Diploids Resurgent

Speaking Schedule 2012

2011-12-27T17:08:00.000-05:00

I speak frequently on a number of gardening and daylily subjects, in the US and Canada (so far.) Contact me to make arrangements.

This post will be updated (and the posting date changed) as new lectures are scheduled. I am normally present at all NEDS meetings, and the spring and summer auctions.

Patriot Daylily Society
Saturday, January 7, 2012, noon to 3 PM, Bedford Library
I'll be speaking on my hybridizing program.

Chicagoland Dayily Society
Sunday May 20, 2012
I'll be speaking on my hybridizing program.

MH0923P

2011-06-17T09:03:00.001-04:00

MH0923P: MH0331A * Vanilla Stella

This is the first cutie to open in my '09 seedling bed this year. While Stella is open all around town, it's not yet open in my garden (another 4-8 days), so I judge this to be an EE. The scape is excellent with 4 branches and more than 20 buds (I haven't counted carefully yet.) The fan is growing on either side of the scape, so I have hope that this is a rebloomer. Small, a little trumpety, and with a yellow color under the pink, but very well diamond dusted. Only one large fan so far. I'll probably breed with this one this year. It is a remake of cross MH0628, which produced a number of rebloomers in white, pink, and yellow and showed much green veining from Vanilla Stella.

2011 Hybridizing Presentation

2011-01-26T19:30:00.001-05:00

This is big: roughly 70 meg. neds11.ppt

The slides all have comments explaining more about the pictures. If this looks like something you'd like presented to your club, let me know.

2011 Introductions

2010-11-09T09:26:00.001-05:00

This year I'm introducing two varieties from a new goal: Tall and Small Reds and Purples.

But before I get into that, first let me remind you of the Clump Photo Contest! Free Intros as Prizes! Only two people have remembered to enter so far: lots more can win.

As a small-scale breeder, I don't introduce a fixed number each year: I introduce only the exceptional. And I have to wait until I have a supply. That would take a long time in my poor garden: I'm indebted to Bob Sobek, Martin Kamensky, Mike Derrow, and Carl & Marlene Harmon for increasing my seedlings.

Red Spire (Saxton 96)

I've been inspired by H. A. Fischer's hybridizing of tall and small flowers such as Corky and Golden Chimes. These have graceful, swaying scapes with lots of branches and buds and extraordinary plant characteristics. Unfortunately, he stopped about 40 years ago, and stayed in yellows. Stanley Saxton led the way into red tall-and-small with the extraordinary (but slow to increase and scarce) Red Spire. Bob Sobek has also worked on height, branching, color clarity, and sunfastness of reds and purples. I'm combining the Saxton and Sobek efforts to continue the tall-and-small theme into reds and purples and bring the flower colors and forms into more modern and diverse directions.

My tall-and-small Red Spire breeding in reds and red-purples has a naming theme based on 'blood'. I'm introducing these because not only are they exceptional garden plants, but they are excellent breeders passing on intense, clear colors, strong sunfastness, excellent increase, height and good branching.

Arterial Blood (Huben 11)

2010-11-09T09:02:00.001-05:00

44 M 3.5, Red Self, Dor Dip

Sobek 90.34A=(City Of Sin * Pardon Me) * Red Spire

Seedling number: MH0377C

Here is my first tall-and-small red, and it is glorious. Brilliant, velvety, saturated, flaming lipstick-red flowers with green throats held far above the foliage like embers rising from a fire. Oh, there have been other tall-and-small reds, but they are mostly dull in comparison.

Red clarity in daylilies has many enemies: sun, thrips, and dull color. Arterial Blood is more sunfast than most (though it will slick on particularly bad days and recover in the evening.) I reject most reds from my garden because they are less sunfast. But its particular strength is in thrips resistance: resisting those winding trails that blemish the petals of so many purples and reds. In my unsprayed garden, Arterial Blood seldom shows any markings. Dull red color is another bane in my garden: I despise it. Often it is due to a yellow throat and base color underlying a weak red. Arterial Blood's rich, deep coloring over a pale base color and green throat make this one of the more brilliant flowers in the garden.

Arterial Blood's height, branching and budding comes from the excellent Red Spire. Branching and budcount are extraordinary (at least 27 buds and 5 branches.) I pollinate every bloom because this one has proven to be the most vigorous and rhyzomatious of the Red Spire kids to date. Red Spire itself increases slowly and doesn't do all that well in my poor conditions, but Arterial Blood greatly outperforms it.

The children of Arterial Blood are quite diverse, but some are showing excellent clarity, sunfastness, height, branching, budcount, thrip resistance, color saturation, and rhyzomatiousness. Colors vary from reds to red-purples to black-reds. See MH0875B and MH0873D for examples.

Venous Blood (Huben 11)

2010-11-09T09:01:00.000-05:00

50 M 4.5, Purple Self, Dor Dip

Sobek 93.36 * Red Spire

Seedling number: MH0379B

I want clear, sunfast colors on graceful, species-like plants, and Venous Blood delivers them.

The color of Venous Blood is a clear, velvety red-purple that can reflect light off the velvet. It glows beautifully when backlit, highlighting the yellow-green throat. It doesn't slick for me, though it can look dull in drought conditions.

What do I mean by species-like? Tall, graceful scapes with excellent branching and budcount. (5 branches, 34 buds.) Flowers that avoid the baroque fashions, and resemble the species in size, form, and simplicity. Vigorous, rapid increase even in poor conditions in the north.

If you'd like a flower that dances at chest height on slender, swaying scapes for 4 weeks (no rebloom here), this is a great one for an accent or the back of the border. It's a little large for a tall-and-small program, but that's hardly a fault in the garden. If we wanted all short plants, we could stick to petunias!

2011 Prices, Availability and Ordering

2010-11-09T05:00:00.004-05:00

Due to a delightfully large and unexpected demand, especially for collections, I'm holding nearly all previous introductions for increase. If you must, desperately have the previous introductions held for increase, please wait until next year, search for them elsewhere, or offer us double last year's price.

Snowy Stella is back in stock again!

Scroll to the end of this post for the two sources.

	Arterial Blood (Huben 11) 44 M 3.5, Red Self, Dor Dip Tall-And-Small Red. Brilliant, velvety, in-your-face, red blooms. Thrips and sun resistant, 27 buds, 5 branches. Excellent increase!	$50 sf
	Venous Blood (Huben 11) 50 M 4.5, Purple Self, Dor Dip Tall-And-Small Purple. Bright, clear, velvety, in-your-face, red-purple blooms. Sunfast, 34 buds, 5 branches. Vigorous increase!	$50 sf
	Snowy Stella (Huben 07) 24 E Re 3.25, NearWhite Self, Dor Dip Northern Continuous Rebloom. The whitest northern rebloomer, available at last! Very rapid increase.	$80 df
	Early And Often (Huben 01) 26 E Re 4, Peach Polychrome, Dor Dip Ext Fra Noc Northern Continuous Rebloom. Starts 5 days after Stella De Oro. Very rapid increase. HM 2006.	$15 df
	From Darkness Comes Light (Huben 10) 34 E 3.5, Cream Self, Dor Dip Noc Dark Scapes. A breakthrough! Cream blooms on inky purple scapes, 25 buds, 4 branches. Exceptional plant habits!	Held for increase.
	Ace Up My Sleeve (Huben 10) 22 E Re 4, NearWhite Self, Dor Dip Northern Continuous Rebloom. Increases slowly, but an exceptional breeder of continuous rebloomers.	Held for increase.
	Boston Marathon (Huben 10) 24 E Re 3.5, Pink w'Rose Eye, Dor Dip Noc Northern Continuous Rebloom. A pretty pink rebloomer with a great green throat. Blooms until frost.	Held for increase.
	Let Me Be Clear (Huben 10) 26 EM Re 4, Pink w' Faint Band, Dor Dip Northern Continuous Rebloom. The clearest pink rebloomer. Excellent foliage. Blooms until frost.	Held for increase.
	A Small Multitude (Huben 10) 44 EM 2.5, Gold Self, Dor Dip Noc Tall And Small. Minute, species-like spatulate flowers on tall, well-branched scapes. Extraordinary breeder.	Held for increase.
	Umpty Kajillion (Huben 10) 42 E 3.5, Melon w'Cream Polychrome, Dor Dip Emo Tall And Small. 40 buds, 6 branches. Exceptionally floriferous, terrific scapes.	Held for increase.
	Vanilla Stella (Huben 09) 18 E Re 3, NearWhite Self, Dor Dip Northern Continuous Rebloom. Starts 10 days after Stella De Oro. Very rapid increase.	Held for increase.
	Begin With A Bang (Huben 09) 34 EE 4.5, Red Blend, Dor Dip Starts blooming a week before Stella De Oro, and blooms well into mid season. Extraordinary foliage.	Held for increase.
	Vanilla Gorilla (Huben 08) 44 M 8, Cream Self, Dor Dip Ufo A striking, tall UFO with excellent branching and budcount.	Held for increase.
	Ice Trumpets (Huben 07) 30 E 3.5, NearWhite Self, Dor Dip Emo Resembles an Easter Lily: no other daylily like it. Excellent budcount, blooms high above foliage.	Held for increase.
	Sunshine On Clouds (Huben 06) 26 E Re 4.25, Cream w'Pale Midrib, Dor Dip Early Bud Builder. Brilliant pale cream, very long blooming. Breeds strong rebloomers.	$30
	Kanai Sensei (Huben 06) 18 E Re 3, Melon Polychrome, Dor Dip Emo Northern Continuous Rebloom. Very rapid increase, could be used as an edger.	Held for increase.
	Twist Again (Huben 03) 28 E Re 5, YellowGreen Self, Dor Dip Noc Northern Continuous Rebloom. No other northern rebloomer has this color. Green holds in the sun.	Held for increase.
	Delicate Lace (Huben 03) 18 E Re 4, Cream Self, Dor Dip Fra Ext Northern Continuous Rebloom. A rock garden daylily: small plant, large bloom. Very rapid increase.	Held for increase.
	Flowers Of Sulphur (Huben 03) 20 E Re 4.25, Yellow Self, Dor Dip Vfr Ext Emo Northern Continuous Rebloom. A total self: even the throat is the same pure yellow.	Held for increase.

Harmon Hill Farm

Carl and Marlene Harmon

49 Ledge Rd.

Hudson, NH 03051

Phone:(603) 880-6228

E-mail: harmonhill25@comcast.net

Partridge Hill Gardens

Ellen Laprise

23 Partridge Hill Road

Dudley, MA 01571

Phone: (508) 943-1885

E-mail: gentian1@charter.net

My new bed.

2010-07-09T22:33:00.000-04:00

There are several gardening staples that I've resisted for the past 20 years that I've gardened here in Arlington. The first is collecting Hosta: I've only picked up a few over the years. The second, big one, is actual landscaping efforts. My beds have always been very cottagey: stuffed full of a hugely diverse assortment of perennials with a few annuals trialed here and there. But I had a problem: 5 yards of very soil-like 3 year old compost. I complained to the supplier, and he brought me fresher compost, but he asked me to keep the old compost so that he wouldn't have to load it back into the truck. Thus, my slightly elevated new bed, 25 feet by 5 feet between my house and a neighbors, extending from the base of my Bigleaf Magnolia (Magnolia asheii) nearly to the base of an elm. Bright shade conditions, and easily watered. My neighbor had inherited a few hostas along the property line, so I placed my bed against them.

So now I've made a bed that my landscaping friends would at least consider passable. Pretty much all hostas, mostly in groups of three (including the really large ones.) I taper down to smaller hosta at the end near the elm, and I've filled it with coleus and impatiens to make it pretty until I get more coverage from the hostas.

I selected hostas that I thought had good leaves (especially slug resistance) and that also have nice flowers. They are:

Hosta 'Guardian Angel'

Hosta nigrescens

Hosta 'Little Blue'

Hosta 'Sugar And Cream'

Hosta 'One Man's Treasure'

Hosta 'Purple Lady Fingers'

Hosta 'Golden Scepter'

Hosta plantagenea

Hosta plantagenea 'Venus'

Hosta 'Diamond Tiara'

Hosta 'Halcyon'

Hosta 'Whirlwind'

Hosta 'Little Wonder'

Hosta 'Wet Bikini'

Hosta 'Popo'

I put a little European ginger where eventually it might get overtaken by the biggest hostas: no loss.

There's a large reserved spot for Hosta 'Winter Snow', if I can find one. And I have spaces for a little Hosta venusta and about 2 other small hostas yet to be chosen. Between Steve Greene, Blanchettes, and Seawrights, there's no shortage of choice of hosta.

