Category: Hostas

Harvesting daylily seeds, planting last two pots of seedlings, starting the fall cutback, migrations

The daylily seed harvest is wrapping up. This year I have eight different types that survived the bunnies, squirrels, and sprinklers. Two are self seed and one is an “unknown” after a save from critter curiosity. That leaves five, and the daylily seedling box fits five pots, so, whew! we probably don’t need to put an addition on the daylily seedling “inn” next spring. After discovering what looks like a self seed, self plant, seedling bloom (more on that at the end), I now have a much greater level of confidence that the self seeds and unknowns can go straight into the ground in May. Where they will go, I have no idea. We are choc-a-block full. Time will tell.

The “countdown to season end” planting and transplanting list is also done, and early at that, as the daylily shipment came earlier than I expected. That sprint was something else! Very rewarding, but very exhausting.

After the linden trimming brought a previously shaded area back into the sun, there was no more room for Blue Mouse Ears hostas. I ended up planting the two remaining Blue Mouse Ears hosta divisions into the historic cemetery garden. A little worse for wear after sitting in the garage for a week and a half, but better than to the compost pile.

I hope they make it. They are such a beautiful hosta, and it would be nice to have them in that garden.

All of the other plantings I have put into the historical cemetery, save the clematis that never bloomed and eventually died, are doing well. The sedum rootings are even blooming pink. And the baby daylily pieces are sprouting new fans. For all of that, I am thankful. They love the sun, and the mulch seems to keep them in enough moisture.

I also started the fall cutback at the historic cemetery – the largest patch of Black-Eyed-Susans, the remainder of the milkweed, some irises, and more hosta scapes.

At the townhome gardens, the garden is starting to look more like fall. I decided the little scarecrows would be fun to be put out again this year. I almost feel like they could use some little hay bales. But I don’t do hay (achoo!!!) so … Blue Mouse Ears will have to do.

Sadly, the hummingbirds are pretty much done coming through and we will soon take down the feeders. There are enough flowers for late travelers. They have really loved the second bloom of the Weigelia this year (below) as well as the late blooming Rainforest Sunrise hosta.

The huge flocks of small migrating birds have also wound down. We have been seeing quite a few butterflies now, so we are assuming that is also migration. And seagulls! I wonder if we just never noticed them before here. We had flocks of them at our little house in the mining town on Lake Superior, but never here.
I am thinking that soon the dark eyed juncos will arrive for the winter.

So time is marching on. But for today, on this beautiful fall day, a day of PTO from work, I will just putz in the garden, enjoy what looks like our last week before the cooler weather, and look at our newest addition – totally unplanned, unplanted, a full on surprise until I saw the buds last week and the bloom today – “Panache”. We are calling her Panache because she appears to be a reversion to the grandparents of Just Plum Happy, the daylily in that space. Welcome to our garden, Panache! You are the new latest blooming daylily here!

Cross those scope creep items off that list

I remember the “mostly rock in the gardens” years – in the distant past, but nevertheless, they were exciting. Two times we had the gardens updated at the townhouse, back in the years when the lawn maintenance people were chewing up the bases of our very young deciduous trees while weed whipping, and we were coming up with “save the trees” solutions. Those were the blank slate days – trying out different things to see what worked – with partial/full sun/shade, with grow patterns, with what the birds and bees and butterflies liked. We built out a pretty robust garden, and then shared the template. Hint – templates for rolling out lush gardens to all in a townhome community do not work. It’s kind of like me at 11 years old watching competition ice skaters and thinking “how hard can it be?” Yah. Not so simple. Anyway, I digress. We continued our journey as the property matured. We adjusted to arriving squirrels and bunnies and the effect sprinklers have on growing plants. And then went whoa! Time to divide! And then whoa! This is fun to propagate and share! And then whoa! An abundance beyond what we can find homes for (where I was last weekend).
And then the “deep thinking” (more like maneuvering) starts. Maybe those daylilies SHOULD be moved farther into the sun, so maybe I COULD squeeze those last two spare hosta divisions in under the increasing shade the linden is providing …

And then the tree trimmers come, a bit of a surprise because they were already here this year, in late winter, but alright …. And suddenly, sun back into what was becoming a more shaded area.

