Tag: Treasure of the Southwest

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

Centuplicate!

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The hot, dry weather continues here. The daylilies are popping and I had 10 cultivators with their first bloom of the year today. And, I’ve had 100 total cultivators bloom this season.

I can’t even tell you how many I have total. Probably 170-180. I added, Mother Nature subtracted. Plus, I just got a new computer and I haven’t moved my daylily software over yet. Too busy counting flowers on my wall.

Please enjoy my Instagram of today’s blooms. In order of appearance: Dr Doom, Wildwood Flower, Bela Lugosi, Bluegrass Music, Fol de Rol, Taco Twister, Chokecherry Mountain, Coral Taco, Treasure of the Southwest, Lobo Lucy,

The Summit is Just the Halfway Point

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The thought that half or more of my scapes are still unbloomed is staggering. Especially days when there are a dozen premiers in one day. And, I’ve ordered 3 new daylilies plus replacements for 2 of mine that died last winter. It’s like raising the altitude of Everest a thousand feet when you are struggling to reach the summit. I’ll need to add on to my drip system.

I had some cool Ned Roberts spiders blooming for the first time today. 73 total in bloom and 67% of all my cultivators have bloomed so far.

Here we go!

Wildwood Flower 7.16
Treasure of the Southwest 7.16
Zuni Thunderbird 7.16
Coral Taco 7.16
Taco Twister 7.16
Fol de Rol 7.16
Marque Moon 7.16
Bella Boo 7.16
Unknown ID 7.16
Candy Cane Dreams 7.16
Black Arrowhead 7.26
Purple de Oro

We will see what tomorrow brings.

Staying engaged after the peak

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I’m back, but only to catch up on finales since Sunday. Once school starts next week, it seems like the daylilies fade in my mind a little. But, this year I am semi-retired so hoping to stay a bit engaged. Last year, I did that huge 70+ buried pot repotting. That was 4 weekends of work and nearly ran into freeze. So, I suppose you could call that engaged.

This year’s project is to re-organize some of my less favorite/poor bloomers with some new cultivators. I just purchased Singing in the Sunshine, Irish Handshake, Ghost Ranch (more fans because I only have one), Off to See the Wizard, Memories of Oz, Sea Panther, Ruby Slippers, Blue Flirt, Wildwood Flower (mine died a couple years ago), and (maybe) another fan of Coyote Laughs (I am not sure the one I have is actually Coyote Laughs). That is 9 or 10 more, but I will be selling some of mine that I am eliminating. I also may do a big pot of leftovers – I have one that does great! I am amazed because it is soooo crowded.

Chaco Canyon – Finale 8.4. Bloomed from 6.27 to today – good year for this one!
Pizza Crust Finale 8.3
Taco Twister finale 8.4 (today).
Treasure of the Southwest finale 8.3
Dancing Maiden finale 8.2
El Desperado finale 8.2
Indian Sky finale 8.2

I have several with only a few (if that) buds left. I think the closing daylilies this year will be Purple Corn Dancer, Navajo Curls, Purple Thunderbird and Adios Albuquerque. Will they last until September? Will there be an August surprise scape on a non-bloomer?

July Daylily Round-up N-Z

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Here is part 1 of this blog post These posts include all daylilies that were in bloom in July in my yard. Please see first post for more details.

Navajo Grey Hills 7.16-present
Nearly Wild 7.11-7.31
Nona’s Garnet Spider 7.5-7.18
Nosferatu 7.12-7.19 (end 7.19-7.24 during vaca)
Nurse’s Stethoscope 6.24-7.16
Oh Erica 7.17 (end 7.19-7.24 during vaca)
Ojo de Dios 6.28-7.15
Orange Flurry 7.10-7.26
Orange Vols 7.27-present
Orchid Moonrise 6.17-7.8
Papa Longlegs 7.2-7.17
Pardon Me 6.30-7.18
Passionate Returns 6.28-7.29
Petite Petticoats 6.26-7.10
Pink and Cream 6.24-7.11
Pink Enchalada 7.4-7.18
Pink Rain Dance 7.4-7.25
Pizza Crust (started week of 7.19)-present
Platinum Pink Pallet Whispers 6.21-7.2
Prairie Blue Eyes 7.1-7.27
Prelude to Love 7.3-8.1
Primal Scream 6.25-7.15
Pueblo Dreamer 7.5-7.19
Purple Corn Dancer 7.27-present
Purple de Oro 7.11-7.16
Purple Many Faces 7.17-7.27
Purple Thunderbird 7.26-present
Purple Grasshopper 6.11-present. Non-stop!
Purple Moonrise 6.15-7.5
“Purple Mystic” NOID 6.24-7.16
Quilt Patch 7.9-7.19
Raven Woodsong 7.8-present
Red Hot Returns 7.11-7.19 (ended 7.19-7.25 during vaca)
Red Riddle (NOID) 6.23-7.9
Return a Smile 6.25-7.14
Rocky Mountain Pals 7.9-7.28
Rosie’s Red 7.9-present
Route 66 7.1-7.19
Royal Braid 7.18 (ended 7.19-7.25 during vaca)
Royal Palace Prince 7.25-present
Ruby Spider 6.22-7.19 (ended 7.19-7.24 during vaca)
Ruby Stella 7.5-present
Santa Fe Christmas (right) 7.2-7.26
Santa’s Pants 6.26-7.9
Skinwalker 6.19 to present
Soco Gap 7.3-7.19
South Seas 6.30-7.25
Spirit of the Morning 7.12-8.1 (unless I missed a bud)
Stella 6.7-7.1
Stephanie Returns 6.30-7.28
Strutters Ball 7.5-7.27
Taco Twister 7.12-present
Talon 7.5-7.18
The Colorado Kid 6.23-7.18
Thin Man 7.3-7.18
Treasure of the Southwest 7.15-present
Truchas Sunrise 7.10-7.19