MH0873D

2010-07-09T19:28:00.000-04:00

38 M 4, Purple Self, Dor Dip

MH0377C * MH0380Z

Yet another really sunfast dark red-purple! Not as clear a color as MH0875B: the polite term is "smoky" and some people like that color. I think it comes from underlying yellow (and the throat shows a fair amount of yellow.) Here it is after an 90 degree day of blistering sun and breeze that burned, melted, faded and bleached many other dark-colored daylilies.

It seems that the most significant effect of all that sun was to remove the stamens. Secondarily, the bloom is slightly lighter colored.

Another feature of this plant is that the first scape is a perfect 4-branched scape; it has 2 long laterals and a terminal V. I'm making the obvious cross to MH0875B; other crosses will be onto the clearest-colored sunfast seedlings. Maybe a backcross onto Red Spire.

MH0848D

2010-07-07T20:18:00.001-04:00

38 EM 3.5, NearWhite Self, Dor Dip
MH0219I * Ice Trumpets

At last, I've gotten a great scape on a tall-and-small near-white trumpet. I love the way the petals are a little above the sepals: the strong recurve gives MH0848D a beautiful sculptural appearance from the side view. Over a yard tall, with 5 branches and 21 buds. MH0848D is a sibling to the much whiter MH0461F: I remade the cross long because despite the perfection of form and color, MH0461F never developed a decent scape and hardly increased in 6 years. But the off-white color is very interesting: it looks to me as if there is a green sheen over the petals and sepals. If you enlarge the picture, and look at the top petal and sepal where they curve backwards, there is a darker, greenish shade. I've noticed that in a number of other seedlings this year. Only one fault: the blooms start to senesce in the early evening.

Look at that scape!

What to cross it with? Why, its sibs of course. And everything else that's really white and needs a better scape, such as MH0447A. And my light lavender bicolor, MH0853L, tall trumpet on trumpet. And MH0751A, a very curious kid of MH0461F that is a greenish yellow with vigor, a taller scape, and just as good branching and budcount.

MH0751A

MH0837A

2010-07-06T12:01:00.000-04:00

24 EM 4, NearWhite Self, Dor Dip

MH0416A * MH0321A

A breakthrough in green-throated whites! I'm not entirely sure, but it looks as if there is a green sheen over the centers of the petals and especially the sepals. A lousy plant with few buds and melts a bit on bad days. This was from a cross I deliberately made for green on white. The parent MH0416A (below) was cream, but shrieked green at me, so I put my best near-white rebloomer onto it. I just love the big, looping ruffles: my favorite kind. And the "gaposis" (sepals visible between the petals) shows more green throat to its advantage. The petals and sepals are fully reflexed, and it opens perfectly. No sign of rebloom yet this year, but there's still time. The pod parent is from rebloom lines, and the pollen parent is one of the continual rebloomers.

MH0416A

MH0875B

2010-07-04T11:27:00.004-04:00

36 EM 4, Purple Self, Dor Dip

MH0377C * Purple Sphere

My quest for tall-and-small sunfast reds has turned up an extraordinary sunfast purple with excellent branching and budcount. Bob Sobek came by, saw it, stopped in his tracks and said "Wow, what is THAT?" The first scape is fairly tall at 36 inches, with 4 long branches and 16 buds. We could quibble about the color, whether it has a dark eye or light edge, but the sun makes the color fairly even.

Here I'm comparing MH0875B to the excellent Bela Lugosi at 1PM to show the better sunfastness. BL has curled at the edges, slicked and melted a little. MH0875B shows none of that: the color is slightly duller. In the evening, the revived color glows.

I want a brighter color, smaller flower, taller and better branched scape as my goal. But this is an impressive stop along the way. The pod parent, MH0377C, is a smaller, taller, brilliant, velvety red that isn't nearly as sun resistant. Maybe I'll backcross to it. The pollen parent, Purple Sphere by Kirby (below) is one of the clearest strong purples I know of and not sunfast. But it is a horrible performer for me in my poor growing conditions.

MH0853L

2010-07-04T11:01:00.000-04:00

42 EM 3.5, Lavender Bicolor, Dor Dip

Sobek 93.36 * MH0447A

My quest for tall-and-small trumpets has succeeded, but this is just the beginning. MH0853L is sunfast, extravagently diamond dusted, upfacing, clear-colored, and brilliant. 4 branches and 17 buds on this first scape.

There are two sibs that are also worth keeping: they are more purple, slightly shorter, and just as nice. Any of these are good enough to introduce. They stand out in a row of sibs that may look nice, but melt badly (as both parents can) or open poorly (as Sobek 93.36 does.)

Visit to George Doorakian

2010-07-02T20:40:00.000-04:00

The phone rang, and I received the summons. I had a guest: I commandeered him and his vehicle. I had a doctors appointment: the heck with it. We raced to Bedford, because George Doorakian wanted to show us his latest. They don't really need any comment beyond "ooooh, aaaaahh!"

Can anybody guess Georges favorite color?

MH0735X

2010-06-13T18:46:00.001-04:00

32 EE 4.25, Melon Polychrome, Dor Dip

(Sir Blackstem * Boston Symphony) * From Darkness Comes Light

This sib to MH0735M was last year's tantalizing wait. It was the first thing in the bed of 1000 seedlings to throw up a scape, and that scape was the blackest I'd ever seen in my garden. That was late May. It then halted development, and waited until July to open its first bloom. I've never seen a halt in scape development like that before. When it finally bloomed, I was jubilant because it was not simply yellow. It starts off with a fair amount of yellow (photo below), but that fades in the sun leaving melon (photo above.)

As in my rebloom program, leaving the yellow behind and getting melon is a good step towards near white. It's not nearly as clean a melon as its sib, but it is much darker scaped, so I've crossed them together. Last year I put this pollen on many things, and so I have 150 seedlings of it coming along.

Another great feature is the deep red sepal backs. Unfortunately, it is not consistent since the color develops with exposure to light. Some sepals have relatively little red.

I plan to backcross this one to SIR BLACKSTEM (below), its grandparent. It turns out that SB can throw melon. I hate the gnarled scapes and haystack foliage of SB, but the scape coloring is the best I've seen. SB also has slightly better flower form. MH0735X has excellent foliage and beautiful, graceful, tall scapes. Quite a number of other dark-scaped seedlings will open in the next two weeks as well, increasing the breeding opportunities.

MH0735M

2010-06-06T11:23:00.000-04:00

36 EE 3.75, Melon Self, Dor Dip

(Sir Blackstem * Boston Symphony) * From Darkness Comes Light

I've been waiting for this one to open with bated breath, worried that it might be yellow or cream rather than melon. The branching and budcount are so good: 4 branches and 33 buds that I count today on the first flower opening. The darkness of the scapes is slightly exaggerated in this photo, and the scape is not quite as dark as on its sibling MH0735X, but it has long branches, delightful height above the foliage, and red backs of the sepals with black tips. The green throat accents the bright melon (slightly brighter than pictured) color beautifully. This pollen will go onto everything this year! A true extra early: Stella De Oro is about due to open, but hasn't yet. Excellent progress towards near-white on dark scapes! Larger, taller, and with more buds than its parent From Darkness Comes Light, and also with excellent foliage.

MH0708C

2010-06-06T10:59:00.001-04:00

22 EE Re 3.5, Cream Self, Dor Dip

Busting Out All Over * Vanilla Stella

This extra early rebloomer starts at least a week before Stella De Oro, June 1 this year in my garden, and roughly the same time as its parent Busting Out All Over (Sobek 05). As you can see in the comparison below, it's a much clearer cream color than the melon polychrome BOAA on the left.

MH0708C has instant rebloom and 14 buds. Like it's parent Vanilla Stella, it has an exquisitely green throat and nice ruffling. Fans seem rather large so far, and I'll have to evaluate how this looks in a clump. But it's by far the earliest rebloomer I've got, and I'll breed with it heavily this year.

MH0382A

2010-06-06T10:06:00.007-04:00

30 EE 3.5, NearWhite Self, Dor Dip Noc

(Boston Symphony * yezoensis) * Ice Trumpets

This lovely extra early cream is likely a future introduction. This year it opened the first of June, long before Stella De Oro. The scapes have 5 small branches with up to 30 buds: these are a bit crowded, and sometimes two open next to each other. It should have a LONG blooming season, without rebloom. The flowers furl well when they close, so that no grooming is necessary unless you're compulsive. Compared to the parent Ice Trumpets, the flowers look larger and fuller, the budcount is higher, the color is not as white, the throat is not as green and the scape branching isn't as good. But it is at least 3 weeks earlier and there's nothing like it in the extra early season.

Clump Photo Contest! Free Intros as Prizes!

2010-06-02T20:20:00.001-04:00

While I've sold a lot of my introductions all over the US, Canada, and Europe, I very seldom see them at their peak as established clumps in gardens.

So here's the deal. I'll send a free introduction of mine for the best clump photos of my cultivars. I'm planning on between 3 and 12 winners. You don't have to be the grower, just the photographer, and the picture is mine to use if you win. I'll post the winners late summer or fall here. Prizes will be shipped in spring: I'll provide a list of choices.

Please don't send in 500 pictures at a time: just a few of your best will do.

Click away! Send pictures to me at mike@huben.us in as high a resolution as they come.

Bearers Of Beauty: Understanding Scapes

2010-02-10T08:39:00.000-05:00

For some reason, I forgot to link to a copy of my Spring '09 article until now:

Bearers Of Beauty: Understanding Scapes

2010 Introductions

2009-12-27T15:15:00.000-05:00

This year, for the first time, I'm introducing six varieties. Three from my long-running Continuous Rebloomer lines, including my first two pinks. And at long last I'm able to introduce some hybrids from my newer goals, Dark Scapes and Tall and Small.

As a small-scale breeder, I don't introduce a fixed number each year: I introduce only the exceptional. And I have to wait until I have a supply. That would take a long time in my poor garden: I'm indebted to Bob Sobek, Martin Kamensky, Mike Derrow, and Carl & Marlene Harmon for increasing my seedlings.

I've been inspired by H. A. Fischer's hybridizing of tall and small flowers such as Corky and Golden Chimes. These have graceful, swaying scapes with lots of branches and buds and extraordinary plant characteristics. Unfortunately, he stopped about 40 years ago. Bob Sobek has worked in a similar vein with Aerial and Echo The Sun. Now I'm taking the tall and small theme beyond the merely yellow: into creams and melons and towards white and pink. Along the way, I am introducing rebloom into these lines. Aerial already has some darkness in its scapes: I'm increasing the darkness and bringing the flower colors and forms into more modern directions.

Continuous rebloomers have been my main focus, and this year I'm introducing light pinks with good colors. The Apps continuous rebloomers, while excellent plants, have usually lacked the light, clear colors we crave.

And finally, I'm introducing some of these because not only are they exceptional garden plants, but they are excellent breeders passing on rebloom, dark scapes, melon (in addition to yellow) and good branching.

From Darkness Comes Light (Huben 10)

2009-12-27T15:14:00.002-05:00

34 E 3.5, Cream Self, Dor Dip Noc
(Aerial * Boston Symphony) * A Small Multitude
Seedling number: MH0231D

A breakthrough! I've long admired the dark scapes on Corky and Golden Chimes, but I wanted to get away from the yellow to cleaner, brighter colors. Here's a distinctive light cream self with wide petals, ruffles, and plenty of green in the throat on inky purple scapes! The buds add to the beauty with their intriguing dark shading at base and tip. This one should win an award.

From Darkness Comes Light is incredibly floriferous because it has high scape density. It rapidly increases to a beautiful, fountain-shaped clump where each of the slender fans has a splendidly branched scape with up to 25 buds and 4 branches (in my poor garden.) The graceful dark scapes come from Corky ancestry on both sides; neither parent has more than a touch of darkness on the scapes.

Dark scapes seem elusive: from some angles they appear black, while from others they appear green. Heat, moisture, and light seem to affect how dark the scape is in my garden: I expect that the scapes will be much darker in most other gardens than in mine. This picture exaggerates the contrast a little, and only the last 8 inches of scape are colored for me, but the scapes are beautifully purple. Not as deeply purple as Sir Blackstem, but far more graceful and beautiful. These scapes stay erect unless they are heavily podded.

Another distinctive feature of From Darkness Comes Light is the extraordinary quality of the foliage. This year I noticed that it showed no signs of senescence or disease at Harmon Hill Farm at the end of August. Unlike the gnarled, stubby foliage of Sir Blackstem, this foliage is graceful and slender. The photo above was taken August 31st.

From Darkness Comes Light is terrifically fertile, setting pods either way with ease. First results have shown some seedlings with excellent branching, much darker scapes and exciting bud colors. A few have left the yellow behind, and are melons or clear, pale reds. I've made a LOT of seed from this one!

