In the August 2022 Seedlings thread 3Will asked....

3Will said: Nice seedlings Valerie. Isn't it frustrating when a pretty flower just won't make enough buds?

On that subject. What sort of bud count do you guys think is "adequate" for a new registration? I've seen a lot of new ones that have fairly low counts. An unusually dynamic flower might outweigh a low bud count while a more run of the mill bloom would probably need lots I would think. I know there are no hard and fast rules regarding this, I'm just looking for opinions.

This is a great question! I've expanded the topic a little from just bud count to include complete plant evaluations, that might give a clearer picture as to why someone would introduce/register a seedling.
So, as a hybridizer what do you look for when considering a seedling for introduction or registration?

There is a Kendig new 2022 introduction "Whose Broad Stripes". 12 buds (but has rebloom). Currently DF on the LA selling for >$500 . Those buyers seem not to care too much about bud-count. His other 2022: "Explosion in the Orange Grove", only has 13 buds. Not as pricey, but still up there with other 2022 releases from other hybridizers.

I can only speak from a buying perspective. High budcounts are welcomed for me as I do not think my cultivars usually get anywhere near full bud-count. At least not yet. So if a plant has only 13 and I only get 5, that would be a bad plant.

Other than flower evaluation, the #1 thing for me is "Does it have fan increase?". I have some beautiful bloom seedlings that just don't increase fan count after years in the ground. If I can't get more than one fan then the rest doesn't matter. [The winters have been cold enough here [northern East TX] I don't get much, if any, rust unless it is brought in with a new plant.] For hybridizing futures, the question is "Is the bloom pod or pollen sterile?" I have had some that have little to no pollen...I may keep it as a garden plant but not going to register. As for Will's original question, I personally wouldn't register anything with less than 12 buds unless there is rapid fan multiplication [fast clumping] and/or rebloom or some other exceptional factor. Another factor is survival in my TX environment very sandy base with little fertilization and -6F to 105+F. in the last 10+ years. Anything that survives here MIGHT be a candidate for registration.

I just looked at Whose Broad Stripes on the LA and...
well I have this seedling that I like better! Not a really high bud count. But, an absolutely stunning broken color bloom every time. Hmmm. Looks like I should register it!
EITPF x HNF

Each species has their own set of rules so I would contact the societies and find out
their requirements.

It is a beauty, SueVT!

When it comes to bud count, I want over 15 buds. I take into account my very sandy, dry soil, and think most everyone would get the bud count that I get, since my soil is a challenge, and I cannot do a lot of supplemental watering.
Other things really important to me is good foliage, good fan increase, good looking blooms without splotchiness. I also like CMO's (cold morning openers) since we often have cool mornings during daylily season. I did not add that to the description of Madawaska Mist when I registered it, but I now know it can be added to the description.

I have never registered a daylily and might never.. but I hope to one day register at least one. When I look at my seedlings just to pick which ones not to toss, I first look at the plant foliage. I have always had a thing about plant foliage, it doesn't all have to have the same color, or the same height, or the same openness, but it has to have the look that says I am healthy and vigorous. Scapes, now I hate a thin little weak leaning scape. I like a stout scape, one that will hold up three large wet blooms at once. I don't get many of those, but I keep hoping. I don't like short scapes, I prefer the 30-38 inch range. I like high bud counts when I don't think about deadheading, I like big plants when I don't think about spacing and spraying.
I love branching in my mind (often it doesn't look so great on actual plants) but still-I do check the numbers. I give away and donate a lot of plants so I much prefer ones that grow and multiply fast. If I did not do that I would much prefer plants that did not multiply fast and did not have to be dug and divided ever.
I know I would love pest and disease resistant plants, but I never really shop for them, I just seem to have accepted having to spray. I want everything to be very pod and pollen fertile.. Can't actually say many of my plants are sterile, just they seem to act that way for me. I love large bright eye catching blooms I can see and name from across the garden. I grow others, but they are just filler. I am a big fan of bloom consistency and uniformity and I would love blooms that did not fade till at least noon. I hate splotchy blooms, they are the worst, with some blooms just high humidity seems to enough to make them splotchy. I want blooms that open, not just halfway open. I want patterns that you are actually able to describe and expect the bloom to provide it regularly. I don't want a plant that rots, or that the foliage burns easily on it in full sun. I like plants that do well with very little care, but I love plants that show their appreciation and respond when given extra special care.
I suppose there is a never ending list of things, some we seldom even think of. Things like the clumps being easy to divide.. having a fragrance that a person like me could actually smell, sending up lots of scapes, just no end to all the wants we daylily people expect from our $20.00 plants.

A lot of valid points given: healthy foliage, vigorous plants, consistent bloom patterns (unless we are talking colour break, in which case you do want an inconsistent pattern but the colour break itself should show on every bloom). If the plant multiplies well and produces fans readily, bud count is less important because the clump will be a standout. Taller scapes, yes: keep the blooms up where they can be seen.

Less branching can be forgiven but buds that hang on each other and won't open is an issue. Rebloom may be great in the south, but in the north our season is too short for most rebloomers to actually rebloom. So bud count does still matter, at least in that regard: if you have a choice between a daylily with a count of 15 vs. 40-plus, it matters.