Cross those daylily moves off the scope creep list.

I see a pattern here. The historic cemetery garden renovation has rounded the corner to maintenance, the townhome gardens are full and the sun/shade patterns are not requiring transplanting after all. We live in a townhome community where we pay for services and they get automagically scheduled and completed. Not really, but we have already done our board time served so yah, it kinda does 😂

I do kinda remember that thing called relaxation. I suppose I could see how that works out again. As husband laughs and says, “Yah, never in a million years.”

See those beautiful, newly planted Blue Mouse Ears divisions 🥰 And the shamrock that needs dividing this fall 😘

Did it – with big help from hubs

Weekend four on the ten week countdown dawned rainy, but the forecast correctly predicted clear up by mid morning. Good thing, because the week four list was the heftiest list by far. Some coffee, the word from hubs that he was ready, and we were off and running.

First up was a dig out. This is an at least 7 year old Purple D’Oro daylily clump that has been languishing in the increasing shade of hostas under the linden. The hosta garden is a look I love, but that daylily definitely needed new digs. The past 2 years it did not bloom at all and the few years before that its bloom was sparse. It deserves more love – a bit of dividing (into three clumps) and full sun. It may miss its sibs but it is just moving across town to hang out with some Stellas in the historic cemetery garden. Maybe make some new little D’Oros. And be amongst other sun lovers like daffodils and sedum.

So – daffodils … I know I said probably no more daffodils at the historic cemetery, and no more buying for the townhouse gardens. But, well …. You see …. We have Sir Bunimous Rex (a gigantic bunny) who roams the neighborhood at all hours of the night, and baby squirrels with voracious appetites and zero manners, and maybe a deer, although we haven’t seen it yet (but what else eats seed pods without even slightly bending the scape?) Anyway, the assumed trifecta that we actually do enjoy are having a field day with my seed pods, which, ok, is fine. They have mostly eaten failing pods. And the process this year has been beyond fun, I am building quite a knowledge base just from trial and error, plus it is free. Additionally, I actually would like to see a deer roam through here. I miss them from our little house up north, and their nighly parades. My husband probably is relieved, near term, that the assumed trifecta probably has eaten enough seed pods now that I probably don’t need to add on to the inn (the daylily seedling box) next year. If I ever got super serious about this hobby, we could get a well up north. But, here and now, given we know the munching issue, we need a bit ‘o prevention, and protection, for new plantings. So daffodils and coffee grounds go around all new plantings here and at the historic cemetery (where there are moles), and then ongoing peppermint oil is also being used as a deterrent at the townhouse. I HAVE found infrared deterrents, but, sigh, they also deter dogs, and sigh, I need my dog to go outside …

So back to the Purple D’Oro – my husband dug it out, I divided it, and it went in a bag to the historic cemetery, along with the 2024 Purple D’Oro self seed seedlings (from 2023 harvested seed), where I planted them, and some languishing Asian lilies, along with daffodils, today.

And with that, the left side of the historic cemetery garden is a wrap. That just makes my heart so happy – even though there is no rain in the forecast for the next week, and that means daily trips to water them. The next 90 degree day in the forecast looks like a week out. A daily trip over there will be fine, short term.

What’s left at the historic cemetery garden? Waiting for the (right side) daylily order to arrive in September. And weed and trim each side alternately. Have I mentioned how AWESOME the mulch is? Sooooo easy to weed. Not necessarily so fun in heat and humidity, but way easier than the rock and heaving plastic that was there before. And people absolutely love it! A couple stopped to talk again today when I was there. They said they can really see the passion for gardening that we all are putting in there. Wowee Wow! Very humbling, and rewarding.

You may also notice I am not saying “fence garden” anymore. The large overgrown garden has been donated to the rain gardens at the historic mansion in town. They needed things that were budget friendly and would come back every year. Yes, and yes. So the only garden at the historic cemetery will be the formerly known as “fence” garden. Woo Hoo! Now if this “crazy lady” can stop coming up with new projects! Hahaha! I think I’d better. The current state is “just right”.