Ace Up My Sleeve (Huben 10)

2009-12-27T15:14:00.000-05:00

22 E Re 4, NearWhite Self, Dor Dip
Sunshine On Clouds * Early And Often
Seedling: MH0067D

I knew from the first rebloom that this northern continuous rebloomer would be an introduction. It was my first near-white continuous rebloomer. Then I knew that I would never introduce it, because it increased extremely slowly in my yard. After three years, I had three fans. I sent one to Mike Derrow, and it increased like crazy under his more southern care, enough that I can now introduce it anyhow.

And this is one that you want if you breed rebloomers. It throws great kids: all of my near-white rebloomers are kids of Ace Up My Sleeve. It can throw size, wide petals, whiteness, green throats, and rapid increase. It only has 9 buds per scape, but routinely throws three sets of scapes for me with the bonus that all the sets of scapes are the same height. And it is very fertile, setting big pods with lots of seed. In its own right, Ace Up My Sleeve is quite pretty. It blooms about 2 weeks after Stella De Oro.

This is not a plant for gardens as miserable as mine, unless you need it for breeding. In gardens with better conditions, it should be quite good. For breeding, it is one of a kind.

Boston Marathon (Huben 10)

2009-12-27T15:13:00.002-05:00

24 E Re 3.5, Pink w'Rose Eye, Dor Dip Noc
Frequent Flier * Early And Often
Seedling: MH0013F

Boston Marathon does not know when to quit: it is one of my strongest continuous rebloomers. The color has variable amounts of pink and apricot (as you can see below), but always has a triangular form and that gorgeous triangular green throat. There's no other northern rebloomer that looks like it.

First flower open is about a week after Stella De Oro, and it doesn't quit until the season's finish line at frost. (At Harmon Hill Form: in my garden it is satisfied with three sets of scapes.) The scapes have the typical low budcount of a rebloomer (10, which is more than Stella), but they just keep coming, without a break. It's a vigorous plant making a tidy, tight clump that divides easily.

I use Boston Marathon extensively in my breeding: it throws lots of strong rebloomers when crossed with strong rebloomers. It carries white and color clarity, and the kids can range from melon to pink to white, with and without eyes, wide or narrow petalled. If you want to breed for light, clear-colored rebloomers, this is the one of mine that I recommend.

Let Me Be Clear (Huben 2010)

2009-12-27T15:13:00.001-05:00

26 EM Re 4, Pink w' Faint Band, Dor Dip
Frequent Flier * (Millie Schlumf * Early And Often)
Seedling: MH0203D

Let Me Be Clear is simply the clearest colored continuous rebloomer to date. Most "pink" rebloomers are distinguished by dull, muddy colors that get worse when the sun hits them. Not this icy pink! Compare its color clarity to Lullaby Baby (on the right):

(Southerners, please note that Lullaby Baby is not white in the north, but much more a clear, pale apricot pink.)

Let Me Be Clear increases rapidly to make a dense clump with outstanding foliage. It blooms three sets of scapes per year for me, and well into October at Harmon Hill Farm. Scapes have only 9 buds, but that's not a problem for rebloomers with a never ending procession of scapes. It's not a strong seed setter, but it does throw strongly reblooming kids when crossed with other continuous rebloomers.

A Small Multitude (Huben 10)

2009-12-27T15:13:00.000-05:00

44 EM 2.5, Gold Self, Dor Dip Noc
Corky * Early And Often
Seedling: MH0042D

Imagine a host of tiny, spatulate yellow flowers dancing on tall, nicely branched scapes. This is a delicate, airy-looking variety that looks more species-like than most species. If there are other daylilies out there like A Small Multitude, they must be forgotten because I haven't seen them.

This parent of From Darkness Comes Light is an extremely versatile breeder of tall, reblooming and unusual form seedlings, sometimes with dark scapes and more importantly with melon flowers.

For example, MH0761C above has shed the yellow and become melon, and is moving in the right direction for breeding hanging daylily flowers. Even more impressive:

MH0761E above is spatulate, melon, well branched, and rebloomed this first year. Perhaps I'll have spidery rebloomers in a generation or two.

I've used A Small Multitude quite a bit in my breeding and even though it is yellow I have looked forwards to the delicate beauty of its bloom every year. There's nothing in my garden like it.

Umpty Kajillion (Huben 10)

2009-12-27T15:12:00.000-05:00

42 E 3.5, Melon w'Cream Polychrome, Dor Dip Emo
Aerial * Boston Symphony
Seedling: MH0047Q

This delightful melon-cream flower floats on tall, graceful, well-branched scapes. I usually count 6 branches (including the terminals) and 40+ buds. One year I carried a few of the spent scapes to a meeting in the winter, and was greeted by gasps: everybody wanted to know what variety produced them. You can see from the picture below how gracefully the wide branches carry the blooms so that they don't interfere.

The only real fault of Umpty Kajillion is that it wasn't what I was breeding for, it's only half way to my goal. I wanted a white with those scapes, and of course I'm breeding with Umptry Kajillion for that:

I call this picture "When good hybridizers go bad!" It shows a few scapes of Umpty Kajillion loaded with pods. This one has amazing pod fertility. I recommend Umpty Kajillion as a parent for pretty much any color tall and small breeding. It passes height, branching, and small flowers with green throats and carries (recessively) dark scapes, clear colors and white. It does have a dominant petal, which would be a fault for me if it didn't open so flat and well. As you can see from this picture, Umpty Kajillion comes close to self-cleaning: the previous day's blooms are well-furled and not too conspicuous. They furl even better the second day. I think I need to breed for daylilies that conceal the paper tags and strings....

2010 Prices and Ordering

2009-12-27T15:11:00.002-05:00

Scroll to the end of this post for the two sources.

	From Darkness Comes Light (Huben 10) 34 E 3.5, Cream Self, Dor Dip Noc Dark Scapes. A breakthrough! Cream blooms on inky purple scapes, 25 buds, 4 branches. Exceptional plant habits!	$100 sf
	Ace Up My Sleeve (Huben 10) 22 E Re 4, NearWhite Self, Dor Dip Northern Continuous Rebloom. Increases slowly, but an exceptional breeder of continuous rebloomers.	$50 sf
	Boston Marathon (Huben 10) 24 E Re 3.5, Pink w'Rose Eye, Dor Dip Noc Northern Continuous Rebloom. A pretty pink rebloomer with a great green throat. Blooms until frost.	$50 sf
	Let Me Be Clear (Huben 10) 26 EM Re 4, Pink w' Faint Band, Dor Dip Northern Continuous Rebloom. The clearest pink rebloomer. Excellent foliage. Blooms until frost.	$50 sf
	A Small Multitude (Huben 10) 44 EM 2.5, Gold Self, Dor Dip Noc Tall And Small. Minute, species-like spatulate flowers on tall, well-branched scapes. Extraordinary breeder.	$50 sf
	Umpty Kajillion (Huben 10) 42 E 3.5, Melon w'Cream Polychrome, Dor Dip Emo Tall And Small. 40 buds, 6 branches. Exceptionally floriferous, terrific scapes.	$50 sf
	Huben 2010 Introductions Collection All six introductions. A savings of $100.	$250

Almost all previous Huben introductions are available, excepting Snowy Stella and Ice Trumpets this year. Those two are available in the collection.

	Vanilla Stella (Huben 09) 18 E Re 3, NearWhite Self, Dor Dip Northern Continuous Rebloom. Starts 10 days after Stella De Oro. Very rapid increase.	$100 df
	Begin With A Bang (Huben 09) 34 EE 4.5, Red Blend, Dor Dip Starts blooming a week before Stella De Oro, and blooms well into mid season. Extraordinary foliage.	$75 df
	Vanilla Gorilla (Huben 08) 44 M 8, Cream Self, Dor Dip Ufo A striking, tall UFO with excellent branching and budcount.	$60 df
	Snowy Stella (Huben 07) 24 E Re 3.25, NearWhite Self, Dor Dip Northern Continuous Rebloom. The whitest northern rebloomer, available at last! Very rapid increase.	collection only
	Ice Trumpets (Huben 07) 30 E 3.5, NearWhite Self, Dor Dip Emo Resembles an Easter Lily: no other daylily like it. Excellent budcount, blooms high above foliage.	collection only
	Sunshine On Clouds (Huben 06) 26 E Re 4.25, Cream w'Pale Midrib, Dor Dip Early Bud Builder. Brilliant pale cream, very long blooming. Breeds strong rebloomers.	$40 df
	Kanai Sensei (Huben 06) 18 E Re 3, Melon Polychrome, Dor Dip Emo Northern Continuous Rebloom. Very rapid increase, could be used as an edger.	$20 df
	Twist Again (Huben 03) 28 E Re 5, YellowGreen Self, Dor Dip Noc Northern Continuous Rebloom. No other northern rebloomer has this color. Green holds in the sun.	$20 df
	Delicate Lace (Huben 03) 18 E Re 4, Cream Self, Dor Dip Fra Ext Northern Continuous Rebloom. A rock garden daylily: small plant, large bloom. Very rapid increase.	$20 df
	Flowers Of Sulphur (Huben 03) 20 E Re 4.25, Yellow Self, Dor Dip Vfr Ext Emo Northern Continuous Rebloom. A total self: even the throat is the same pure yellow.	$10 df
	Early And Often (Huben 01) 26 E Re 4, Peach Polychrome, Dor Dip Ext Fra Noc Northern Continuous Rebloom. Starts 5 days after Stella De Oro. Very rapid increase. HM 2006.	$15 df
	Previous Huben Introductions Collection All eleven previous introductions.	$350 df

I'm thrilled that my introductions are being sold through both Harmon Hill Farm and Partridge Hill Gardens. I highly recommend both gardens for the quality of the plants they ship, good service, and their excellent selections. Both ship internationally. Please contact them to purchase, but feel free to contact me with questions about the introductions.

Harmon Hill Farm
Carl and Marlene Harmon
49 Ledge Rd.
Hudson, NH 03051
Phone:(603) 880-6228
E-mail: harmonhill25@comcast.net

Partridge Hill Gardens
Ellen Laprise
23 Partridge Hill Road
Dudley, MA 01571
Phone: (508) 943-1885
E-mail: gentian1@charter.net

Speaking Schedule

2009-12-24T11:42:00.001-05:00

I speak frequently on a number of gardening and daylily subjects, in the US and Canada (so far.) Contact me to make arrangements.

This post will be updated (and the posting date changed) as new lectures are scheduled. I am normally present at all NEDS meetings, and the spring and summer auctions.

Tuesday, Feb 16, 2010 at 1 PM; Wakeman Conservation Center, Vineyard Haven, MA.
Martha's Vineyard Garden Club
1 PM: "New England Gardening, Especially Daylilies."

PAST LECTURES:

Saturday, Oct 17, 2009; Goodnow Library, Sudbury, MA.
New England Chapter of the North American Rock Garden Society
11 AM: "Setting Up a Hybridization Program and Daylilies for the Rock Garden."
1 PM: "Discussion: New Directions in Plant Selection."

Sunday, Nov 1, 2009; Deep Cut Gardens, 352 Red Hill Rd, Middletown, NJ.
Garden State Daylily Growers Club
1:30 PM: "Reblooming Northern-Hardy Daylilies"

Thursday, Nov 12, 2009; First Parish Congregational Church, One Church Street, Wakefield, MA
Wakefield Garden Club
8 PM: "New England Gardening, Especially Daylilies."

Saturday, Jan 9, 2010; Tower Hill Botanic Garden, 11 French Drive, Boyleston, MA.
New England Daylily Society
10 AM: NEDS Annual Hybridizers Showcase

MH0628S

2009-10-03T07:57:00.003-04:00

MH0628S (Huben nr) 21 E 3.5, NearWhite Self, Dor Dip
(MH0331A * Vanilla Stella)

Green veins! Look closely at the lower petal, how the green veins extend from the throat. I don't think I've seen this color pattern anywhere else before. Now that I look, a fair number of Vanilla Stella kids (including some sibs to this one) show some green veining: this one has the most conspicuous green veins. Not to mention an exceptionally green throat.

Of course I've crossed some of those veined kids together, to try to exaggerate the trait even more. And I've remade the cross long.

MH0515B

2009-07-01T16:50:00.004-04:00

24 E Re 3, NearWhite Polychrome, Dor Dip
MH0013F * Vanilla Stella

Will the real color please stand up? These two photos are of the same flower, taken 3 hours apart. I don't think the flower color has changed significantly, but the lighting certainly has. The camera is more objective about lighting than our eyes.

