This year I've tried to only buy daylilies that would expand my bloom season (I didn't do that well). Here are my numbers with my known cultivars:
EE = 7
E = 36
EM = 103
M = 123
ML = 43
L = 15
VF = 1
As you can see, I'm light at the beginning and the end. What cultivars would you suggest to improve my numbers? Do we all have numbers that look like this? What are your numbers?

Susie can you list the EE, Late and VL ones that you have to give us a better handle to respond to ? I presume you meant VL instead of VF as is very fragrant ?

I know that in many regions of the country it makes sense to want to get late and very late varieties to extend the season. And I thought that way also when I first got into daylilies, even being in my region.
But now I realize that by getting late and very late blooming plants I would be restricting the blooming period to just the end of the season with those plants. It is much better I think, in my region, to get early blooming plants that continue to rebloom late into the season, and midseason plants that rebloom late into the season. That way the peak bloom is enhanced and so is the early and late blooming period, not just the few last weeks of the season. Of course the more late and very late blooming plants you have the better chance of having a much better display at the end of the season also, they just won't provide blooms all season long.
I just think for people who are in regions that support good rebloom, the best bang for the buck is to have plants that can bloom from May to September though a series of rebloom.

I don't show any VL on my daylily database. In "normal years" bloom season extends from April to Sept.or Oct. The late season blooms are primarily from the mid-season plants--just as Larry has described. It looks this this may be a normal year because 2018 didn't include any hurricanes in my area.

Yes I did mean VL...
My EE are:
Becky Lynn; Black Eyed Stella; Happy Returns; The old Lemon lily - liloasphodelus; Lavender Heartthrob; Stella; Witch Stitchery; and Yellow Bouquet.
My Lates are:
Cactus Blossom; Carrots Forever; Choral Angel; El Desperado; Evening Tulips; Gerard Deschenes; Golden Prize; Harmony Ruffles; Honey Crunch Cupcake; Love or Else; Mary Lightfine; Paradise Road; Ruffled Strawberry Parfait; Susan Weber; Techny Peach Lace; All but 5 of these I have coming this spring.
My only VL is Sandra Elizabeth which is also coming this spring.
@Larry, my season is so short that with a few exceptions hardly any of the "Reblooms" actually will rebloom. I have picked up a couple of mid-lates that are bud-builders that should help extend my season. The 2 I can think of off the top of my head is "Chew Mail Pouch Tobacco" and "One Above You". Around here even my Stella is done by August or so but my "Happy Returns" will bloom through the light frost and early snowfall.

Hi Susie,
Some that do rebloom for me in the north are Little Wine Cup, Linda Sierra, Rosy Returns, When My Sweetheart Returns.





My mid late or late are Anglican Church, Annette's Magic, Blue Venom, Bluebird Butterfly, Violet Angel.






Last year Oceanside was really, really late, it I haven't had it long enough to know if that was just a one off. First bloom August 27th.

@lovegrillin does Becky Lynn actually bloom early for you? Mine has always bloomed mid-late for me.

I tried too to add more extra early & late bloomers. But most of my extra early & early bloomers aren't for me. The only extra early one I have is Butterscotch Ruffles.

For late blooming dips you can't beat Olallie. For late tets try North Country Daylilies.

Just remember that just because a breeder registers a plant as very late doesn't mean it will bloom the same for you. If a cultivar consistently blooms at a different time for me I try to add a comment saying when it blooms for me so that others won't be surprised.

I just looked at my photos and the first picture I took of Violet Angel was taken on July 16th

and the last on August 21st

I remember it being in bloom constantly during its long blooming period.

Those are really nice Valerie. I especially like Linda Sierra and Violet Angel. I put Becky Lynn in last year and it bloomed mid-late. Not sure if it was that or not though. My bloom times were all over the place. I had diurnals blooming at night etc. And, I didn't get many blooms at all. We had a wet spring but summer was very dry.

That is a great idea Elena. I will check out North Country Daylilies as I am more of a Tet person than a Dip person. Ok, now that just sounds funny.

I have two of Melanie Mason's (North Country) cultivars, and love them both. They are both mid-late. I haven't had Circular Thinking long enough to comment on its habits, but Bordello Queen blooms for a long time.

Last year was the first full season for Circular Thinking, and it was gorgeous. In my garden it is a true baby pink. This photo is accurate colour-wise.

I also have Bordello Queen. This is a really vigorous cultivar here and blooms heavily.

