Lily Lovers Look here!

Hi Sundry,
Our experience with Rose Moss has been both with transplanting live plants from flats and also scattering seed. The live plants from flats give instant gratification, as they are usually blooming when you transplant them. Scattering seed is a slower process, but eventually the rewards are the same. We plant and scatter such a mixture of colors and flowering varieties (singles, doubles, variegated) that if there was any reverting going on, I'd never know about it. They do reseed readily, so after the initial purchase, we haven't had to buy more in recent years. Another plus, our deer and bunnies leave it alone.
Ron
PS: Bear in mind that we garden in zone 5a, and you are in 9a. Please check with your local garden center or County Extension Office to determine how well this plant performs in your climate.

Thanx Ron! I know they do well here, and either act as perennials or re-seed readily because I see them around, in the same places year after year. I really like them, but never really had a use for them until now. I was fully planning to use them in the bird/butterfly garden even if they weren't real butterfly flowers! LOL!

I've got a pretty big area to cover, maybe 40 square ft., so it makes better sense to start with seed. I just didn't want to set myself up for disappointment. But if they re-seed so easily it's certainly worth a try.

Even if they do revert, that only means I'll have to replace them eventually, same as the impatiens.

variegated, huh? I'll have to look out for those.

Cheri'

You are entirely welcome Sundry.
Here is a picture of a numbered seedling that kinda shows the Portulaca as the ground cover.
Ron

Get me a bib please, I'm drooling! Got any babies? Oh, the mr looks really good as a ground cover, yep going to plant some.

chrissy, did anyone tell you yet that you have now started down the road of your second addiction? Daylilies! There is no turning back now! See you at the daylily forums soon.

Oh Chrissy, Llilyfan is telling you the truth there! There is a fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness." Does having over 300 varieties of daylilies mixed into your flower beds count as a "hobby" or an "addiction"?
One sure way to tell, us addicts belong to "Societies" and attend meetings to socialize with others similarly afflicted. But oh my goodness, we do enjoy our addictions, don't we, Llilyfan?
Ron

OHHHHH MAAAAAN!!!!NOT ANOTHER ADDICTION!!!! lol.. i have always loved the look of daylilys but was at first bumbed out that they dont smell... but i am over that now...lol... i will have enough smell good flowers, that i dont need them to smell now... i dont DARE look at online catalogs for daylily... i cant afford it right now..lol.. and ur right.. a hobby it is not.. THREE HUNDRED RON!!!!!!! OHHHH MMMYYY!!! SIGHHHH... someday i will be so lucky... i love the one i got.. (: i love the purple and yellow.. its so pretty... i saw this summer in a catalog 'apricot sparkles'... i wanted those back then... do they REALLY have that glitter look to them??? oh and ron i do love those mr.... do u guys think that ground cover would look nice with panseys mixed.. or should i use pansies in another area by itself or with something else?? i LOVE pansies ... they remind me of alice in wonderland... u know i am finding that i am really addicted to gardening too... everyday i am reading about new flowers and trees, and i am dieing to get outside to do something with my plantings and trees.. oh and lilyfan, i planted my aruba lilys for ya...(: i chuckled to myself because i had been planting for hours that morning and all of a sudden it popped into my head that i said i would plant one for u and i just happened to be placing an aruba lily in the ground.. ironic i thought of u while planting a lily...lolol..

here is a question for u guys... i planted the daylilys the day before yesterday, and they have a little bit of the new leaves sicking out of the ground... well last night we had a frost warning. we were to have frost from 3 to 6 in the morning.. will this frost damage the young little leaves??? and does anyone know if fost completely kills hydranga? i have a lacecap hydranga, that its leaves had turned a dark red for fall and after a light frost a few days ago the leaves are all black an yucky.. will that kill my hydranga??? i hope not...