MH0515B is my first seedling selection for this year: it very likely will be an introduction. It looks a lot like its parent 'Vanilla Stella', except that the overal color is whiter and thus contrasts more with the green throat and touches of yellow. The scapes are held more strongly erect and have more buds than 'Vanilla Stella'. Rebloom scapes are already on the way! It starts blooming with 'Early And Often' and 'Vanilla Stella', which is usually a week after 'Stella De Oro'.

This plant should be tough: it endured two winters unprotected in a tiny tree-tray cell because I was too busy to plant. 3/4 of its classmates died from that abuse.

The other parent, MH0013F is a planned introduction for next year (2010.) It's a great reboomer! Carl Harmon has a large clump of it ready to divide. But I haven't been able to come up; with a really good name. You can suggest names for MH0013F as responses to this post. If I use the name you suggest, I'll give you a fan of MH0013F as a gift when I introduce it.

MH0434R

2009-06-17T08:48:00.003-04:00

36 E 3.5, NearWhite Self, Dor Dip
Ice Trumpets * MH0207K = Ice Trumpets * (Boston Symphony * Early And Often) * (Millie Schlumf * Early And Often)

Stella De Oro still has not opened (it's late this year in my garden, perhaps because I moved it and perhaps because of the chilly, dry weather), but this beauty has. I don't know if this earliness is normal yet: the two scapes are both much smaller than last year's and might be outer scapes (as opposed to normal scapes.) Or it might be due to the extreme spring sickness I've had in my beds this year.

It's not the whitest white, but why would I care with that green throat and that delicate play of colors? It's EARLY! Pollen is going on to all the extra earlies that can throw melon, including Begin With A Bang (which can lose the yellow and could throw red, pink, or white.)

The season does Begin With A Bang!

2009-06-11T20:55:00.002-04:00

Begin With A Bang opened June 2, and so far every bloom has been pollinated and has set pods (using mostly frozen pollen.) It was just so beautiful today, with two days worth of flowers open because of the cool weather, that I had to put up a photo.

A Kamensky seedling (Little Rosy Cloud * Judge Orr) was actually the first thing to bloom, but I ignore yellows. :-)

It's been really cool and dry so far this year; I've had less than 1/2 inch of rain in the past 5 weeks. Stella De Oro will be later than usual: it's still about a week from blooming.

However, I do have a yard full of scapes! I'm going through the usual anticipatory anxiety for the seedlings. Every day, I stare at the slowly appearing and enlarging buds and scapes, hoping they show signs of being white flowered. Then I'll go through the next phase, of hoping that they rebloom. I do have one seedling that already shows a rebloom scape coming, even though the first scape hasn't opened a bud yet. Hope it has a good flower! I can see I'm having some success in breeding for dark scapes, but the key question is whether I'll leave the yellow behind and get white.

The garden is mostly under control this season, with some good mulching (for the first time.) Maybe I'll need to weed less this year.

Folks who'd like to visit should phone to invite themselves over. Seedling peak is usually early July.

2009 Prices and Ordering

2008-12-13T18:50:00.001-05:00

At last, all 11 Huben introductions are available, including the highly requested Snowy Stella. Scroll to the end of this post for the two sources.

	Vanilla Stella (Huben 09) 18 E Re 3, NearWhite Self, Dor Dip Northern Continuous Rebloom. Starts 10 days after Stella De Oro. Very rapid increase.	$100 sf
	Begin With A Bang (Huben 09) 34 EE 4.5, Red Blend, Dor Dip Starts blooming a week before Stella De Oro, and blooms well into mid season. Extraordinary foliage.	$75 sf
	Vanilla Gorilla (Huben 08) 44 M 8, Cream Self, Dor Dip Ufo A striking, tall UFO with excellent branching and budcount.	$75 df
	Snowy Stella (Huben 07) 24 E Re 3.25, NearWhite Self, Dor Dip Northern Continuous Rebloom. The whitest northern rebloomer, available at last! Very rapid increase.	$100 df
	Ice Trumpets (Huben 07) 30 E 3.5, NearWhite Self, Dor Dip Emo Resembles an Easter Lily: no other daylily like it. Excellent budcount, blooms high above foliage.	$40 df
	Sunshine On Clouds (Huben 06) 26 E Re 4.25, Cream w'Pale Midrib, Dor Dip Early Bud Builder. Brilliant pale cream, very long blooming. Breeds strong rebloomers.	$40 df
	Kanai Sensei (Huben 06) 18 E Re 3, Melon Polychrome, Dor Dip Emo Northern Continuous Rebloom. Very rapid increase, could be used as an edger.	$30 df
	Twist Again (Huben 03) 28 E Re 5, YellowGreen Self, Dor Dip Noc Northern Continuous Rebloom. No other northern rebloomer has this color. Green holds in the sun.	$20 df
	Delicate Lace (Huben 03) 18 E Re 4, Cream Self, Dor Dip Fra Ext Northern Continuous Rebloom. A rock garden daylily: small plant, large bloom. Very rapid increase.	$20 df
	Flowers Of Sulphur (Huben 03) 20 E Re 4.25, Yellow Self, Dor Dip Vfr Ext Emo Northern Continuous Rebloom. A total self: even the throat is the same pure yellow.	$10 df
	Early And Often (Huben 01) 26 E Re 4, Peach Polychrome, Dor Dip Ext Fra Noc Northern Continuous Rebloom. Starts 5 days after Stella De Oro. Very rapid increase. HM 2006.	$15 df
	Complete Huben Collection) All eleven introductions. A savings of $125.	$400 df

All of my varieties are now available through Harmon Hill Farm, run by Carl and Marlene Harmon. Please contact them to purchase, but feel free to contact me with questions about the introductions.

Harmon Hill Farm
Carl and Marlene Harmon
49 Ledge Rd.
Hudson, NH 03051
Phone:(603) 880-6228
E-mail: harmonhill25@comcast.net

Ellen Laprise, of Partridge Hill Gardens also has a limited supply of all of my introductions. She does ship international orders.

Partridge Hill Gardens
Ellen Laprise
23 Partridge Hill Road
Dudley, MA 01571
Phone: (508) 943-1885

Vanilla Stella (Huben 09)

2008-12-13T18:45:00.001-05:00

20 E Re 3, NearWhite Self, Dor Dip
(seedling * Early And Often) * (Sunshine On Clouds * Early And Often)

Pronounced "vanELLA stella". My most exciting near-white rebloomer. It's not the whitest, though it's far from cream. It has a nice green throat, a voluptuous bagel form, ruffles, and three sets of scapes per year in my garden! This past year, Vanilla Stella bloomed continuously until frost in November in the Harmon's New Hampshire garden.

Bob Sobek and I are using Vanilla Stella heavily in our breeding: we each have hundreds of seedlings coming from it. It's a very rapid increaser that throws near white seedlings with great green throats. Presumably, it passes its rebloom when crossed appropriately: I'll know for sure next year. It's a great as a pod or pollen parent.

Here's a comparison with Stella De Oro that shows how under some conditions of light and temperature, Vanilla Stella can look more creamy than the catalog photo. Is that pale creaminess a fault? Not if you think pale cream to white is a desirable color in your garden. Vanilla Stella does have one minor fault: in my shady conditions, the scapes can lean. This doesn't seem to happen in sunnier gardens.

Begin With A Bang (Huben 09)

2008-12-13T18:25:00.000-05:00

34 EE 4.5, Red Blend, Dor Dip
Ruffled Ivory * lilioasphodelus

What's that red Amaryllis doing in the daylily bed? In mid-June? Begin With A Bang is the first good red in my garden, and begins the growing season with some of the earliest dormant foliage to emerge. Beautiful gray-green bullets of foliage that scoff at late spring frosts. The foliage is erect, disease resistant, and stays beautiful until autumn frost.

I've always wanted to introduce this one, but it increased very slowly in my garden. When I finally put some into a good location in the Harmon garden, it increased very nicely.

Begin With A Bang has got some terrific qualities: it's a true EE, beginning a week before Stella De Oro. Its size and color are much better than any other red at its season. Don't you hate those brick colored reds? Begin With A Bang is a light red over a very pale yellow base. Both parents contributed to the color clarity. Where did the red come from? Well, Ruffled Ivory has a faint red overlay that I didn't notice until this kid alerted me. It's diamond dusted, sunfast and has a yellow-green throat. It always opens well in cool. weather, and looks great in a clump. 12 buds per scape, yet it blooms well into midseason.

If you'd like to breed for modern-looking EE reds, this is where I'd begin. I attribute many of the good qualities to its species parent, H. lilioasphodelus. The earliness, great foliage, good opening, and frost hardiness. Or if you're one of us who can't wait to get those first daylilies of the season, this one is for you.

Extending The Blooming Season Parts 1 & 2 (Daylily Journal Articles)

2008-09-18T12:07:00.001-04:00

Welcome to readers of The Daylily Journal and others!

More is Beautiful: Extending the Northern Bloom Season
Part 1: Earlies and Lates Daylily Journal Vol. 63 No. 3, Fall 2008, pp. 10-13
Part 2: Rebloomers and Bud Builders Daylily Journal Vol. 63 No. 4, Winter 2008, pp. 32-35

Due to page limitations, only some of the photos I had available were published. The full set of photos are grouped into five posts:
Earlies
Lates
Bud Builders
One Time Rebloomers
Continual Rebloomers
Click on the photos to see them full size. You may reuse these photos for non-commercial purposes, but please give me credit.

Some may wonder why I picked these, out of the 50,000 registered varieties. There were a number of factors involved.

* First, I chose daylilies I was familiar with and have observed, grown, or photographed here in the northeast.

* I tried to minimize the number of yellow, old-fashioned daylilies listed, and just list a few of the best of them.

* I didn't want to exclude the Florida breeders, but I wanted to emphasize lesser-known breeders.

Finding some of these daylilies may be problematic Here are a few sources:

Harmon Hill Farm (Carl & Marlene Harmon) 49 Ledge Rd., Hudson, NH 03051 Ph. 603.880.6228

Partridge Hill Gardens (Ellen Laprise) 23 Partridge Hill Road, Dudley, MA 01571 Ph. (508) 943-1885

Greywood Farm (Darlyn Springer Wilkinson) 85 River Rd., Topsfield, MA 01983 Ph. 978.887.7620 Fax 978.887.7625

Crossview Gardens (Leila and Harold Cross) 1801 Lower Elmore Mountain Road Morrisville, VT 05661 802.888.2409

Tranquil Lake (Philip Boucher and Warren Leach) 45 River St., Rehoboth, MA 02769 Ph. 508.252.4002

Bloomingfields Farm (Lee Bristol) P O Box 5, Gaylordsville, Connecticut 06755 Ph. (860) 354-6951

Olallie Daylily Gardens (Chris Darrow) 129 Augur Hole Road, South Newfane, Vermont 05351 Ph. (802)-348 6614

Pin Hill Gardens (Henry & Sandy Lefkovits) 18 Depot Rd., Harvard, MA 01451 Ph. 978.456.8309

Greene Acre Sales (Steve Greene) 36 Elaine Rd., Sudbury, MA 01776 Ph. 508.433.8222

Saxton Gardens (Peter Saxton) 1 First Street (P.O. Box 1260), Saratoga Springs, N.Y. 12866 (518) 584-4697

Early Daylilies

2008-09-17T11:29:00.000-04:00

Blueberry Trumpets (Sobek 05) 36 E 4, Purple Self, Dor Dip

First Rose Of Summer (Sobek 05) 34 E 4, Pink Self, Dor Dip

*First Twilight (Stamile 05) 22 EE Re 5, Pink Polychrome, Dor Tet
(photo: Ellen Laprise)

Ice Trumpets (Huben 07) 30 E 3.5, NearWhite Self, Dor Dip Emo

In Strawberry Time (Sobek 95) 18 EE 3.25, Rose Blend, Dor Dip Noc Ext

H. lilioasphodelus (species nr) 36 EE 4, Yellow Self, Dor Dip

*Moonlit Masquerade (Salter 92) 26 EM Re 5.5, Cream w'Purple Eye, Sev Tet

*Orange Prelude (McEwan 74) 28 EE 6, Orange Self, Dor Tet Fra Ext

*Pinegarden Wendy Ann (Seaman 01)28 E Re 6, NearWhite Self, Dor Tet

*Prom Flower (Marvin 05) 28 EE Re 5.5, Violet w'Purple Eye, Dor Tet
(photo: Ellen Laprise)

