On January 1, 2022 I posted a reply to a Daylily Thread entitled "Reviewing 2021 Seedlings".
This is a followup to that post.

I am attaching pictures of nine O'Donal's Nursery daylily seedlings hybridized at or for O'Donal's, a premier plant nursery in the Town of Gorham near Portland, Maine. I hybridized seven of these seedlings and the owner of O'Donal's, Jeffrey O'Donal, hybridized two. All of these seedlings have been undergoing years of observation and evaluation for possible registration.

Via this thread, O'Donal's is asking all daylily aficionados to rate these nine seedlings on a scale
of one to nine, with one being their first choice, two being their second choice, etc.. Comments on the reasons for choosing each seedling would be greatly appreciated, but not mandatory.
Respondents to this daylily seedling poll can also choose to designate more than one seedling as number 1 or 2, or 3.

All pictured seedlings have a designated combined letter and number identification as follows:
D = diploid T = tetraploid DJ = diploid by Jeffrey O'Donal All other seedlings by Nicholas Barth.
The numeric designations for each seedling are: seedling number; seedling sibling number,
and last four numbers the breeding /crossing year. This daylily seedling poll will close on March 20, 2022.

We look forward to your ratings and comments.

Of course this is not how I would normally judge daylilies, but just looking at the photos this is my order of preference.
1. DJ43-1-2018 Liked the rich color and the shape of the bloom
2.TJ33-22-2015 I Liked how the color looked deep
3.T157-28-2016 Liked the sunburst look of the boom, (the triangular shape which I am not normally a fan of) looked good with the coloration.
4. T170-12-216 The water drops distract from the bloom to me, but the color still seems appealing.
5, T71-1-2018 A plain looking bloom, but good shape with plain but consistent color.
6.D1-8-2016 I like the veins and the shape, just hate the color
7. T41-3-2016: It might be the water drops but it just has an out of focus look and makes the color look strange.
8. T48-1-2016 Looks like insect damage on bloom
9. D42-1-2018 Looks like a poorly formed bloom, that I don't find appealing.
I had to drag and drop the photos onto my desk top and just shift the photos around to get them in the right order.

1. T157-28-2016; I like the color of this very much. It reminds me of Cherry Cheeks ( or my own seedling Cheeky Cherry) but with a larger more modern shape.

2. T170-12-2016; I'm always a fool for versions of coral and this is a lovely, clear color that wouldn't go amiss as a nail polish.

3. T141-2-2016; again, I like the color. Slightly too stretched out bloom but it would be easier to judge if there were more photos available.

4. D1-8-2016; distinctive, I like the veining and the copper color

5. TJ33-22-2015; this seems like a nice red. Not very distinctive to look at but probably impressive in the garden

6. T71-1-2018; this has the look of a lot of classic flowers from the 80s. I'm assuming the plant habit is what would make it worth introducing because the flower is just ok.

7. DJ43-1-2018; the color is nice but the bloom appears small. It's not clear if it's really a red that is looking bluish in the photo. Again, there are many flowers from the 80s that look just like it.

8.T48-1-2016; I like this style of red with a lighter watermark but there are many flowers already on the market that have this look

9. D42-1-2018; this looks like a big version of Paper Butterfly with the same canoeing problems. When a narrow petaled flower canoes, it's particularly unattractive.

Can you list the sizes, heights and when they bloom?
I like the T141-3-2016 (bright pink one). If it is a good size (minimum 6") it would be awesome. The rest I find a bit meh, generic daylily with nothing that sets them apart from anything else out there. So T141-3-2016 would be my number 1.

well to me they just look like ordinary red daylilies you can pick at up most any nursery easily.

The pink one is the prettiest to my eye, has lots of buds it looks like, the clear bright color is attractive and the red eye is not muddy. I like the ruffling along the curled edges. I think the green throat looks nice with the light pink. In a clump I think this would be eye catching, but of course no stats on height ect so hopefully it blooms above the foliage.

If no one else likes it, send it to me

I will only think about buying a daylily if I like the look and then if it has good statistics. Based on what I can see in the photos alone. these are my favorite 3.

1. D42-1-2018 The colors are pleasant and it looks like it potentially has good bud count and branching.

2. T141-3-2016 I like the color of this one.

3. DJ43-1-2018 It is pleasingly symmetrical and a good color saturation. I would like it even better if I knew it was a reblooming mini with a great bud count - LOL

Upon a harder second look I may also like the T48-1-2016. Assuming the white tiger-splotches on the sepals are consistent to every bloom. That would make this one a bit more unique, and less generic.

When do they bloom? If any of the above (except D42-1-2018) bloomed mid-late, late or very late I'd get them. Alternatively, if they bloomed extra early. But if they all bloom early-mid or midseason I'd probably not be interested. Although I do like the color on the buds on TJ33. I might get that one just because of that trait.

To: Seedfork, Zoia, Plasko20, Frillylily, Daylilly99, brncbx,

Thank you for participating in this daylily seedling poll. As someone who first became
familiar with hemerocallis in 1952 in my father's daily garden, the wide range of responses
on daylily blooms is not unfamiliar to me.
I agree that more specifics on each of the daylily plants is needed to evaluate their blooms in full context. I know from numerous years of experience in growing, hybridizing, and
selling hemerocallis, however, that the general gardener almost always is drawn to the daylily
flower and usually makes a decision to purchase based primarily on the flower.
The process for evaluation of potential new daylily registrations at O'Donal's is thorough and lengthy. Each of the "specifics" on the above daylily seedlings pictured have meet standards most daylily aficionados would appreciate, for example, branching, bud counts, length of growing season, and hardiness for the northern garden. Please send me an email if you would like more specific information on any of these seedlings to: [email protected]
Please also note that the first bloom shown, DJ33-22-2015, should have been labeled as a diploid.