OH LILYFAN I ALMOST FORGOT TO TELL U!!!!!!! (doing the happy dance) i checked my scales that fell off from the shipping , the ones i tried in the bag... and they have baby bulbs on them!!!!! whooooo-hoooooo!!!!!! do u remember what kind i had tried that with???? i dont remember!!! i cannot believe it work for me!!!! oh yeaaaaa!!! i'm gonna take a pic and show u guys.. i can reproduce my lilies this way!!!! ohhh myyyyy..... (: gonna go take that pic now.. be right back!!!!
chrissy

ok guys.. here is a pic of the little bulbs growing on the lily scales... (: excuse the bluriness, the pic was taken thru a plasic baggie...(: there is another one growing on the larger scale to the left also .. u just cant see it very well..
chrissy

another one, hopefully clearer...

Oh boy do you ever have it bad. Lilies, pansies, daylilies, and now propagation of lilies! I'm trying my hand at hybridizing this year and to might want to give that a try also now that you have already swallowed the hook! There is such a sense of satisfaction when you try these things and they work. Somehow even when our first attempts fail we just try again, think it must be a love our creator placed in us.

I'm getting ready to start some open pollinated lily seeds. Have no idea what they will turn out to be but just the knowing that I was involved in the growth process is quite satisfying. I'll have to keep you informed as well as you keeping us all up to date on your babies.

Sue

edited spelling

This message was edited Jan 4, 2004 2:13 PM

Hey cici77,
Do y'all have Yucca out there in California?
Here's what ours here in Iowa look like today :-)
Ron

This message was edited Jan 4, 2004 12:22 PM

yep ron we have yucca out here.. infact there is a city , well more like a town named yucca valley out here... about 1/2 hour away from me.. (: wow.. now that looks waaaaay cold!!!! BBBRRRRRRRR, beautiful pic though....so far this morning its 50 degrees out... but sunny an clear.. not a cloud in the sky.... perfect time for me to take a pic of that stained bed!!! (: lilyfan i was soooo happy to see the babies on the scales.. but now i need to get into my propogation book and see when and how to plant them... (: i would love to try hybridizing, and yes its amazing what we are able to do with these plants and trees here on gods green earth! i have always felt closer to god in the garden then anywhere else.. anyway speaking of the garden i better get out there before we have a freak change in the weather.. i dont know if we will but around this time of year u just never know....(:
chrissy

cici77 - great job with the lily scales! I'll have to try that next chance I get. I'm thinking now of the scales that broke off of some tiger lily bulbs this fall, and how I kinda threw them in a corner thinking maybe they will grow. Maybe they will, but your baggie method would have been better!

About the daylilies you planted ... If the ground is soft enough for them to grow, they will be fine. I'd keep them deeply watered (not drowning) for a few weeks at least to encourage the roots to grow. Give them a good mulch and they won't even know it's frosty. Once they have their roots nice and strong, your California frost can't hurt 'em. If they are the evergreen type, they will continue to grow. If they are the dormant type, they will go dormant. And if they are Semi Evergreen, they will do what they want ... LOL! Remember, daylilies are hardy to, and may even grow better in, zone 3!

As to the hydrangea, I think you are safe there, too. Once again, your zone has nothing as cold as what they can take (zone 6, I think). The worst that could happen is no flowers for a season.

I only worry about frosts and freezes for my tropical plants, and I don't worry too much about them. As long as they are protected from the North they are usually fine. Once every ten or so years it gets cold enough here to do damage (then it's time to throw a blanket over them). Heat and humidity is what kills plants, here.

Cheri'

I'd say YUCKY YUCCA, Ron. LOL It's cold and snowing here in the NW. Only 8 deg. and tomorrow is supposed to be colder. I really hate the brisk wind!!! Chills the bones!

Hi Kooger,
Now is that time we dream about in the dog days of August, you know, about the week after we have given up trying to water because it just turns into more humidity.
Throw another log on the fire, surround yourself with all the new seed catalogs, and dream those dreams. :-)
Ahhh Life is good.
Ron

10 inches of snow today! I think my new lilies have that blanket they were needing. The winds blew the leaf blanket away so with the deep freeze coming I'm happy.

Ron, snow sculpture gives even an Iowa winter such beauty. Just threw another log in the stove, oh yes, life is good.

Chrissy, enjoy the 50's my high tomorrow is only 14.

Sue,
Now I don't feel so bad about the 14 inches we got here at the lake some weeks back.