No U, No V – I need to fix that with some new flowers 🙂

Wild Horses 6.15-7.3
Wild Rose Fandango 7.1-7.19
Winds of Love 7.13-7.27
Wineberry Candy 7.4-7.13

No X, either!

Yellow Punch 6.15-7.4 (first encore 7.31)
Zuni Eye 7.15-present
Zuni Thunderbird 7.19-present

That is all for July, folks. Look for our Colorado Day (8/1) blooms up next!

Out Came the Sun . . .

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. . . and dried up all the rain. And, I ended up with over 60 cultivators, again!

Rain is a rare thing here in Western Colorado. The US average is 38 inches of rain a year, we get 11 on a good year here in Montrose. The South, where many of my bloomers came from, gets an average of 45 inches or more. Rain is a good thing – it brings the temps down, too.

Today, we will get back to the high 80s and it is sunny. We are sunny here 245 days/year. That is 40 more days than the national average. My daylilies probably wonder what planet they landed on.

Anyway – I had 3 premiers and 5 finales. The output is higher than the intake, which means we are on the downside of peak but it hasn’t really shown in our bloom count yet. It is like hospitalizations vs positive tests with COVID. It takes a while for the change to show up in both areas.

Premiers . . .

Zuni Eye 7.15 – Never has a high bud count but the size of the bloom makes up for it. This is Zuni Eye next to Purple Grasshopper for size comparison. I love this big guy!
Treasure of the Southwest 7.15 – A late first bloom for this guy. Guessing the move to the pot. I have several that need to be divided now because of their pot confinement.
Frans Hals 7.15 – And, my later bloomers are starting to show up. Frans Hals use to be my season finale daylily. I got him when I first started mail order. I thought it was the most beautiful daylily I ever saw and wondered why anyone would want anything else. LOL. Seriously.

Finales . . .

Return a Smile 7.14 Finale
NOID Fringe Benefit 7.14 finale
Ojo de Dios 7.15 finale
Chief Four Fingers 7.15 finale
Primal Scream 7.15 finale

Weirdly, Bella Boo, Purple Mystic, and Just Plum happy put out blooms today after I said finale. It isn’t a rebloom, it is me missing a bud.

Next week is my camping road trip. I will only be out of the garden for 4 days. Honestly, I am ready to take some scenic photos and get a little breather from the garden. Yeez, though – my hedge needs to be trimmed before I go. I can tell we got rain.

Still Hot

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The days are still hot and the monsoons didn’t last long . . . a couple of weeks, at best. I don’t have time to water except on weekends now. We could use the rain. I got a few shots before work today. I am exhausted . . . and it is only the second day of being back at work. My Purple Corn Dancer that is in the Southwest Garden has baby scapes . . . I will have flowers into September.

Chorus Line 8.6.20
El Desperado 8.6.20
Moon Over Chimayo 8.6.20
Navajo Grey Hills 8.6.20
Purple Thunderbird 8.6.20
Ruby Stella 8.6.20
Shape Shifter 8.6.20
Skinwalker 8.6.20
Treasure of the Southwest 8.6.20

It’s almost a wrap!

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Well, today just about wraps it up as far as premiers in my yard this year . . . other than Purple Corn Dancer all my cultivators with scapes have bloomed. 2020 brought 134 cultivators (two while I was on vaca) to my yard or a 78% bloom rate. Last year, I had 162 bloomers, a 95% bloom rate, and a rainy spring. So, 17% fewer blooms this year. Spring brought a drought and long hours of Corona Virus adaptation for work. I didn’t get the drip system fixed until mid June and I paid for it.

Navajo Curls 8.4.20

My next to last premier this year is Navajo Curls. I love her plump yellow petals. She has sort of an odd name for a blonde daylily. I wonder what Ned was thinking when he named her.