But wait! Why was weekend four so hard? Dig out a daylily at the townhouse and go dig and plant four holes at the historic cemetery? Big honking deal! Oh no, no, no, no! That was just the cemetery part.
Back to yesterday, I had other daylilies and seedlings, and fairy ringed hostas to dig and divide and find new locations for. Swapping locations for sun scorched Blue Mouse Ears and sun starved Purple D’Oros. And moving a failing set of Asian Lilies (they went in with the daylily divisions and the daffodils-layering-to the cemetery). And then last was moving a regularly stepped on Praying Hands hosta. I’m thinking the stepper-oner is four pawed and goes by the name of Bunimous Rex. That Bun does not eat it, I am amazed.

So today wraps up weekend four of the townhome side of the 10 week countdown. We did it! Hallelujah!!! So glad that is now done! And so thankful for ibuprofen and a nap!

I leave you with some end state pics at the townhome.

More to come, and yes that is chicken wire around Tender Love. Bun broke off and ate the scape with the cross from Pink Tirza. No more for you, Bun!

What is the data telling me?

I am a (relevant) data junkie. And I admit, yes, I am one of those people that have to bite my tongue when I need answers and I am being fed baloney sausage. Thankfully, there is no baloney sausage in the garden. Oh I love it so 😊

The data from 2024 is telling me the hostas under the linden are healthier than ever. They are giving me that woodland garden backdrop I so love, with mostly shade and dappled sun.

They are a bit affected by the Japanese beetle bugs about this time of year, but I can’t do anything about that.

The data is telling me the Purple D’Oro daylilies under the linden don’t have enough sun any more. The ones that can be dug out are on the 10 week countdown.

The data is telling me the Blue Mouse Ears hostas need dividing, and they would probably be happier with more shade. They will start to do a swap-a-roo with the daylilies under the linden and are on the 10 week countdown.

The data is telling me that, although some daylily crosses were initially looking successful, some daylily type’s pods consistently failed. I soooo feel a delightful spreadsheet coming on to identify all the patterns. Notes and verbiage are great, but this girlfriend likes to plan intelligently too. All those crosses deserve analysis. For sure, I know I can can cross Marque Moon X South Seas and Marque Moon X Just Plum Happy off the list. The pods get to a point, and then start to deteriorate, and it is like a beacon to whatever is eating the pods to pull the whole scape down. But the healthy pods seem more chomp safe. Go figure. Still, the data says so.

The data says I need to put chicken wire around shorter, late season bloomers. Because the data says the baby squirrels seem to think they are gourmet.
And the data says Pink Tirza and Coral Majority (yes, intense Coral Majority) have crazy good pollen.
And the data says, even though I thought I had successfully typed Hello Yellow, it started to look a bit like it was dying off after a couple weeks, and then something got the pod. I tell you, failing pods are like a munchie beacon.

So, the data also says I need to buy myself some reference info that gives me a deeper dive, and maybe join an organization to knowledge share. Nothing too intense. But better than unfruitful internet searches.

It’s all good. Next July will bring another level. Who knows what crazy crosses I might try in 2025. Hello Yellow x Coral Majority? Egads!!!

In the moment

I just love Saturday mornings in the garden, a slow start, just relaxing and taking it all in, getting up to take a pic, making a daylily cross, letting the dog back in the house, or back out again lol, watching the birds, the squirrels, thinking about fun stuff. It’s the best!

Last Saturday morning I got to do that. No deadlines, no strict agenda. Just enjoying what is happening in the garden. There were 2 Pink Tirza blooms, the second to last Marque Moon bud bloomed, a couple Naomi Ruth blooms, a few red daylily blooms, the last mystery yellow freebie bloom of the season, and two glorious Tender Love blooms. And the beautiful hostas are continuing to bloom.
Some daylily crosses were done, some trimming and cleaning up was done, of course a whole lot of pics were taken, and a whole lot of sharing and catching up and rejuvenating.
Sunday was an historic cemetery garden morning. I love early mornings in that garden too. They are very different though. When I go over there, I have planned, I know what I want to accomplish. I don’t sit and relax and daydream. I “do”. Last Sunday I brought the 5 sedum rootings and got those planted. I watered them as I went, I discovered as I dug – where rock was still a bit under the landscape fabric, and plastic under that lol. I discovered ant colonies too, oh yeah. That was definitely “in the moment”. No snakes this time though haha!
The end product for the morning didn’t look like much, baby sedum rootings amid a sea of beautiful mulch, but this morning as I looked at my 2014 – 2023 “this day in years past” photos, it reinforced to me exactly how fast things grow. My 2014 gardens at the townhouse barely resemble my gardens there today.
So on Sunday they looked like this