You got 10 inches yesterday!!!! LOL We only got a dusting!

thanx cheri on the info regarding the frost with the daylilies and hydranga.. i took a look at both of them today and the hydranga has new buds where the old stuff got the frost bite... and the daylily , was fine yesterday, no frost damage...and yes the heat and humidity almost killed my hydranga this year.. and after finally getting it used to our heat out here the dang pups loved to lay right in the middle of it!!! wouldnt u know it...!!! the pic below is what it looked like when i brought it home from the nursery, and now it looks nothing like that.. its almost bare in the center!!! baaad pups!!! and u know cheri , those scales may work, i did the same thing u did when i wasnt sure i could pull off the baggie method... i just plopped them in the dirt..i may try it with black beauty whenever i dig them up (:

WOW 8 DEGREES!!!! MY GOODNESS!!!! AND LILYFAN 10 INCHES!!! YIKES!!! i guess i better quit being a crybaby about my weather,, and i wish i had a fireplace!!! ): we are putting a pot belly stove in our house we are building.. and i keep using our firewood for bed borders.. but the shapes of the wood works so well with what i am doing, i told hubby he will have to buy firewood when it comes to the pot belly stove.. (: he just sighs , chuckles and rolls his eyes... i took a pic of the stained bed , i also had burned a tee-pee on the one corner,...but i think i will wait till i plant something in it to show u guys.. i want to get some snapdragons this year.. i looove snapdragons... my mom always used to make them talk and sing by squeezing the sides of the flower.. its quite cute... i am suprised how many people dont know how to make the snap dragons talk and sing..(: lol.. ok well i am off to bury myself in a book about what can stand light frost that i can plant today...(:
chrissy

the pic is not the best..sorry

TLC, yup 10 inches. I was beginning to feel left out! I don't think it will melt off this week anyway. Our high only got to 10 today so nothing was melting. Course you know what cold is being a lot further north.

chrissy, baaad puppies! I grew snaps this year, they bloomed continually for me. Finally the 2 9 degree nights got them in late Nov. Even yesterday I was noticing some new growth at the base of the plants. Fortunately my lilies quit growing so I think they should be okay come spring. They were Madonna lilies and I was told fall growth was not that unusual. Normally we should plant them in August, but I didn't get mine until October. You do what you gotta do. Okay, I guess I'll let you keep me in suspense on the wood-burning of the raised bed. Have you been to the daylily forum yet? You gotta go there. It will help cement that new addiction. LOL

Llilyfan, if you shread your leaves and mulch, then water them they stay in place better. Don't let them dry out. Mine stay put pretty well that way. Chrissy, welcome to the totally addicted gardeners club.

MaryE, Yep I did that, even topped it off with some bagged top soil. Didn't help. The wind just howls through our yard if it is out of the south or southwest. We are open fields behind us and no windbreaks. I have planted some trees to help buffer the wind, but alas, they aren't big enough to manage the job yet. I even had the bed fenced with chicken wire and it still cleaned it off! Next year I will get a cypress mulch down and that will help. Just wasn't ready for that yet as I still have a lot of plants to put in this spring and didn't want to fight with it.

Lilyfan, you get worse wind than I do and I get a lot! I hope your windbreaks grow fast.