I am with you Susie,
I definitely need more Ls ans Vls. I rarely get rebloom I'm not sure if that is because I haven't fertilized my plants a lot or because of my zone. So this year I am fertilizing to see if that makes a difference.
I have on order 4 MLs, no L or VL. Guess pretty faces got in the way of any objective I might have had.
I have in the garden 10 ML and 4 L Blizzard Bay, El Desperado, Green Flutter, and Magnificent Rainbow.
All together both in garden and on order for spring:
EE 3
E 16
EM 42
M 69
ML 14
L 4
VL 0
Thank you Plantstep because I would not have wanted to count these individually!!

blizzard bay just planted in fall haven't had aflower yet


El Desperado


Green Flutter


Magnificent Rainbow

Love Blizzard Bay Gotta look the others up later.
El Desperado is more ML for me. One Above You need staking at least where it is planted here. Got some Chew Mailpouch Tobacco seeds on the LA recently.

Sandra Elizabeth does well here. Like Valerie said, Rosy Returns and When My Sweetheart Returns also does well here. Happy Returns is another one. Black Eyed Stella is a guarantee to rebloom around here in addition to being EE. My other EE are Endless Heart, Stella's Sparky, Bitsy = best rebloomer in my garden with Rosy Returns right behind. August Flame lights up the garden in "you guessed it" August.

The earliest to bloom for me in zone 4 are Wings of Chance and Pawprints on My Heart. Early would be anything blooming the first two weeks of July.
WOC is an evg but has grown here nearly 20 yrs without a problem. It also is reg. as a mid season bloomer. The images I have posted to the database show 7/8, 7/12 and 7/13.


Pawprints on My Heart is a dor and early Spider form. A great plant with lavender bicolor blooms.


Astral Voyager is another lavender that helps break up all the yellow blooms of the early season.



A few others I grew that bloomed early season were...

My very 1st daylily to bLoom in the spring is Dumortieri. Not fancy at all, but plenty of blooms. I think it is a species daylily. Has bloomed in early April, but even in a really cold spring it blooms before the end of April here. Does not rebloom though. The next one to bloom is Fern stone, which has rebloomed each of the 3 years I have had it.

bxncbx said:
Just remember that just because a breeder registers a plant as very late doesn't mean it will bloom the same for you. If a cultivar consistently blooms at a different time for me I try to add a comment saying when it blooms for me so that others won't be surprised.

This absolutely true with Lava Flow. It is registered early midseason. It was up with the first scapes last year and bloomed on June 2. I am zone 5B. Previously to this, my earliest blooms as around June 20th with Billy the Kid and Prickly Sensation.

I love my lates and very lates. They include Back to School, Genesta, Late Summer Fling (bloomed till 10/14 when the frost killed the last buds), Barbara and Little Wine Cup. There are a handful more that I have as lates/very lates, but can't find my list at the moment.

I apologize for starting this thread and disappearing. I came down with the flu a few hours after starting the tread. Thanks for all good daylilies to hunt for.

Susie life happens. Glad you are doing well.

I was meaning to add to this thread, and forgot about it. ...gettin' old. I'm sorry you had the flu, Susie!

I started working on my "balance" around 2015. Here's where I was at last year:
EE 12
E 15
EM 33
M 66
ML 36
L 16
VL 17

I do not count the kind of daylilies that are shorter border daylilies that bloom in June or July, and then again in August or September. Like different Stellas or Returns. I've collected plenty of them, too, but I'm trying to balance the ones that just bloom once a year to see if I can get each of my daylily groups to bloom at least 80 days.

I'm such a geek.

I love early and late blooming daylilies and now that I have so many, I don't have a "peak" bloom. From a hybridizer's standpoint in zone 7, it is easier to produce seeds on the early and late blooming ones because the weather is cooler for the earlies for making the cross and seedpods mature better on the lates because seeds are developing during cooler weather. With heatwaves three years in a row, it became very difficult to set seedpods during the mid-season or mature viable seeds in the heat.
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There are advantages and disadvantages to both. For earlies, bud count and branching can be affected by cold springs in the north. But you have a greater chance of seeing rebloom with your shorter growing season if the first round of bloom comes early. Other disadvantages...if you live where gall midge is a problem, the earlies are the ones that are most affected. And if you are a hybridizer, you have to remember to carry over some frozen pollen from last year, or you'll find yourself with only one or two of these first bloomers with no fresh pollen to use!

Lates and very lates.... these are my favorites because I have a long season and have plenty of time to ripen seedpods. But for northern hybridizers, the shorter growing season can make it impossible to mature seedpods before a killing freeze. Add the reblooming earlies and mid-season and peak bloom goes right into fall in a variety of colors. Very lates are pure joy! The foliage is lush and green when everything else is looking beat up by the summer heat and showing dead scapes and die back of outer leaves.