but they grow fast. Next year at this time, conditions permitting, they will look much fuller and taller.
Next up for planting at the historic cemetery is the daylily seedlings. Then the one side will be done for the year, with space to grow for quite a few years. Don’t forget space to grow 😊
The other side cannot be planted until this year’s daylily order arrives, should be in September.

After I wrapped up the planting at the historic cemetery last Sunday morning, I did take time to wander, the full length of the fence garden, a few times, and when I went to empty the rock I dug out, I also took a look at the large overgrown garden that will be (hopefully) removed this September. That moment will also be very special, a transition to just the fence garden go forward. A good moment. A long planned and awaited moment.

Over the past week, the daylilies in the townhome garden areas have really wound down.

The diploids are getting some crosses with Tender Love.

But the best surprise of all in the past couple days, so far, fingers crossed, is that mystery yellow freebie might actually be a diploid. The start of a seed pod from a tetraploid cross very quickly failed, overnight literally, so the next morning I decided to cross her with Pink Tirza. That now has a seed pod that doesn’t look like it is failing, yet, fingers crossed. Lots to go but that would be very exciting.

There are so many seed pods and so many crosses and so many notes and hundreds of pictures, but the daylily season is winding down now and will soon be a wrap.
So far I am seeing a few seed pods from Purple D’Oro and some Marque Moon crosses fail, but Pink Tirza, Naomi Ruth, Just Plum Happy, Cedar Waxwing, Coral Majority, Tender Love, and the red daylilies have all been very successful. And the self seeders are Coral Majority, Just Plum Happy, a bit of the red daylilies, and one Pink China Doll. What I will do with those seeds is tbd. The historic cemetery will be full, the garden areas at the townhome are full. I think the self seeds will have to go up north.

This morning, as the dawn arrived and I took a look at what the new day had brought, I am very thankful for so many things. For the gardens here, today, in the moment, I am thankful the last Pink Tirzah bud of the 2024 season is starting her one day bloom on the same day as the last two Naomi Ruth buds of the 2024 season are beginning to bloom and a Tender Love bud has already also started to bloom. If I want to try another cross with the red daylilies, they are still blooming too. I have many choices this day, of many types of diploids.
Only one tetraploid is still blooming – Coral Majority. South Seas bloomed her last bud of the 2024 season yesterday, no crosses.

Final daylily blooms of the season, testing ploidy, long awaited latest bloom

The long awaited Tender Love bloom has started.

Fortunately, very fortunately, Pink Tirza is also blooming. It may be my only chance this season to do a cross, so cross it was.

It looks like our first daylily seedling to bloom in the townhouse gardens is a tetraploid. I crossed her with Just Plum Happy and it looks like it was successful, so far. Many more mile markers to go but she has a seed pod.

Monday morning we said Sweet Dreams to Pink China Doll. She bloomed four buds on Sunday and now she is done blooming for the year. Well deserved wind down for her.

Monday the large Just Plum Happy bloomed profusely and yesterday the sole remaining bud bloomed. The same on the medium Just Plum Happy – the last bud bloomed yesterday. So yesterday was the last day of bloom in the 2024 garden here for Just Plum Happy. She truly has been a joy again this year. We are leaving all three in place, no dividing, for next year.
And the last bloom of the medium Just Plum Happy was crossed with the mystery yellow freebie, to see if the mystery yellow freebie might be a tetraploid. I suspect so, but I am wishing for a diploid. But doubtful.

If the Just Plum Happy cross fails, there is one more mystery yellow freebie bud, and I will cross that with whatever diploid blooms on that day. If the cross with Just Plum Happy succeeds, I will have much less choice for another tetraploid cross for the last mystery yellow freebie cross – maybe Cedar Waxwing, maybe South Seas. Or maybe Coral Majority lol! Could be nothing.