*Pure And Simple (Salter 93) 28 EM Re 5.5, Orange Self, Sev Tet

Spring Storm (Guzinski 04) 31 E 4.75, Purple Self, Dor Dip

H. yezoensis (species nr) 36 EE 4, Yellow Self, Dor Dip

Late Daylilies

2008-09-16T08:07:00.000-04:00

*Apache War Dance (Thomas 94) 30 ML Re 4.5, Red w'Dark Eye, Dor Tet Fra Noc Ext

*August Cherry (Marvin 05) 28 L 5, Rose w'White Edge, Dor Tet

*Autumn Herald (Mercer 96) 22 VL 5, Lavender w'Lavender Eye, Dor Tet Fra

Autumn Oddity (Harwood 95) 28 VL 5, Yellow w'Pink Blush Dor Dip
(photo: Ellen Laprise)

Back To School (Sobek 03) 42 VL 4, Red Self, Dor Dip

*Bermuda Coral (Marvin 85) 45 VL 6.5, Coral Self, Dor Tet

Biding My Time (Sobek 07) 30 L 4, Melon Polychrome, Dor Dip

Carol Sing (Saxton 81) 36 L 5, Red Self, Dor Dip

Challenger (Stout 49) 48 M Re, Red Self, Evr Dip Ext

Crimson Finale (Hibbard 97) 24 VL 5.5, Red Self, Sev Dip

Flourish Of Trumpets (Sobek 98) 40 L 6, Yellow Self, Dor Dip

*Hazy August Sky (Marvin 04) 26 L 6, Lavender Blend, Dor Tet
(photo: Ellen Laprise)

Late Adagio (Bristol 04) 52 VL 5, Lavender Blend, Dor Dip

Late Summer Fling (Krupien 98) 54 VL 4.5, Yellow w'Pink Blend, Dor Dip

*Lime Frost (Stamile 90) 27 VL 5.75, Green Blend, Dor Tet Fra

*Lord Of Autumn (Marvin 04) 48 VL 8, Rose Blend, Dor Tet
(photo: Ellen Laprise)

*Pinhill Claret Symphony (Lef. 00) 45 VL 6.5, Orange W'Dark Eye, Dor Tet

*Sandra Elizabeth (Stevens 83) 28 VL 6, Yellow Self, Dor Tet

*September Blaze (Lachman 92) 20 VL 7, Pink Self, Dor Tet

Seventh Inning Stretch (Sobek 05) 33 VL 4, Red Self, Dor Dip

Suzy Cream Cheese (Bachman 01) 35 L 7, Peach Self, Dor Dip

The Jury's Out (Apps 00) 33 L Re 4.62, Yellow Self, Dor Dip Ext
(photo: Darrel Apps)

The Kind Of September (Sobek 06) 30 VL 5.25, Lemon Self, Dor Dip

Bud Builders

2008-09-15T08:08:00.000-04:00

Angel Unawares (Mederer 70) 28 EM Re 4.5, Cream w'Lavender Edge, Dor Dip

Blueberry Trumpets (Sobek 05) 36 E 4, Purple Self, Dor Dip

Final Touch (Apps 92) 32 L Bu 5, Lavender Self, Dor Dip Fra

Genesta (Marshall 06) 30 VL Re 4.75, Gold Self, Dor Dip

Iktomi (Roberts 98) 32 L 5, Red Self, Sev Dip Spd Ext

Little Anna Rosa (Williamson 87)14 E 2, Pink Blend, Evr Dip Fra Ext

Memorial To Steve (Norris 06) 34 M 6, Lavender Self, Sev Tet

More Than Happy (Apps 05) 24 EM Re 6, Gold Blend, Evr Dip

Olallie All Summer (Darrow 74) 36 EM Re 6, Red w'Dark Halo, Dor Dip

Pumpkin Time (Sobek 84) 37 L Bu 5.25, Orange Self, Dor Dip

Quit Fussing (Salk 02) 24 EM 4.5, Lemon Self, Sev Dip

Ruffles In Lavender (Powell 88) 24 EM 6, Lavender Self, Dor Dip

Sagamore John Tierney (Britz 99) 30 EM Re 4.5, Pink w'Gold Eye, Dor Dip

Sarah Christine (Millikan 93) 28 EM 6, Yellow w'Pink Bicolor, Evr Dip Fra

Seventh Inning Stretch (Sobek 05) 33 VL 4, Red Self, Dor Dip

Sunshine On Clouds (Huben 06) 26 E Re 4.25, Cream w'Pale Midrib, Dor Dip

One Time Rebloomers

2008-09-14T08:35:00.000-04:00

Boothbay Harbor Gold (Celler 99)24 EE Re 4.5, Gold Self, Dor Dip Fra Emo

Jennifer Kayleen (Apps 01) 26 EM Re 3.75, Pink w'Rose Halo, Dor Dip

More Than Happy (Apps 05) 24 EM Re 6, Gold Blend, Evr Dip

My Complimentary (Kamensky 05) 26 E Re 4.25, Pink Self, Dor Dip Emo

Spacecoast Citrus Kick (Kinnebrew 01) 25 E Re 6, Orange Self, Evr Tet

Strawberry Candy (Stamile 89) 26 EM Re 4.25, Pink w'Red Eye, Sev Tet Ext

Continuous Rebloomers

2008-09-14T07:45:00.000-04:00

Apricot Sparkles (Apps 00) 18 EE Re 4, Apricot Self, Dor Dip

Delicate Lace (Huben 03) 18 E Re 4, Cream Self, Dor Dip Fra Ext

Early And Often (Huben 01) 26 E Re 4, Peach Polychrome, Dor Dip Ext Fra Noc

Frequent Flyer (Kendall 03) 28 E Re 4, Cream w'Lavender Eye, Dor Dip Ext Noc

Kanai Sensei (Huben 06) 18 E Re 3, Melon Polychrome, Dor Dip Emo

Rosy Returns (Apps 00) 16 EE Re 3.75, Pink Blend, Dor Dip Fra

Snowy Stella (Huben 07) 24 E Re 3.25, NearWhite Self, Dor Dip

Stella De Oro (Jablonski 75) 11 E Re 2.75, Gold Self, Dor Dip Fra Ext Noc

Sunny Honey (Millikan 89) 24 E Re 3.5, Yellow Self, Sev Dip Noc

Three Seasons (Sobek 90) 21 EE Re 2.62, Yellow Self, Dor Dip Noc Ext

Twist Again (Huben 03) 28 E Re 5, YellowGreen Self, Dor Dip Noc

MH0434E

2008-09-13T21:50:00.002-04:00

36 EE 4, NearWhite Self, Dor Dip
Ice Trumpets * MH0207K = Ice Trumpets * (Boston Symphony * Early And Often) * (Millie Schlumf * Early And Often)

Unlike several of its sibs which are very near white with green throats, this one is clearly closer to a pale melon blend. But it is a true EE, blooming a few days before Stella De Oro with a good bagel shape, 4 branches and 16 buds. It has another fault, that it doesn't open well after cool nights. But it's still an improvement for breeding EE near-whites, and it should be carrying genes for whiter flowers with greener throats.

MH0437B

2008-09-13T21:09:00.003-04:00

38 EE Re 3, Yellow Self, Dor Dip Noc
yezoensis * MH0207K = yezoensis * (Boston Symphony * Early And Often) * (Millie Schlumf * Early And Often)

Looks like a plain yellow with a small flower to me! But it has some superior qualities. It comes from my MH0207K (pictured at my old web site), which is one of my whitest, greenest throated, and best formed seedlings in the rebloom lines.

EAO next to MH0207K 20 E 3.5, NearWhite Self, Dor Dip Noc Ext

Combined with the greenish cast of yezoensis, I have a true EE mid-June bloomer that should carry white with green throats. It blooms a week before Stella De Oro on tall scapes with 5 branches, more than 20 buds, and some instant rebloom. The foliage is very good, and very erect, though I am afraid it has proven to go dormant in the late summer. Most yezoensis seedlings have tended to have falling scapes for me, but this one definitely doesn't! I've got a load of seed from it with early whites, to try to push the season for whites into the EE range while keeping that height and branching.

MH0433P

2008-09-13T20:52:00.002-04:00

24 EE 3.25, Yellow Self, Dor Dip
MH0039H * MH0067D = (Elfin * Early And Often) * Sunshine On Clouds * Early And Often

Long, fluorescent purple bracts! The first half of June, this plant looks as if it has weird trident-like purple flowers, that stand out and scream in the sea of daylily foliage before most even have scapes. It's a true EE, blooming about a week before Stella De Oro. The flower is plain, a pale yellow that dwarfs the bracts (which do dry out) and renders the appearance ordinary. MH0433P should carry melon, and I'm making some seed with others that have long purplish bracts. 4 branches and a good number of buds, but no rebloom. Imagine if those bracted scapes were emerging throughout the year, with white flowers contrasting with the purple bracts!

MH0263I

2008-09-13T20:23:00.003-04:00

30 E Re 4.5, Melon Self, Evr Dip
Millie Schlumf * Early And Often

This cross, MH0015, was so good that I remade it again as MH0263. Many of the kids were evergreen, and they came in pink, melon, and a break to near white (MH0015.5, pictured at my old web site.) MH0263I, pictured here, is the best of the melon kids. It has a NICE 21 buds, it's sunfast, the flowers are large and open well, it's a true early that blooms the last week of June, and it can have instant rebloom. It's evergreen, which might be a bad feature, but in my garden it's up and the foliage looks good long before most other evergreens. I'm not sure what's going on there, but I'm not going to complain: the foliage looks exceptional. I'm using this for developing large flowered continuous rebloomers, crossing the stronger rebloomers onto it. An Early And Often with large flowers would be a plus, wouldn't it! It doesn't increase particularly quickly, and the fans in the clump are too widely spaced: I like a clump tight enough that weeds won't grow in it well.

MH0320C

2008-09-13T20:04:00.003-04:00

26 EM Re 5, NearWhite Self, Dor Dip
MH0032R * MH0067D = (Swiss Mint * Early And Often) * (Sunshine On Clouds * Early And Often)

This year, MH0320C was one of my outstanding breeders. The flowers are huge and upfacing, and a good near white (though not my destination near white.) It only has about 7 buds per scape: just like Stella De Oro. It has some rebloom for me: when I get it into other gardens, we'll see what it really does. But this offers size, modern form, ruffling, petal width, and rebloom all in one! The petals on the flower pictured were 2.5 inches wide on a 5 inch flower. I don't obsess over bagel forms, but I will admit they look good! Next year I'll use it even more. It blooms the second week of July: not as early as I want, but part of my plans for large continuous rebloomers that are not yellow. It's an early morning opener, and always is open perfectly when I step outside to pollinate at 5 AM.

Welcome Globe readers and others!

2008-08-31T07:20:00.002-04:00

Today the Boston Globe newspaper had a very good article about me and my hybridizing. It's at:
http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/house/articles/2008/08/31/a_budding_obsession_with_daylilies/?page=full

I generally don't sell daylilies except to daylily hybridizers and members of the NEDS and PDS daylily clubs. If you're interested in viewing or buying daylilies, let me point you to a list of local sources that I keep:
Favorite Links to Information, Nurseries, and Growers.

If you'd like to meet me or get into daylilies, the best thing to do would be to attend one of the New England Daylily Society (NEDS) meetings. The next meeting is October 4. I also highly recommend the Patriot Daylily Society (PDS), but I don't attend those meetings as frequently. Their next meeting is also October 4, but normally the meetings don't conflict.

MH0378V

2008-08-11T20:39:00.002-04:00

44 EM 3.5, Red Self, Dor Dip
Siloam Plum Tree * Red Spire

FUTURE INTRODUCTION. This one has it all, except sunfastness. On harsh days, the petals curl and slick, but they don't melt and they do return to perfection as soon as the heat is past. This brilliant fire engine red was a joy this summer, and produced quite a show on its 5 or 6 scapes with 6 way branching and 40 buds. I'd also marked this one in the spring for excellent foliage and increase. It is somewhat rhyzomatious: when I dig it this fall, I'll see just how much. Every bloom was pollinated, and it's carrying quite a load of pods, but none of the tall scapes have fallen or even leaned towards the sun! Rarely it shows some spotting from thrips, but it is quite rain fast.

MH0380Z

2008-08-11T20:22:00.003-04:00

46 M 3.5, Purple Self, Dor Dip
Sobek 93.36 * Purple Sphere

This photo, with the sun shining through, is a little flattering: the actual color is a bit flatter with a very even velvety finish. Branching an budcount are great, but the remarkable thing is how waxy and thrip resistant this one is. I was watching the pale yellow thrips scurry all over the blooms all summer, but never saw any of the typical thrips damage: blotched petals, pimpled or distorted buds. The buds are whitish and purple, with a waxy appearance, and the bracts on the scape also seem to resist desiccation and damage. I'm crossing this one into my Red Spire derived lines and also with a number of others with white buds such as Forsyth White Buds and Central Park West. The flowers open consistently perfectly. This one has a rounder, more ruffled form than the Red Spire kids, and should improve them. The scapes don't fall except when heavily loaded with pods.

