Going to Pot

July 23, 2017July 23, 2017Leave a comment

It’s Colorado, but not that kind of pot. I mean that I sunk about a dozen daylilies from my walkway garden into buried pots. I look at the fans and they look so sad compared to the daylilies in pots around the yard. So, that made me consider bloom rate (and volume) of pot vs in the soil daylilies. I figured out my bloom rate in the pots is 70% +. My overall bloom rate is going to be around 50%. The pots have better bud count, too. So, we will see what spring 2018 brings.

So, believe it or not, I had two new faces today. First off, Fairytale Pink. I love the color and shape of this one. It needs a pot when it is done with its few buds.

Next is a cute little red miniature and I have no clue on the name. It is one I rescued from the shady garden near the back fence last year. I put those in before I knew this much about daylilies, so did not keep track of names. It is cute. I’ll have to research it, I guess. Maybe it is a Ruby Stella?

Well, I must be running out of new faces . . . but I do have scapes around on a few that are still small. So, who knows. I am working around the ones with scapes for now on the potting. So far, I have about 20 that bloomed last year that didn’t bloom this year. And, I have about the same number that bloomed this year and not last year. Last year, I spent so much time mulching and fertilizing each walkway garden daylily, but the grass and other flowers liked the treat as well as the daylilies. I have daisies and blue bells that are invasive. And so, I will go broke buying plastic pots!

The longest blooming daylilies in my yard!

April 3, 2017April 3, 2017Leave a comment

As my daylilies begin to grow taller and taller, I begin to imagine the season ahead. I have a system for numbering photos that allows me to know start and stop blooming dates. As far as blooming for several weeks, I have several top performers.

The winner is probably Red Hot Returns, which started in August and was blooming in early November.

Ruby Stella also bloomed from early August into early November.

Of my peak season bloomers, several lasted for over a month with lots and lots of summer blooms.

Mesa Verde was profuse and bloomed for a month from 6/26 to 7/24

My old favorite, Ruby Spider, bloomed from 6/24 to 7/22. Not bad.

PrimalScream cheated a little with two different plants in two different locations. But all in all she lasted from 6/25 to 8/4!!!

South Seas rolled in from 7/11 – 8/4 (and I was out of town the week prior, so I may have missed a couple blooms.

And, lastly, Soco Gap produced big, gorgeous blooms from to 7/6 to 8/2.

Late Bloomers

November 11, 2016Leave a comment

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

Ruby Stella

Enter a caption

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

September 28, 2016September 28, 2016Leave a comment

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

September 4, 2016September 4, 2016Leave a comment

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):

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

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

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.

My new Ruby scape!!!

The Scapes of Late August

August 22, 2016Leave a comment

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.

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

Actual blooms today were Heirloom Heaven:

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

Red Hot Returns:

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

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

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 Little Something Different

August 3, 2016August 3, 2016Leave a comment

I went to take my daylily photos this morning and my camera did not cooperate. Dead battery. The hazard to being addicted to daylilies, I suppose. It’s my summer road trip this year, though. So, time to savor it!

Today was different because my daughter and grandkids are in town for a couple of days. Tonight, swimming. Tomorrow, the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. And, so for today, a short blog.

The new kid today is one called Fairy Tale Pink. It looks more peach in the sunlight. I love the lines coming from the throat. It is a unique addition to the batch.

Fairy Tale Pink – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Today was Zuni Thunderbird’s last bloom. I fell in love with this whimsical bloom for some reason. I am definitely painting this one.

Zuni Thunderbird – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

So, dead battery. What’s a photographer to do? I substituted with my Kindle for the early photos and used some of the filters that I have on my photoshop app. I’ve been wanting to do that. And, the hour is late . . .

From L to R: Top Row -Fairy Tale Pink, Ghost Ranch, Mini Pearl. Row Two – Soco Gap, Marque Moon, Stella de Oro, Ruby Stella. Bottom Row – Skinwalker, South Seas, Zuni Thunderbird.

Colorado Kid Daylilies

A Blog About My Western Colorado Daylily Adventure

Tag: Ruby Stella