The diploid cross between Pink Tirza and the red daylily succeeded, so I did two more yesterday, same scape.

And at the historic cemetery we have a wrap up plan for the excess irises and daylilies from the large overgrown garden. They will be going to the historic mansion in town. There are two rain gardens there that have room. September should be a good month for that activity.

So now we begin August. The beginning of August always feels to me like a mini version of the first week of January, when the holidays have wrapped up and we throttle back to a more “normal” routine. But there is so much more of gardening season left. 3 months 🥰 Still lots of daylilies to bloom, but not July’s intensity, all of the remaining transplanting and then new planting work, the 2024 seedlings need to be planted, the remaining hostas will go to bloom, the sedum, the seed pod work … plenty still to come. Just a bit of a slower pace again now.

Refinement

I have figured out what is “throwing” me about Coral Majority. It is in the “pastel” garden area. That area has vanillas and light pink, and even South Seas sometimes goes toward salmon. Coral Majority is bold, and almost looks frayed not ruffled and seersuckerish and approaching marbled in color. Today three bloomed together and they were nice.

It has a lot of pollen, but I really don’t have anything I want to cross it with. I did a “one time” test today with Cedar Waxwing, as I haven’t crossed anything else with Cedar Waxwing this year and it is not self seeding so it will be super easy to track. If that one-time test fails I will not try again, but I am half expecting it to work lol. Something about light pink and bright coral makes me think I won’t like the cross, but maybe …

Sadly the Naomi Ruth x Pink Tirza cross to the last bloom of the smaller Pink Tirza failed only two days after the cross. Quick answer, and not unexpected.

I have taken to notes on my phone notepad to keep quick info, and that is helping. Today I accidentally made a Pink Tirza to Naomi Ruth cross on the wrong scape – one that already has two seed pods from Purple D’Oro, but I made a note and took a bunch of pics so I have it documented if it does form a seed pod, but I am guessing no. Because of that I disciplined myself to stop for the day, a good thing.

I am really, really, really hoping for good weather on Saturday morning. I have week one of “the plan” – transplanting three South Seas self seed seedlings to the historic cemetery garden. They are from 2021 seed, 2022 seedlings, and are starting to get big enough that they are blocking the path to the hummingbird feeder. I will not replant seedlings there. I also need to do weeding over at the historic cemetery, although I will say the mulch is doing a fantastic job keeping weeds down.
And now today’s highlights:

I am getting the Blue Mouse Ears scapes trimmed, always an incremental job. The large Just Plum Happy is in the Grand Finale stage. The hosta in the far back needs to be disposed. I have tried a number of things, including moving it, but it is failing. It happens. I think it is about 18 years old. It has lived a good full life.


Time for hosta haircuts, daylily peak season

Yesterday we had 22 daylilies bloom in the gardens. Today I did my first walkabout and there are even more today than yesterday. Even with the heat and humidity, even recovering from a summer cold, the joy and beauty and magnitude of what is approaching peak bloom season for the daylilies does not escape me. It is awe inspiring!
Early morning on these warm days is the most enjoyable, and I love to capture the early morning beauty before the day heats up, when the garden’s potential is just starting to shine.

Yesterday the Naomi Ruth bloomed for the first time this year.

Today Pink China Doll bloomed for the first time.

And Just Plum Happy is incredible right now.
I love how this scape this morning shows yesterday, this morning, and (probably) tomorrow.

And even though they are the backdrop right now, the hostas also are an absolute delight. Their waves of bloom are gradually giving way to seed production so it was haircut time. I want them to save their strength for next year’s beauty.

And then there is Tirza way in the back of one of the areas. It was a slow start for her here, for multiple reasons, but now she is coming in to her own these past couple years.

In a week or so I will start trimming the Blue Mouse Ears. That is quite a job, so I do a few at a time. And I see they burned a bit in the heat of the past few days. They need dividing this fall, and some may get a new, more shade filled location, and a bit of distance from the daylilies that are starting to cover them up.

They really shouldn’t be covered up. They are far too beautiful to be covered up 🥰