Some of my new daylilies for you to see

[catjac1975]

Waiting for Sunrise. In visiting my sleeping gardens this morning I found a huge daylily clump pulled up by the deer. It looks fine but instead of replanting in partially frozen ground, I potted it and put it in my greenhouse. So I will see this one blooming indoors early this season. A little gift for me.

 

[baymule]

That is so gorgeous!

 

[SPedigrees]

Catjac, as this forum's resident expert on daylilies, I have a question for you. What makes a daylily change colors?

About 10 or 15 years ago I bought a number of various cultivars of bright red daylilies. At least the pictures on their tags showed brilliant red blossoms. However once planted in my gardens they produced drab flowers of very dark crimson, almost like the red pigment was mixed with brown. This discouraged me from adding anymore red daylilies to my perennial beds in the ensuing years, but recently these plants have been producing true red blooms, identical to the pictures on their tags. What would have caused this change (for the better) in color?

For a more recent example, two years ago I bought the daylily pictured on this tag.

And yet, the flowers from this plant display the anemic pale yellow (as seen below, almost a cream color with just the slightest hint of yellow) rather than the rich hue of orange shown on the tag. Strangely the eye of the flowers are true to that on the tag. The care requirements printed on the reverse side state that this plant will grow in almost any soil, and to plant in full sun for optimum performance. (It has full sun from 9AM until sundown.)

Any light you can shed on this mystery would be welcome, because you clearly know more about daylilies than anyone else I know. Any chance that this plant may go the same direction as my red daylilies, and come into its own as they have done?

I should just mention that daylilies in my perennial beds of other colors have always bloomed in colors exactly as expected, for instance all other orange daylilies, the cherry cheeks variety that I use as a profile picture icon on this forum, and a number of pale lilac and mauve colored daylilies.

 

[catjac1975]

Catjac, as this forum's resident expert on daylilies, I have a question for you. What makes a daylily change colors?

About 10 or 15 years ago I bought a number of various cultivars of bright red daylilies. At least the pictures on their tags showed brilliant red blossoms. However once planted in my gardens they produced drab flowers of very dark crimson, almost like the red pigment was mixed with brown. This discouraged me from adding anymore red daylilies to my perennial beds in the ensuing years, but recently these plants have been producing true red blooms, identical to the pictures on their tags. What would have caused this change (for the better) in color?

For a more recent example, two years ago I bought the daylily pictured on this tag.
View attachment 63114

And yet, the flowers from this plant display the anemic pale yellow (as seen below, almost a cream color with just the slightest hint of yellow) rather than the rich hue of orange shown on the tag. Strangely the eye of the flowers are true to that on the tag. The care requirements printed on the reverse side state that this plant will grow in almost any soil, and to plant in full sun for optimum performance. (It has full sun from 9AM until sundown.)
View attachment 63115

Any light you can shed on this mystery would be welcome, because you clearly know more about daylilies than anyone else I know. Any chance that this plant may go the same direction as my red daylilies, and come into its own as they have done?

I should just mention that daylilies in my perennial beds of other colors have always bloomed in colors exactly as expected, for instance all other orange daylilies, the cherry cheeks variety that I use as a profile picture icon on this forum, and a number of pale lilac and mauve colored daylilies.

If you never saw the color on the tag, the plant was misslabeled. So the white is what you got? If so, labeled wrong. PW are a big company and wrong tags could happen easily. I am certain they have many growers. One of my own cultivars started out as a brilliant yellow orange. When I changed location it changed to a deep red. Soil and especially PH - can do that, but rarely in all my many plants. I think they sent you the wrong plant. My motto is shop local.

 

[baymule]

It may not be what’s on the label, but it’s still a lovely flower!

 

[SPedigrees]

If you never saw the color on the tag, the plant was misslabeled. So the white is what you got? If so, labeled wrong. PW are a big company and wrong tags could happen easily. I am certain they have many growers. One of my own cultivars started out as a brilliant yellow orange. When I changed location it changed to a deep red. Soil and especially PH - can do that, but rarely in all my many plants. I think they sent you the wrong plant. My motto is shop local.

Actually I bought this daylily from a local nursery, (not at a chain or big box store) so I wonder if they are one of PW's growers or if they buy their daylilies from this wholesaler (in addition to the many plants and trees they do grow themselves).

Soil, or specifically PH, has not changed (not drastically at least) on my land, so this doesn't explain why my red daylilies began as drab muddy red and changed after a number of years to the bright crimson pictured on their labels. Is there an element present in some soils that a plant might struggle with at first, and then later adapt to?

This daylily isn't white, but rather a very pale yellow, and the color of the eye on my plant is exactly as pictured on the label. Of course I'm hoping that this plant's flowers will revert to the colors they are supposed to be, as the red ones did, but I suppose it might have been wrongly labelled. My patch of beautiful purple bee balm began as a single stem stowaway that arrived in with a pot of phlox of the same color, so mistakes do happen.

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[catjac1975]

Actually I bought this daylily from a local nursery, (not at a chain or big box store) so I wonder if they are one of PW's growers or if they buy their daylilies from this wholesaler (in addition to the many plants and trees they do grow themselves).

Soil, or specifically PH, has not changed (not drastically at least) on my land, so this doesn't explain why my red daylilies began as drab muddy red and changed after a number of years to the bright crimson pictured on their labels. Is there an element present in some soils that a plant might struggle with at first, and then later adapt to?

This daylily isn't white, but rather a very pale yellow, and the color of the eye on my plant is exactly as pictured on the label. Of course I'm hoping that this plant's flowers will revert to the colors they are supposed to be, as the red ones did, but I suppose it might have been wrongly labelled. My patch of beautiful purple bee balm began as a single stem stowaway that arrived in with a pot of phlox of the same color, so mistakes do happen.

Thanks for the suggestions.

PW are sold everywhere. So eventually they turned the red that you wanted? Something it the soil change for the better. I need to use lime in my gardens for maintaining a good ph. But that is not for all parts of the US. If you want fantastic daylilies, in fact fantastic plants of all kinds, and Greensand to your gardens. It is sand, that is green, and is full of micro nutrients. You will thank me. I get it on amazon and sprinkle it on all growing things.

 

[SPedigrees]

So eventually they turned the red that you wanted? Something it the soil change for the better.

Yes they did. Perhaps there was a change in the soil but it had nothing to do with me. I will keep the "Greensand" in mind, thanks.