MH0377C

2008-08-11T20:02:00.003-04:00

44 M 3.5, Red Self, Dor Dip
(City Of Sin * Pardon Me) * Red Spire

This sib to MH0377A is a bright, velvety cherry red. Branching and budcount are extraordinary (at least 30 buds and 5 branches), as is its sunfastness (though not quite as sunfast as its sib.) I pollinated every bloom this year because this one has proven to be the most vigorous and rhyzomatious of the Red Spire kids to date. Red Spire itself increases slowly and doesn't do all that well in my poor conditions, but MH0377C greatly outperforms it. This fall it will be distributed to test gardens for increase.

Vanilla Gorilla (Huben 08)

2008-01-20T11:30:00.001-05:00

Vanilla Gorilla (Huben 08) 44 M 8, Cream Self, Dor Dip Ufo
(Jerry's Whirligig * Magic Of Oz)
Seedling number: MH0168

This daylily is named for Snowflake, the albino gorilla, who recently died.

This UFO measures about 8 inches, and has been drawing a great deal of attention at Carl Harmon's garden the past four years. 5 to 6 way branching, 20 to 24 buds. Pod and pollen fertile. This was a fun cross, partly to test the pod fertility of the enormous Jerry's Whirligig, and partly to see what happens in the way of large offspring.

Like Jerry's Whirligig, Vanilla Gorilla has wide petals in a cascade form: it reminds me of knuckle walking with the massive arms of a gorilla. Now, you could say some daylilies knuckle walk because the scapes fall, but Vanilla Gorilla's scapes stay upright.

I'm so focussed on my reblooming goals, that I essentially ignored this one, and it was rescued by Carl. Let this be a lesson to new hybridizers: trust other people to evaluate your plants and tell you what else is good.

Introductory price is $75 for a single fan. Available only through Harmon Hill Farm.

2008 Prices, Availability and Ordering

2008-01-20T10:16:00.000-05:00

Welcome! This year again I have only one new introduction. I've also got a limited supply of some earlier introductions. Most of these are strong northern rebloomers which will rebloom under conditions where even STELLA DE ORO hesitates to rebloom: partial shade, sandy soils, and low heat.

I'm starting to move my sales to Harmon Hill Farm, run by Carl and Marlene Harmon. This year, they will be selling several of my introductions, and I will be selling others. In the future, they'll be selling more and more of mine: I don't have the room for production in my tiny yard.

Order early: I've sold out every year.

Available from:
Harmon Hill Farm
Carl and Marlene Harmon
49 Ledge Rd.
Hudson, NH 03051
Phone:(603)880-6228
E-mail: harmonhill25@comcast.net

Vanilla Gorilla, $75 single fan

Early And Often, $25 double fan

Flowers Of Sulphur, $10 double fan

Available from:
Mike Huben, 27 Winter St., Arlington, MA 02474
(781) 643-1534
<mhuben@world.std.com>
$5 shipping and handling per order.

Ice Trumpets, $50 double fan

Kanai Sensei, $40 double fan

Early And Often, $25 double fan

Delicate Lace, $25 double fan

Seek other sources for:

Twist Again, held for increase

Snowy Stella, held for increase

Sunshine On Clouds, held for increase

Frequent Flyer, contact Stephen Kendall

Jerry's Whirligig, contact Jerry Deschenes

About Mike Huben

2008-01-20T10:00:00.000-05:00

I’m a modest man (indeed, I’m proud of my humility), so I’m not sure I like this idea of writing about the glory that is me. It used to be that we’d have one member write about another to prevent omphaloskeptic (navel-gazing), self-indulgent bragging that nobody else would be interested in. But in my case, how could that be a problem? After all, for me, there is no I in ego.

I’ve always been fascinated by flowers. My mother has a picture of me (at age 2) staring intently at a patch of petunias. I bought my first rosebush at age 6. At age 10, I saved my allowance for 18 weeks to buy carnivorous plants. At age 16, I made a large garden in my backyard of annuals and dahlias. When I went to college, I worked in the botany department’s garden and greenhouse.

Oh, there have been distractions along the way. I’ve had some other great, lifelong loves.

I’m an entomologist. My father showed me how to catch and pin butterflies at age 6. I developed a stooping posture in my youth from my ever downturned gaze, searching for insects where ever I walked. At Cornell, this passion exploded and I spent my spare time collecting and working in the insect collection. After college, I took two sabbatical years to collect insects in the US and Ecuador. I’ve specialized in an unusual wasp family (no, not the Bush family, ugh) and published 3 papers and two new genera. I’m also something of an expert on mites.

Geekdom came easily to me: first recreational mathematics in high school, and then a 30 year career in computer programming. But after 6 layoffs, changing jobs every year or two, and at least three complete changes in technology, I grew weary of the hitech scramble. My wife led the way: she’d taken the 50% pay cut to change to teaching. So I completed my BS (it only took me 30 years!), enrolled in a masters program, got certified to teach Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Mathematics, and now I’m a high-school math teacher at Boston Latin Academy.

As a proud geek, I always disdained physical activity, especially team sports. But somehow I always bicycled, jogged, trampolined, hiked, etc. I started Aikido, a Japanese martial art, 23 years ago. It’s a little like nurturant pro-wrestling: we defend ourselves by throwing people or pinning them in harmless ways. No bellowing, no blood, and even small women can do it. I’m a third degree black belt now, and I teach at 3 dojos. I also have a third degree black belt in Iaido, Japanese quickdraw sword. It’s not nurturant: it’s kill them first, by surprise if possible.

The real reason I started aikido was to meet women. And it worked: I met my wife Peggy at the Aikido dojo, and we fell for each other. We’ve been together 20 years now, and I have a 17 year old daughter, Carol, and a 14 year old son, Robert. The three of them occasionally help out in the garden and both kids have made a few crosses, but they’re not into plants or insects much. All of them like Aikido and math. Not my fault!

But I suppose you wanted to read something about daylilies.

About 20 years ago, I visited the Massachusetts Horticultural Society library and saw some copies of The Daylily Journal. There was a big, gaudy picture of a Salter hybrid on the cover, and my jaw hit the floor. Then I looked inside, saw the prices, and my jaw hit the floor again. I ignored daylilies until about 5 years later, when I came to my first NEDS meeting. Gaudy pictures! I bought a dozen or so at the $3 sale, and enjoyed their bloom. But they weren’t fancy enough, and their bloom period was so short!

The second year, I bought a bunch that were labeled as rebloomers: a longer season at last! But they didn’t rebloom. Even Stella De Oro didn’t rebloom for me for three years. And worse, most of the daylilies increased very slowly for me: Stella De Oro was the rare exception. Thus, I found my calling: to improve northern daylily behavior.

Somewhere around my third year, I bought the daylily of my dreams from Steve Greene: Monica Marie, by Lee Gates. A round, ruffled, pristine white of exceptional beauty. I wanted that, but with the vigor, profuse bloom, and rebloom of Stella De Oro. So in 1995, I made my first cross of Stella De Oro with Monica Marie.

Now, I had a pretty good idea of how to go about breeding plants: I had been a plant breeding major at Cornell. But I sought advice from the local diploid breeders, especially Bob Sobek and Phil Reilly. I also sought advice from the local garden judges on what makes a good daylily; from Mary Collier Fisher, Darlyn Wilkinson, Curt Turner, and numerous others. I sought advice from the scientifically oriented members: Jim Brennan and George Doorakian. And further afield from Darrel Apps and Stephen Kendall, who had very similar goals. Their help has been invaluable: for finding breeding material, for planning my breeding program, for describing what’s hard and what’s easy, for what’s been done in the past, for what’s needed to be done, and choosing the breeding goals wisely.

I knew that it would take two or four generations to get a white northern rebloomer because I’d have to outcross, and some of the characteristics were recessive or required rare combinations of genes. Hardly anything I bred rebloomed, until I got Early And Often. Its increase and rebloom were so spectacular that I introduced it in only 4 years from seed, in 2001.

I’ve continued since then using Early And Often as the base of my breeding program:

After 12 years, 4 generations, and 10,000 seedlings, I now have nearwhite northern rebloomers that rebloom terrifically. They’re not nearly as perfectly formed as Monica Marie, nor do they have all the extraordinary plant characteristics of Stella De Oro. But nobody out there has anything that looks and behaves like my newest introduction, Snowy Stella.

Snowy Stella is just the beginning. I have more nearwhites to introduce, and will continue to improve them.

Along the way to Snowy Stella, I acquired several other breeding goals. The mixed perennial gardens we northerners delight in require daylilies of many statures and flower sizes. I’ve chosen to work in the tall-and-small category, in whites and velvety sunfast reds. I’d like vigorous plants with scapes from 36 inches to 60 inches, a fountain effect. The flower forms could range from mini spiders to trumpets to flat open “butterflies” to strongly recurved and hanging “martagons”. This goal will keep me busy for yet another decade.

MH0379B

2008-01-20T09:45:00.000-05:00

MH0379B (Huben nr) 50 M 4.5, Purple Self, Dor Dip
(Sobek 93.36 * Red Spire)

If there's one thing I treasure besides brilliant, clear colors, it's sunfastness. And this seedling has both! So far it is displaying excellent foliage and increase. Budcount is fair and branching is excellent. The color is a deep, velvety grape or burgundy that does not slick. It has only one fault: when loaded with pods, the graceful, slender scapes fall. This is a likely introduction.

MH0476A

2008-01-20T09:35:00.000-05:00

MH0476A (Huben nr) 30 EM 4.5, Rose Self, Dor Dip
(Siloam Plum Tree * fulva)

This strange flower is bred from Siloam Plum Tree and Darrel Apps' diploid clone of H. fulva. The color is quite a bit deeper and richer than pictured, but not a clear rose. The big surprise was that this velvety flower was completely sunfast and rainfast for me. I've no clue yet whether it will prove rhyzomatious or not.

MH0447A

2008-01-20T09:24:00.000-05:00

MH0447A (Huben nr) 36 E 4, NearWhite Self, Dor Dip
(Ice Trumpets * Lights Of Valinor)

This is close to a faultless flower. It's really near to white, the green throat has very little yellow, and it's got beautiful ruffling. It's intermediate between parents IT and LOV in a number of characteristics: ruffling, trumpetyness, height, and size. It's at least as white as IT and much whiter than LOV. If it increases well, it's a sure introduction. I was so happy to see this one in the garden! I've just remade and sown this cross.

MH0461F

2008-01-20T08:50:00.001-05:00

MH0461F (Huben nr) 34 E 4, NearWhite Self, Dor Dip
(MH0219I * Ice Trumpets)

Another example of good progress towards tall and small near white trumpets. The flower on the left is Boston Symphony, MH0461F is on the right. It's much whiter, and the throat is much greener than its grandparent, Boston Symphony. Not as trumpety or tall as I'd like. This was an extraordinary cross, and many of the sibs (including MH0461B) are also very good.

MH0315E

2007-07-04T16:48:00.000-04:00

MH0315E (Huben nr) 24 EM Re 3.25, Melon Self, Dor Dip
MH0013F * MH0067D

One of the most beautiful sorts of flower are the hanging lily
flowers, such as the Martagon lilies (and a number of others.) I've
long wondered if we could do that with daylilies on tall scapes, but
never had a starting point. They'd always faced somewhat upwards.

But just this morning I spotted downward facing flowers on this
selected rebloomer.

Note that the pedicel (stalk of the flower) is long and slanted from the scape and the tube (base of the flower where the petals are fused together into a cylinder) actually arches downwards! The flower is oriented a few degrees downwards from the horizontal consistently on the three open blooms today. All scapes are stiffly held in the vertical position.

The flower itself is very nice: pale melon, narrow petalled, ruffled, waxy, and diamond dusted.

So now the search is on for mates. I have only one possibility so far, MH0042D, which holds its flowers horizonatally and has height, budcount, and dark scapes. It also carries rebloom.

MH0042D (Huben nr) 44 EM 2.5, Gold Self, Dor Dip Noc
Corky * Early And Often

Hopefully, this cross will give me seedlings that exaggerate the downlooking blooms.

Any other suggestions for this breeding project?

MH0422F

2007-06-27T14:47:00.000-04:00

9AM:

MH0422F (Huben nr) 20 E Re 4, Pink w'Rose Eye, Dor Dip
(My Complimentary * MH0207K)

This one really excited me today, even though I'm not breeding for pink. First flower open today, and a second scape is already visible at the heart of the fan. Few buds, which is not such a bad fault in rebloomers. So what's so exciting? First, it has a clear color. It's pod parent is:
My Complimentary (Kamensky 05) 26 E Re 4.25, Pink Self, Dor Dip Emo
which is a pink over yellow, and fades to brown in the sun. The amazing thing about My Complimentary is that it can have 35 buds and still rebloom! We'll see how many buds this one develops in the future. But not only does it have a much better, blue-pink color, but it is amazingly sun resistant!