A bud count lower than 15 had better be the most spectacular pattern I have ever seen and, among newer daylilies, I have gotten to the point where I want 20 or more. (I did get a new daylily this year with a low count, the hybridizer plans to register it... and it is spectacular.) So there could be an exception to a "rule"...

Sturdy scapes is a 'must' - bloom count is irrelevant if the scape flops and the flowers are in the dirt. Fading and water-spotting is a negative, too - the bloom should look as good in late afternoon as it did at nine in the morning. Fragrance, while nice, is a bonus not a necessity. For myself, my own standard would include: would you buy this plant from another garden / nursery / hybridizer? (Would you replace it if it died...?) If I can't say 'yes' then why would anyone else want it?

As a brief aside, just because a daylily is registered these days doesn't mean it is introduced or even publicly available.

Bud count- at least 15.
Branching- 3 or better
Pod and pollen fertile
Reliable opener- if it hangs up all the time, it's too much trouble.
Sunfast, or looks darn good in some way as it did first thing in the morning. If it lightens or a pattern/eye shows up later in the day, I'd better still like it.
Scape height/size and foliage height/size in proportion.
And bloom size that fits the plant.
Some other good trait, such as bud builder or rebloom or quick clumping.
Fragrance is a bonus. When I started hybridizing, I crossed for fragrance.

I actually reserved a name this year…

Ideally I want a registration to have at least 15 buds, but I have registered one with an average of 14 buds because it can have 19 in a year with ample spring rain and it clumps up fast.

Good fan increase is a must for me. Why register something you'll sell out of immediately and take years to increase before you can sell it again?

I will register a daylily that is not pod fertile if it has particularly potent pollen. Not everyone is a hybridizer. Many folks just want to grow beautiful flowers that perform well.

I prefer early morning openers that rebloom, but I have registered some that don't have these traits.

My personal preference is scape height that is in proportion to flower size. For example, I don't like a 5 inch bloom on 36-inch scape. Likewise I don't go for 8 inch flowers that have 22-24 inch scapes. I like small flowers to have scapes no taller than 30 inches. And I want flowers that are 7 inches or more in diameter to have scapes taller than 30 inches.

As our summers are having longer stretches of high temperatures, I'm increasingly looking for sunfast seedlings that still look good at the end of the day.

For a start, I suggest all read the AHS (now ADS) "Judging Daylilies". I have a AHS 1990 Manual
that shows a point scoring system for daylily judging in the daylily garden. Major categories for
judging include: Complete Plant, Foliage, Scape, Flower, Various Distinctions (a) in flower, (b)
in performance, (c) season of bloom, (d) rebloom, (e) unusual beauty, (f) other special plant features.
I suspect all these categories taken together would cover evaluating daylily seedlings for introduction/ registration. I also know from my 60+ years involvement with daylilies that many daylily hybridizers
now tend to favor daylily marketing over an all inclusive evaluation. I suspect that is why astute daylily buyers are sometimes disappointed with the overall quality and growth of some of the daylilies they purchase.

So my advise now is to try and get an overall idea of the quality and sustainability of the daylily they are interested in acquiring. Caveat emptor.

@SueVT your seedling look just as good, compared to the ones that I have seen with broken colors. Full stop !!

I register seedlings with a bud count about 20 per scape - but the length of the flowering period is much more important to me, it should be at least 4 weeks. That's why I also registered two cultivars with lower bud count - they produce additional scapes after the start of flowering and therefore not only bloom late, but also for a long time.
The main reason is: in our region the property prices are high and therefore the gardens are small. No one wants to waste space for plants that flower only a few days.

Hazelcrestmikeb said: @SueVT your seedling look just as good, compared to the ones that I have seen with broken colors. Full stop !!

I agree wholeheartedly! What a stunning beauty!

I dunno, Sue. Maybe you should send a couple fans to me before you get your hopes up, so I can, uh, help evaluate it. yeah, that's what I can help you do...

Just kidding, Sue. I think you are ahead of the pack with that form and the alternate blended coloring in some of the larger breaks, which I'm assuming is a contribution of HNF. Go get 'em.

Well Tim, , but I agreed with everything you said in your first post. I know you've been raising and sharing daylilies for a long time! I also liked the other comments, but I am maybe a little bit of a wild card on some daylily aspects.
Like for instance, I have a couple of seedlings that I just adore, so much that I moved them to a bed close to the house just so that I can enjoy them. Both of those are huge star-shaped blooms on relatively low, bushy plants. One is cream, the other is red with a brilliant watermark. They have a unique look that I really like, though it is certainly unusual.
I have another that is very tall, with ethereal pale ivory blooms and a light watermark. Totally unusual and not going to get culled...

What do you spray with? Is there an organic option that works?

Thanks everyone for the great feedback!

Kudos on your seedling Sue! I'm not big on broken colors but I'll make an exception in your case!

I don't spray very often, Sue. Only if I see an issue. If I see brown or black crud forming around the buds of a scape, I'll use a 3 in 1 rose spray one time on the buds and on the base of the scape. I waste no time trying to figure out what my issue is, and it's amazing how well that has worked for me regardless of the issue causing it.

Everyone else reading this, keep in mind I don't have rust up here.