Chaco Canyon 8.4.20
Hesperus 8.4.20

Enjoy the other flowers. Tomorrow, it is back to work I go.

Mama Cuna 8.4.20
Navajo Grey Hills 8.4.20
Royal Palace Prince 8.4.20
Ruby Stella 8.4.20
Shape Shifter 8.4.20
Skinwalker 8.4.20
Treasure of the Southwest 8.4.20

July’s Colorful Parade

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Are you ready for a beautiful July parade? Here goes – a listing of all of my daylilies that had first blooms in July. I count 81. Enjoy!

Apache Bandana 7.6.20
Autumn Jewels 7.22.20
Aztec Firebird 7.22.20
Baja 7.18.20
Bela Lugosi 7.22.20
Bella Boo 7.6.20
Black Arrowhead 7.19.20
Black Eyed Susan 7.2.20
Black Ice 7.22.20
Bold Tiger 7.26.20
Carlotta 7,30.20
Cheddar Cheese 7.4.20
Cherokee Star 7.6.20
Chokecherry Mountain 7.20.20
Chorus Line 7.29.20
Classy Lady 7.29.20
Coyote Laughs 7.17.20
Cripple Creek 7.29.20
Dancing Maiden 7.20.20
Desert Icicle 7.30.20
Dream Catcher 7.28.20
El Desperado 7.30.20
Fairy Tale Pink 7.22.20
Fine Time Lucille 7.19.20
Fooled Me 7.6.20
Frans Hals 7.22.20
Fringe Benefit 7.21.10
Glen Eyrie 7.29.30
Golden Eclipse 7.30.20
Happy Hopi 7.3.20
Heirloom Heaven 7.30.20
Heron’s Cove 7.3.1
Hesperus 7.29.30
Holy Sombrero 7.3.20
Hopi Jewel 7.17.1
Iktomi 7.30.20
Indian Giver 7.2.20
Indian Sky 7.28.20
Just Plum Happy 7.16.1
Kachina Firecracker 7.30.20
Kiva Dancer 7.4.20
Lacy Doily 7.7.1
Lime Frost 7.16.20
Lobo Lucy 7.21.20
Longlesson Showoff 7.20.20
Mama Cuna 7.22.20
Marque Moon 7.21.20
Maya Cha Cha 7.22.20
Navajo Grey Hills 7.30.20
Nona’s Garnet Spider 7.28.20
Nosferatu 7.27.20
Orange Flurry 7.26.20
Orange Vols 7.28.20
Painted Petroglyph 7.21.20
Papa Longlegs 7.16.20
Pardon Me 7.17.20
Passionate Returns 7.17.20
Prairie Wildfire 7.2.20
Prelude to Love 7.27.20
Purple de Oro 7.4.20
Raspberry Propeller 7.17.20
Raven Woodsong 7.18.20
Red Hot Returns 7.17.20
Red Mystery 7.17.20
Route 66 7.5.20
Royal Palace Prince 7.30.20
Ruby Stella 7.30.20
Shape Shifter 7.22.20
Skinwalker 7.29.20
Soco Gap 7.5.20
South Seas 7.17.20
Spirit of the Morning 7.27.20
Moon over Chimayo 7.20.20
Stephanie Returns 7.19.20
Taco Twister 7.21.20
Talon 7.27.20
Thin Man 7.4.20
Treasure of the Southwest 7.30.20
Twirling Pinata 7.29.20
Winds of Love 7.19.20
Zuni Thunderbird 7.22.20

Hot and Sweaty

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Today, I got up early to go to a doctor’s appt. It was early enough that buds weren’t open yet on my quick trip to the garden. By the time I got home a couple hours later, the UV was on high and I had a zoom meeting that lasted 90 minutes. By the time I got to go out to the yard, my daylilies looked like I did after standing out there for 5-10 minutes: Hot and sweaty.

Black Ice 7.6.20

I had some nice premiers today – Black Ice is my favorite dark daylily and is a Ned Roberts creation. Unfortunately, the sun leaves the dark ones really zapped.

Apache Bandana 7.6.20

Apache Bandana also had a premier bloom for 2020 – I like the pattern on this Ned Roberts spider

Treasure of the Southwest

Treasure of the Southwest also had a premier today. These blooms are huge and very pretty. Nice bonus from a few years back.

Bela Lugosi 7.6.20

Bela Lugosi also bloomed = man, the sun and dark cultivators. The good news is it looks much happier since I put in the sprinklers.

Funny Valentine 7.6.20

I also had some more finales today. Funny Valentine had a zillion buds and they are all done for 2020.

Pink Enchilada 7.6.20

Pink Enchilada also had its finale today.

And stunning Mauna Loa is done – man, that corner is boring now!

The peak is on . . . I am falling asleep typing this. Ni ni.