Today, the thermometer was in the 90s, and Stella De Oro was completely melted. But MH0422F is completely unfazed, with a silvery-pink color and no petal slicking or melting. Some of the green in the throat has faded to yellow, but there's none of that awful brown-pink we see so often.

2PM:

MH0416A

2007-06-27T07:27:00.000-04:00

MH0416A (Huben nr) 20 E 3.25, Cream Self, Dor Dip
(MH0001.8 * MH0207K)

I don't know if this one reblooms yet, and it doesn't have many buds, but it has two breakthroughs for my breeding: lots of green throat and big, looping ruffles. It has heavy substance, and stood up to our 94 degree windy day without any change except the green bleaching partly to yellow.

MH0401.39

2007-06-24T12:55:00.000-04:00

MH0401.39 (Huben nr) 24 E Re 3.5, NearWhite Self, Dor Dip

Early And Often * MH0207K

Today another near-white rebloomer opened for the first time. Less than a week after Stella De Oro, which it's compared to above. (That is a runty SDO blossom: its bed hasn't been watered lately.) This one opened perfectly at dawn despite the 50 degree temperature.

Not perfectly white, and only ten buds. But well worth breeding: it has instant rebloom at the least. It could be a future intro.

MH0413A

2007-06-22T09:38:00.000-04:00

MH0413A (Huben nr) 20 E Re 4, Cream Self, Dor Dip
Sunshine On Clouds * MH0207K

The same brilliant pale yellow as Sunshine On Clouds, but much better form, earlier (3 days after Stella De Oro) and instant rebloom.

MH0418A

2007-06-22T09:23:00.000-04:00

MH0418A (Huben nr) 20 E 4, Melon Self, Dor Dip
MH0016J * MH0207K

This was a cross for early bud-building rebloomers. It's got the early (FFO 4 days after Stella De Oro), and it looks like it has the bud-bulding: so far I count 6 buds per branch on the slingshot scape, in the characteristic spiral pattern of a bud builder. It's pretty enough to be an introduction, if it reblooms or bud builds.

Imagine crossing this one to MH0404.19. I probably will this year.

MH0203E

2006-12-31T21:54:00.000-05:00

24 EM Re 4.75, Melon Polychrome, Dor Dip
Frequent Flier * (Millie Schlumf * Early And Often)

FUTURE INTRODUCTION. This three time continuous rebloomer is a symphony in pale pastels: you must click on the picture to study the colors more closely. The ruffling waves gracefully all over the place on these LARGE flowers. The foliage is excellent, and the increase is good too. Best of all, it has 17 buds, which is unusually many for a rebloomer.

MH0203D

2006-12-31T21:52:00.000-05:00

26 EM Re 4, Pink w' Faint Band, Dor Dip
Frequent Flier * (Millie Schlumf * Early And Often)

FUTURE INTRODUCTION. There is no other continuous rebloomer in this clear, light pink. It produces three sets of scapes in my garden. Good increase, great foliage, wavy ruffles, and color clarity that's startling in the garden. Only 9 buds, but that's as good as Stella De Oro.

Frequent Flyer (Kendall 03)

2006-12-29T09:26:00.000-05:00

Frequent Flyer (Kendall 03) 28 E Re 4, Cream w'Lavender Eye, Dor Dip Ext Noc
(Millie Schlumpf * Brocaded Gown) F2

Stephen Kendall has bred a fabulous rebloomer! While reminiscent of the eyed SILOAM lines, it sends up three sets of scapes annually for me. Though the budcount is not high (averaging 11), the tall, graceful, well-branched scapes hold the recurved flowers in a fountain of non-interfering bloom. The foliage is a clean, deep green, and it has yet to display spring sickness here. It is fertile both ways, and throws strongly reblooming kids. A melon carrier and color clarifier: the lavenders and pinks from it are very good!

Jerry's Whirligig (Deschenes 00)

2006-12-29T09:23:00.000-05:00

Jerry's Whirligig (Deschenes 00)30 L 6, Lavender w'Burgundy Eye, Dor Dip Ufo
(seedling * Orchid Corsage)

This is an "Oh, Wow!" UFO. Any connoisseur of unusual forms will immediately be drawn to this plant! Not just for the beauty and clear colors, but for the enormous size. While I've measured it at 6.5 inches as it stands, it's wingspread was 13 inches! Moreover, it's somewhat pod fertile: I know of no other daylily with a 13 inch wingspan that sets seeds. I've podded it two years in a row with little effort, while its much smaller pollen parent, ORCHID CORSAGE, has never podded for me. Imagine converting this enormous diploid to tetraploid....

It is not a true spider but its drooping, curling cascade form is especially elegant and distinctive. It presents a pleasing mixture of purples, lavenders, yellows, green and pink. A chevron eye contrasts well with a yellow green throat and very light lavender pink petals. This might also be the widest petalled cascade in existence, but not at the expense of substance; the flowers hold well all day.

Yet it has still more virtues to list. It blooms late in the season, is decidedly hardy and free blooming. This plant does not need a lot of care to thrive and increases well. It always opens perfectly, has three branches, and 18 buds. There are none of the common faults: the scapes stay erect even under the load of these large flowers, the buds are well staggered so that they don't interfere, and the blooms are held well above the excellent foliage. The closest thing to a fault I find with this plant is that it needs grooming to prevent the old flowers from interfering with opening of new flowers, and this is common in large blooms.

There are very few cascade unusual forms out there, and this is one of the best for breeding, for size, and for outstanding beauty in the garden. Nobody will walk past it without noticing!

MH0461B

2006-12-29T09:20:00.001-05:00

((Corky * Early And Often) * Pinegarden Purity) * Ice Trumpets

This is the whitest seedling I've yet bred. I can tell because most white daylilies have fine yellow veins in the petals, but this one has white veins. It's in my tall-and-small lines, but because it was blooming in a tree-tray cell, I have no idea yet of the height, branching, or budcount it will eventually show. All I know is that it was brilliant among the other, more colored seedlings.

MH0404.19

2006-12-29T09:19:00.000-05:00

(Frequent Flyer * Early And Often) * ((Boston Symphony * Early And Often) * (Millie Schlumf * Early And Often))

A clear, apple-blossom pink with narrow petals, a green throat, and ruffling even on the sepals: I'm in heaven! I don't know yet if it will rebloom, but I'll likely breed with this one anyhow. I didn't measure it, but I think it's a good 4 inches. Extraordinary color clarity!

MH0403.32

2006-12-29T09:18:00.000-05:00

Frequent Flyer * ((Boston Symphony * Early And Often) * (Millie Schlumf * Early And Often))

This strangely colored seedling isn't captured well in this picture. A combination of a corduroy texture, a faint stenciling, and an unusual off-white color gives this one a very distinctive appearance, almost an antiqued look. I think this one did rebloom. It's not one I'd be tempted to use in my clear-colored lines, but it could be an intro if it has the performance.

MH0403.21

2006-12-29T09:17:00.000-05:00

Frequent Flyer * ((Boston Symphony * Early And Often) * (Millie Schlumf * Early And Often))

I'm breeding for white rebloomers, but I expect color spinoffs along the way. Here's a beauty, a pale lavender with a darker eye and a green throat. If this reblooms, it's an introduction. If it doesn't, I have a load of pink/lavender/purple rebloomers that I could cross with it: it's carrying lots of rebloom genes judging from the parentage. The color clarity, ruffles, and general appearance really sell me.

MH0403.12

2006-12-29T09:16:00.000-05:00

Frequent Flyer * ((Boston Symphony * Early And Often) * (Millie Schlumf * Early And Often))

It's too early to know anything about this seedling except that it has extraordinary color clarity. It makes other eyed daylilies look muddy. Whether or not it reblooms, it has enough rebloom genetics that it will be crossed into all my white rebloomer lines. If it performs well enough, it might be an introduction simply for the color clarity.

MH0377A

2006-12-29T09:15:00.003-05:00

44 M 4, Red Self, Dor Dip
(City Of Sin * Pardon Me) * Red Spire

FUTURE INTRODUCTION. I wish the camera could capture velvety, deep, oxblood reds: this photo does not do justice to the striking color of this flower. The sheen from the velvet dulls the color for the camera, but not for your eye.

This is the first step in my tall-and-small red program, whose goal I describe as a "fountain of blood". This one is a really good step: it is the most sunfast red in my garden. It never slicked this past summer, while all other reds did. The branching is good (low branches!), the height is fine, and the budcount is adequate (20). But when I dug it from the seedling bed, I was surprised that it had slender, 8 inch rhyzomes like fulva! (And so did many of its sibs and half sibs from Red Spire.) Needless to say, my program will now bifurcate into clumpers and spreaders. If I can keep the deep color, sunfastness, and rhyzomes while putting different forms and sizes into its descendents, I'll be a happy man.

MH0402.11

2006-12-29T09:15:00.002-05:00

Kanai Sensei * ((Boston Symphony * Early And Often) * (Millie Schlumf * Early And Often))

It's too early to know much about this seedling, other than that it's quite white. If it reblooms, it's an introduction. Even if it doesn't rebloom, it has so much rebloom genetics in it that it will definitely be crossed with my reblooming whites. Nice wide segments, ok size, green throat, ruffles: what's not to like?

MH0321A

2006-12-29T09:14:00.000-05:00

28 EM Re 4.5, NearWhite Self, Evr Dip
(Winter Wonderland * Early And Often) * (Sunshine On Clouds * Early And Often)

FUTURE INTRODUCTION. This one has it all except a modern form. It's the whitest, largest, best budded, and most vigorous of my near-white rebloomers. It's put up three sets of scapes. The flowers are just barely in the large category, heavily diamond dusted, green throated, lightly ruffled, and open well in cool weather. It's my second most heavily used parent for two years running. The foliage is excellent, it has 16 buds, and the scapes are erect.

MH0318A

2006-12-29T09:13:00.002-05:00

20 E Re 3, NearWhite Self, Dor Dip
MH0021A * (Sunshine On Clouds * Early And Often)

FUTURE INTRODUCTION. My most exciting near-white rebloomer. It's not the whitest, though it's far from cream. It has a nice green throat, a voluptuous bagel form, ruffles, and three sets of scapes per year! I've got hundreds of seedlings coming from it. The one fault is that the scapes lean: easily fixed in the next generation.

MH0315C

2006-12-29T09:13:00.001-05:00

20 E Re 2.75, NearWhite Self, Dor Dip
(Frequent Flyer * Early And Often) * (Sunshine On Clouds * Early And Often)

FUTURE INTRODUCTION. I fell in love with this one from the first flower: the delicate appearance is reminiscent of wildflowers such as Mariposa Lilies (Calochortus). To my great delight, it put up three sets of scapes! Needless to say, I've been breeding heavily with this one, intercrossing with the nearwhite rebloomer lines, and introducing rebloom into the tall and small white lines. The sepals show some apricot color. I find the flat throat and gaps between the petal bases very attractive.

MH0315A

2006-12-29T09:12:00.001-05:00

20 E Re 3.5, Lavender Self, Dor Dip
(Frequent Flyer * Early And Often) * (Sunshine On Clouds * Early And Often)

FUTURE INTRODUCTION. I was delighted when this vivd lavender showed up in my seedling bed, and thrilled when it bloomed three sets of scapes! The color is very clear, it has a green throat, and it has ruffles. It does have some faults: the scapes lean and can fall over if they're podded.

MH0231D

2006-12-29T09:11:00.003-05:00

34 E 3.5, Cream Self, Dor Dip Noc
(Aerial * Boston Symphony) * (Corky * Early And Often)

FUTURE INTRODUCTION. I've long admired the dark scapes on Corky and Golden Chimes, but I want to get away from the yellow to cleaner, brighter colors. Here's my first candidate. The graceful dark scapes here come from CORKY ancestry on both sides; neither parent shows dark scapes. This picture exaggerates the contrast a bit, and only the last 8 inches of scape are colored, but the purple scapes are distinct. The ancestry is: (Aerial * Boston Symphony) * (Corky * Early And Often). 25 buds, 4 branches, good increase, wide petals, ruffles and green throat make this one a winner.

MH0233D

2006-12-29T09:11:00.002-05:00

30 EM 3.75, Melon Polychrome, Dor Dip
(Sunshine On Clouds * Early And Often) * (Corky * Early And Often)

FUTURE INTRODUCTION. This seedling combines height and delicate-looking flowers on slender, graceful scapes. It carries genes for clear colors and rebloom: I've bred heavily with it.