ohhh lilyfan whyyyyyy did u send me to the daylily forum??? (: i shouldnt be overthere.... i cant afford too!!!!!! its not that they cost alot of money , its just that i buy buy buy and dont stop... now u guys know somewhere in the posts above me i have said several times.. i have to stop buying now.. and i still havent stopped.. even yesterday i drove over to a home depot in hemet , to check out their bulbs to see if they had anything different then the redlands and san bern. home depots.. well they had pretty much the same things except they had a blue gladiola... and wouldnt u know it there were none left!!! sigh... i love blue.. now i am on a quest to go to the palm springs HD and the other HD on the bad side of san bern. , i would call them and ask rather then run allllll the over tinbuck-too but those people act like their lucky to know their own name when u ask them anything.. anyway, so i go there yesterday, and since they were out of the blue glads i thought i was safe leaving there without spending any moola.. but noooo , that didnt happen.. i saw out of the corner of my eye bare root plants.. they had TONS of them.. and they had my golden chain tree.. my hubby bought me one last year at the nursery and it cost him 65.00, and here home depot had them for $13.88!!!!! so how in the world could i pass that up???? i couldnt, they also have my weeping cherry tree i have wanted for the past 3 years... they were 23.00 and i had to pass on that one.. i got a brush though.. forget what its called.. i dont think i have seen it before or noticed it at least.. but it blooms all these yellow flowers then leafs out in the summer then the leaves turn yellow in the fall.. i am gonna put that in the new bed today.. that was only $7.98, but u see what i am saying.. i'm not stopping!!!!! i really need to take a break from spending..i dont dare look in a catalog that has daylilies...i'm safer working in my garden... that usually takes up all my time.. (:
chrissy

Oh Chrissy,

I have just one word for you...

www.gilberthwild.com

Request to get on their mailing list.
Enjoy your new passion in the privacy of your own home:-)
Ron

chrissy I understand perfectly, really I do. I passed from infatuation to addiction and now I'm at obsession! My cure is being to broke to afford any plants so I do have to chose very carefully. I just signed up for the gilbert wilds catalog. They have prices even I can afford.

Really was happy to see you feeding that new addiction at the daylily forum. You and I have it made really, since we have so few most all of them are new to us. Now just need to do some nighttime raids!!!

thanx ron... i went out and looked at them... and lilyfan ur right they have good prices.. i was looking on this one site that claimed to have discount lilys.. and they had one in there for 120.00 now i am hoping that was a misprint... it HAD to be..i thought i saved the pic...i am gonna go look for it again.....also i am gonna go into the day lily forum and post the ones i want.. i saved the pics.. (: ok gonna go look for that day lily
chrissy

ok found it.. they call it 'Yazoo Apricot Ice' that had a price tag of $120.00... i may email them and ask them if thats a misprint...

I'm sure it is NOT a misprint. Those are so far out of my league I don't even dream of anything over 25.00!

Hey Y'all,
Here's 'Casa Rosa',a longiflorum of the "Easter Lily" family.
Ron

Here's 'Citronella'. It does have a slight "citrus" fragrance.

beautiful colour, Ron.

'Compass' is an old variety, but very prolific and showy. Each stem is a huge bouquet. Wonderful for cut flower arrangements.

This picture of 'Red Velvet' really does show how tiny and pendant the blossoms are. The size and shape are similar to 'Citronella', only the stem is taller and branching is further apart.
Ron

WOW!!! ron thats an awesome pic!!!! its so detailed and clear!!!!! it looks like a wax flower!!!! beautiful pic!!!! AND a beautiful flower!!!!!
chrissy

Ron, great pictures! Just stopped to check another thread and couldn't resist coming here for a minute. Glad I did! I Have Red Velvet and seeing your picture I can't wait for June to see if the bulbs were/are big enough to bloom! Do you think this extremely long mild fall will have made the bulbs grow more than normal?

I thought I was doing well with 55 varieties and oh my I still have sooooo many I want, does it ever get easier to pass one by?

Here is one that I would love to have:
'Shocking' an orienpet. (photo courtesy of Breck's)

Do you know anything about this one?

Thanks for all your kind words. I'm still a novice at both the gardening and photography, but I certainly enjoy both.
Sue, I do think our extended mild fall will have a positive impact on our bulb growth for this summers blooms. The longer we go without a killing frost, the longer the leaves have to nourish the bulb, and as you observed, most of our lily stems and leaves were green well into late November and December.It will be interesting to see how this plays out in June and July, won't it?
I have not grown 'Shocking' (yet) but it does look like a real attention getter.
Ron

I dug this clump of 'Dawn Star' Asiatic lilies for our Lily Society's bulb exchange last fall. I hope I left a few bulbs in the ground here.

'Impact'is an old variety, but still a real attention grabber in the garden, especially when planted in drifts.

'Peach Pixie' has an almost florescent glow, even in the shade.

Another timeless beauty is 'Purple Reign'