Lexington, KY - Gardeners out there, let's dream up a perfect perennial. Go crazy, ask for anything. A wide range of colors, shapes and sizes. Low care. Drought tolerant. Few disease and pest problems. Adaptable to various soil and light conditions. A selection of cultivars to provide bloom from spring to fall.
Sure sounds like daylilies to me. Their botanical name is Hemerocallis, derived from two Greek words, hemera meaning "day", and kallos, "beauty." As this name implies, each flower lasts but a day, however a good-sized plant will reward you with many blossoms over several weeks.
The genus Hemerocallis is native to Asia. Since the early 1930s, hybridizers in the United States and England have made great improvements in daylilies. Originally, the only colors were yellow, orange and a sort of brownish red. Today, we have colors ranging from near-whites to vivid reds, with blends and flower shapes that will amaze.
Not all daylilies will do well in Kentucky's climate. It can be a challenge to pick plants that will do well in your own garden. Sydney Eddison, author of "Passion for Daylilies," advises: "Seeing daylilies in a local display garden is the only reliable way to choose the best cultivars for your region. Any cultivar growing lustily in the display garden will perform well in yours."
If Eddison lived in Kentucky, he might well add, "Hie thee to Thoroughbred Daylilies" -
the establishment of daylily hybridizers John and Annette Rice, located just 30 minutes from downtown Lexington.
John Rice has a business degree from Rutgers, with a minor in horticulture. He started out working in the gardens of some wealthy and well known people. This trend did not end when he arrived in Kentucky; most recently he was the horticulturist at W.T. Young's Overbrook Farm.
John wanted daylilies that would bloom in the early, middle and late season in the farm's gardens. Mr. Young shared these horticultural interests, encouraging John's visits to "just about every daylily establishment and hybridizer east of the Mississippi" and then some. Annette accompanied him and they started buying for their own gardens.
By 1993, they had started their hybridizing business, working out of their home in the Chevy Chase area. In 1998, John left Overbrook Farm and Thoroughbred Daylilies became a full time business in its current location, on 10 acres of land in Bourbon County, just barely outside the Fayette County line.
What is the life of a daylily hybridizer like? The Rices have about 25,000 seeds in refrigeration, the result of about 1,000 crosses they made last season, in their never ending search for beautiful new plants. (To make a cross, you pick a stamen from one daylily, and brush it across the pistil of another.) John and Annette will plant these seeds by hand in April or May. My back is hurting already.
Most of these crosses will take two years to bloom. The resulting plants are then assessed over a three-year period, with the best ones relocated to a separate bed. This lengthy assessment period puts the plants through many seasons so hardiness can be determined.
Of course, factors other than just hardiness are considered. Plants should be well-branched, with side branches held at a wide angle so that the flowers are not crowded together. Bud count is important, as is robustness - increase in clump size means more blooms. The Rices also look for clarity of bloom color, and the petals must do well in the sun and retain their color. The foliage needs to look attractive, with the blooms held above the leaves.
Once a plant has passed these tests and been selected, it can then take another five years to produce enough plants to make the introduction of the new cultivar worthwhile. This time-consuming process is reflected in the price of new introductions, which can be as high as $300, or even more. In 2010, Thoroughbred Daylilies will have 16 spring and 12 fall introductions, their most ever.
The extensive display gardens contain new introductions and older cultivars, which are generally priced from $15 to $45. There is a beautiful daylily for almost any budget.
Thoroughbred Daylilies is open on weekends in June and July, and other times by appointment. It is recommended that you call first, even for a weekend visit. The peak bloom time is around July 4th. They are located at 6615 Briar Hill Rd., Paris, Ky. For further information, check out their website at www.thoroughbreddaylilies.com, or give them a call at (859) 435-0000.
You can learn more about daylilies by joining the American Hemerocallis Society (www.daylilies.org). The local Blue Grass Hemerocallis Society, which operates under the umbrella of the AHS, holds an annual daylily show and sale at Lexington Green. This year's event will be held on Sunday, June 27. For more information, please contact Janet Tincher, the show chair, at (859) 223-4237.
I hear that daylilies can be addictive. Consider yourself warned.