Grand Junction reached 107 degrees for the first time in written weather history. And, today I woke up to 68 cultivators. I believe that’s a new record. My computer is choking on the picture files, too.
Today brought 5 premiers. I need to post from my phone while my computer deletes files.
Fine Time Lucille 7.10 – a fun bonus
Orange Flurry 7.10 – another bonus, I believe
Fooled Me 7.10 – An early xeroscaping plant
Truchas Sunrise- 7.10 – A nice Roberts spiders that makes me long for my road trip in a couple of weeks.
Baja 7.10 – I have had this one a while. Nice velvet bloom.
So, looks like we are still on top of the Mesa. We will see what tomorrow brings.
I spent some time today trying to re-orient myself to the new lot of daylilies that are in bloom since I got home from my road trip. I got the spent scapes cut off and tried to make a list of finales. I would like to make a list of all the ones with scapes not yet bloomed and all the ones that aren’t trying.
Anyway, I went back through the 7.8 and 7.16 photos and found more premiers. Plus, there were 5 premiers today (at least first bloom since I got home). The total is 114 that have bloomed. That’s a 67% bloom rate. To hit 80%, we will need 37 cultivators to bloom. Twenty-three more. That’s tight but we can hope. I’ll count unbloomed scapes tomorrow.
And, to backtrack, here are the premiers from 7.16.20 that I finally had time to look at today. I always come home to rain – so these guys look like they just showered.
Autumn Jewels looks sad but she bloomed 7.16.1Desert Icicle 7.16.20Indian Sky 7.16.20Just Plum Happy 7.16.20Lime Frost first and last bloom 7.16.20Papa Long Legs first and last bloom 7.16.20
So, that is it . . . back to a normal pace except work starts Monday. However, I am suppose to have July off so I plan to work from home unless they demand otherwise. Plus, I am waiting out the two-week COVID risk.
I worked on transplanting succulent cuttings and transplanting a few succulents into larger pots. I don’t have tons of love left for my orchids . . . so I use those pots but fill the holes with moss. It takes a while but it is relaxing.
Just for the record, here is a list of all of the finales so far for 2020: Apache Uprising (I missed this one but it did bloom), Ruby Spider (today), Lime Frost, Return a Smile (unless she reblooms), Early Bird Cardinal, Prairie Wildfire, Catherine Irene, Thin Man, Comanche Princess, The Colorado Kid, Blue Beat, Mildred Mitchell, Mauna Loa, Mesa Verde, Heron’s Cove, Canyon Colors (today), Jungle Queen, Wineberry Candy, Just Plum Happy, Raspberry Propeller, Santa’s Pants, Red Mystery, Bella Boo, Nosferatwo, Coral Taco, Pink Enchalada, Pink Rain Dance, Zuni Eye (I missed this one but it did bloom), Papa Long Legs, Land of Enchantment, All American Chief, Purple Many Faces, Indian Love Call, Laughing Feather, Coyote Laughs, Kokopelli, Hopi Jewel, Mount Echo Sunrise, Holy Sombrero, Ojo De Dios, Rocky Mountain Pals, Kachina Firecracker, Kiva Dancer, Echo Canyon, Indian Giver, Funny Valentine, Wild Horses, Inwood, Primal Scream, Lacy Doily, Nurse’s Stethoscope, Canyon Colors (today), Kachina Dancer (today), Apache Bandana (today). Not bad for 6 weeks!
It’s crazy – I had 13 cultivators in bloom today. Hello . . . It’s August 20th. The weather is now acting like desert weather. Hot and dry. It was in the 90s today.
Purple Corn Dancer 8.20
It’s been a year tomorrow since my surgery. After that, I could not be in the sun for a few months, so the blog just stopped . . . Until the poinsettias bloomed. I only had Purple Corn Dancer in bloom, anyway. Healing was a journey.
Purple Thunderbird 8.20
I never know what to think this time of year. Tired of the heat but dreading the cold, dark seasons ahead. Tired of my camera but don’t want to miss the late bloomers. Hate to see camping season end but ready for some mellow hikes around home. I think my daylilies are in a similar place with life right now – still blooming but longing for a rest.
Cripple Creek 8.20
PS – I ordered my new 2 in one laptop. My old one was tired, too.
Colorado Kid Daylilies 