MH0013F

2006-12-29T09:09:00.001-05:00

20 E Re 3.25, Pink w'Rose Halo, Dor Dip
Frequent Flyer * Early And Often

FUTURE INTRODUCTION. What a gem of a flower! It has an impressively clear color with iris-like precision of form, and is a continuous rebloomer. The fans also really interest me: slender, erect, close-packed, much like STELLA DE ORO. I've bred with this one quite a bit, and it throws numerous continual rebloomers in very clear colors. See MH0315A and MH0315C.This cross would also benefit from being remade long, as it produced many strong rebloomers.

The actual color clarity is rarely as good as the picture: usually, it is more of a melon pink. Budcount is not terribly high, but that's not an important feature for rebloomers.

Early And Often (Huben 01)

2006-12-27T19:48:00.000-05:00

Early And Often (Huben 01) 26 E Re 4, Peach Polychrome, Dor Dip Ext Fra
(Sunny Honey * (Three Seasons * Tuscawilla Tranquility))
Honorable Mention award 2006

At last: a northern rebloomer that isn't yellow or gold. Blooms 9 weeks for me on three sets of scapes. The heart of my breeding program, producing a great diversity of seedlings, many of them rebloomers. Very rapid increase. Tested (in WV) and found highly rust resistant for two seasons.

Early And Often was my first introduction, and has lived up to its promise as a continuous rebloomer. Some growers report as many as seven sets of scapes per season. Unlike other diploid rebloomers, it is a color clarifier and readily gives up the melon tones in seedlings.

Another web page devoted to Early And Often has more details and photographs.

Flowers Of Sulphur (Huben 03)

2006-12-27T19:46:00.000-05:00

Flowers Of Sulphur (Huben 03) 20 E Re 4.25, Yellow Self, Dor Dip Vfr Ext
((Monica Marie * Stella De Oro) * Spring Frolic)

Why another yellow rebloomer? Well, it's a pure sulphur-yellow self, all the way into the throat, much bigger than most others, strongly diamond dusted, opens well, and has a delightful short stature. Only 9 buds (2 more than STELLA DE ORO), but routinely blooms at least two sets of scapes. Breeds rebloomers, and carries melon.

Delicate Lace (Huben 03)

2006-12-27T19:43:00.000-05:00

Delicate Lace (Huben 03) 18 E Re 4, Cream Self, Dor Dip Fra Ext
((Monica Marie * Stella De Oro) * Spring Frolic)

What an unusual form! Quite orchid-like: any narrower and it would be spatulate. The foliage is truly dwarf, with a flower large enough to surprise: it's almost a rock garden plant. Blooms start out cream, but rapidly fade in the sun to a highly diamond-dusted pearly polychrome. It usually blooms two sets of scapes for me, but more in other people's gardens. 8 buds. It throws excellent reblooming kids of all shapes and sizes, and carries melon.

Twist Again (Huben 03)

2006-12-27T19:41:00.000-05:00

Twist Again (Huben 03) 28 E Re 5, YellowGreen Self, Dor Dip
(Cool Spice * Spring Frolic)

The longest-blooming daylily in my garden. Four years running it has bloomed for 11 weeks on three sets of scapes. The color is a very cool yellow-green that fades in the sun to a remarkable cream and green giving the impression of a cream flower with a green bullseye. There is no other northern rebloomer on the market with this color. It has an excellent budcount of 20 (unusually high for a rebloomer.) The heavily ruffled petals twist differently in every flower, providing lots of motion in this unusual form. This one sells in August and September when people see the rebloom.

Kanai Sensei (Huben 06)

2006-12-27T19:40:00.000-05:00

Kanai Sensei (Huben 06) 18 E Re 3, Melon Polychrome, Dor Dip Emo
Early And Often * Rosy Returns
Seedling number: MH0010.4

Kanai Sensei is named for my Aikido and Iaido teacher for 20 years. It always opens to a perfect little bagle, of a peculiarly difficult to describe color. It has a tiny green throat, and somewhere between 6 and 16 buds depending on how well it is grown. It's sunfast, and has excellent low foliage. What makes it special though (besides the excellent rebloom) is the phenominal increase. It's the fastest increaser in my garden, yet doesn't seem to get too crowded. Its small stature, rapid increase, good foliage, rebloom, and nice clumping habit make it well suited for edging. As a parent for rebloomers, it throws all those characteristics very nicely: see MH040211.

Sunshine On Clouds (Huben 06)

2006-12-27T19:37:00.000-05:00

Sunshine On Clouds (Huben 06) 26 E Re 4.25, Cream w'Pale Midrib, Dor Dip
(Happy Returns * Deicer) * (Three Seasons * Monica Marie)
Seedling number: MH9872I

I had no intention of introducing this seedling: it wasn't white, it only rebloomed a bit for me, it didn't increase as fast as my other rebloomers, it was a reluctant pod parent. But Bob Sobek proclaimed it the outstanding clump in my garden for the brilliance, unique shade, and floriferousness. It is a brilliant light yellow, in the cream range but with none of the dullness of most creams. I attribute that to the extreme diamond dusting. The upfacing blooms have a yellowgreen throat. Crossed with EARLY AND OFTEN, it is the parent of my first nearwhite rebloomer, and the grandparent of my latest crop of nearwhite rebloomers. It has 18 buds on three branches.

In my garden, Sunshine On Clouds reblooms lightly, but in other people's gardens, it is a much stronger rebloomer.

Welcome!

2006-12-27T16:37:00.001-05:00

Welcome to Diploids Resurgent!

I'm Mike Huben, gardener, botanist, hybridizer, and all-around plant fanatic. (That's Magnolia ashei, a big leaf magnolia behind me.)

I've named my site "Diploids Resurgent" because I'd like to encourage others to appreciate the diploids too, rather than simply follow the tetraploid fashions. There's a world of daylilies out there besides southern-bred eyed and edged tets, and the most diverse are the diploids. Oh, I've got southern-bred tets in my garden: some are fantastic, and I wouldn't put them down. But here in the north (Arlington, MA -- near Boston) we have different needs that the southerners can't or don't breed for.

Every year I breed a thousand seedlings at my 1/5 acre. This small breeding program is carefully envisioned generations in advance, and focused on just a few goals.

(1) Near-white rebloomers with qualities like Stella De Oro. Ever since I first saw the "Re" in a daylily description, I wanted rebloom in my garden. But even SDO balked at reblooming in my garden. It took 4 generations, thousands of seedlings, and 10 years, but I've succeeded. Improvements and diverse, clear colors are also on the way.

(2) Tall-and-small near-whites like Golden Chimes. I want that graceful, airy look to the tall scapes, clean white trumpets (or "butterfly" open flowers), and perhaps black scapes to contrast with the white flowers. I've now got 2nd and third generation seedlings, including a cream with dark scapes, very clear white trumpets, and 50 inch white trumpets.

(3) Tall-and-small sunfast reds like Golden Chimes. My pet name for this project is "Fountain Of Blood". In my first generation, I have a 44 inch blood red with a green throat. It is perhaps the most sunfast red I've yet seen, and I've seen a lot of reds. Even more exciting is that it has long rhizomes like fulva. Perhaps I will breed something as persistant and spreading as fulva, which could be a "Niagra Of Blood".

I also allow myself a fair number of fun crosses to experiment with new ideas.

This year (2006) I won my first Honorable Mention award for Early And Often. It didn't win for its face: it won for performance. Let's hope that's a trend!

This site is an experiment with Blogger, to see how easy it is to make a small catalog with pictures. Let me know if you like it!

Prices, Availability, and Ordering

2006-12-27T16:35:00.001-05:00

Welcome! This year again I have two new introductions. I've also got a limited supply of some earlier introductions. Most of these are strong northern rebloomers which will rebloom under conditions where even STELLA DE ORO hesitates to rebloom: partial shade, sandy soils, and low heat.

Ordering information is at the bottom of this page. Order early: I've sold out every year. No rust in my garden yet, for those who wish to avoid it. However, my quarantine is ended. Rust doesn't survive the winter without special care in zone six and colder.

Snowy Stella, auction only

Ice Trumpets, $50 single fan

Kanai Sensei, $40 double fan

Sunshine On Clouds, held for increase

Early And Often, $25 double fan

Delicate Lace, $25 double fan

Twist Again, $25 double fan

Flowers Of Sulphur, $10 double fan

Frequent Flyer, contact Stephen Kendall

Jerry's Whirligig, contact Jerry Deschenes

Order now for spring 2007 shipment. $5 shipping and handling per order. Send checks to:

Mike Huben, 27 Winter St., Arlington, MA 02474
(781) 643-1534
<mhuben@world.std.com>

Snowy Stella (Huben 07)

2006-12-27T07:49:00.000-05:00

Snowy Stella (Huben 07) 24 E Re 3.25, NearWhite Self, Dor Dip
Seedling number: MH0257C

At any northern nursery, Stella De Oro sells like hotcakes because customers are told it reblooms. The question most often heard is “Do you have it in other colors?”

At last, Stella De Oro’s rebloom is available in a near-white.

Snowy Stella is definitely a near-white, and definitely a very strong northern rebloomer. It increases very well, has an excellent stature, 16 buds on erect scapes, blooms are well presented, has a nice clump form, and pretty much all the fans rebloom. Scapes are somewhat staggered too: that prevents gaps in the bloom.

Compared to Stella De Oro, the flowers are similar in size and form. The scapes have twice as many buds, and the continual rebloom is far more certain and abundant. The plants are slightly shorter, and bloom starts a week or two later.

It has a few minor faults: it's not the whitest white (it is tinged with apricot, though it beats most recent tetraploids), the throat bleaches from green to yellow in the sun, the pistil is sometimes curly or small (as in White Lemonade), and it's only an OK pod parent: doesn't produce that many seed.

Many people have tried and failed to produce northern rebloomers in other colors. Snowy Stella (MH0257C) took 10 years, 4 generations, thousands of seedlings, the rebloom genetics of Apps, Millikan, and Sobek, and the near-white genetics of Millikan, Hansen, and Gates. The ancestry is:

Snowy Stella: (Winter Wonderland * Early And Often) * (Sunshine On Clouds * Early And Often)

Sunshine On Clouds: (Happy Returns * Deicer) * (Three Seasons * Monica Marie).
Early And Often: Sunny Honey * (Three Seasons * Tuscawilla Tranquility).

The secret to the breeding of Snowy Stella is the poor conditions for rebloom in the breeding beds. Dry, poor soil; shade and root competition from trees; crowding and low heat in a coastal zone 6. If Snowy Stella will rebloom under those conditions, it will rebloom anywhere. Its grandparent, Early And Often, has demonstrated this principle.

There are only 3 pieces for sale this year. One I'll sell at the Can Am Classic this spring, one at the NEDS spring sale, and one probably at the daylily internet auction. No more will be sold until 2009. A few people are trialing (and increasing) it this year: Sobek (MA), Derrow (WV), Kamensky (MI), and Harmon (NH).

Ice Trumpets (Huben 07)

2006-12-27T07:44:00.000-05:00

Ice Trumpets (Huben 07) 30 E 3.5, NearWhite Self, Dor Dip
Boston Symphony * (Snowed In * H. yezoensis)
Seedling number: MH0055D

The fashion for large, ruffled, round, eyed, edged, tetraploid daylilies has brought about neglect of other forms. In years past, many daylilies were celebrated for their simple, delicate, wildflower-like forms. Names like Corky and Golden Chimes are not much remembered, and their forms never made the transition from yellow to other colors.

Ice Trumpets is an important step in my quest for Golden Chimes in near-white.  In just two generations from the species yezoensis, I have a very white, very green throat, narrow petalled trumpet form. As a matter of fact, it looks a lot like a small Easter Lily (though it is nowhere near as white as the real thing.) It has 21 buds and 4 branches for me: in the Sobek and Harmon gardens (nearby) it does MUCH better, and put on a show that drew me from across the garden. This one is distinctive in the combination of form and color. The height doesn't reach my ultimate goals (it's a mere 30 inches) but it's still a literal standout. I've bred with it very heavily: it has almost everything I want except more height. No trace of rebloom here or in Utah, though the F1 parent does rebloom.

Ice Trumpets is a great color clarifier in my breeding, and some of its children are among the whitest daylilies I’ve ever seen. Others have excellent height, budcount, branching, and trumpet form.

Incidentally, Ice Trumpets demonstrates the principle that even starting with a species, in two generations you can be back to near-white with green throats. Too much daylily breeding is aimed at immediate results in the first generation, and too little plans on success reclaiming recessive characteristics in the second generation.