Later this evening we'll be bringing in the new year with our hopes and plans for the 2016 bloom season. I've been looking through images, organizing plant lists & garden bed plans and thought I would share some of my favorites from the 2015 bloom season...

Pawprints on My Heart, for being one of the first to begin the season early July.


Rouen Cathedral, for being the last to begin blooming in late Aug.


Up on the Roof and Alone Again for their wonderfully branched scapes.


Carnal Emporium, Mystic Pizza and Witch Hollow, three of my favorite reds.


Extra Effort, Catching My Breath, Mercury Lounge, Tall Blonde and all the new and old registered sculpted forms growing here for providing inspiration and the "what if..." factor to my hybridizing.



Willow Dean Smith and Cimarron Rose, both highly recommended by Daylily Forum members became instant favorites.



Serendipitous Twist, Razzle Dazzle Candy, Wild Hair, new 2015 FFO evers here.



I also enjoyed so many of the threads here in the Daylily forum including,...
our Alphabet Bloom and Term threads from last winter....
all the monthly bloom and seedling threads....
Posts from Sooby(Sue) and Admman ( Maurice) explaining the how's and why's of everything daylilies.....

The Lily Auction.... sometimes sometimes other times at what others are bidding...

I could go on, but would rather hear what some of your favorites were from the 2015 daylily season.

I think I "need", UP ON THE ROOF ....

Those are sooooo beautiful, Char! I Love them all!

Well, of course I have a bunch of favorites! This year for the first time I started seeing blooms on my newer plants with big green throats -- and Wow -- so amazing! These are definitely at the top of my favorites now, and here were my favorite green throated dips:

ROSE F. KENNEDY and FASHION ICON


SHARDS OF KRYPTONITE and EMERALD EMPRESS


EMERALD TOUCANET and DIVA DREAMS


COWBOY SCARF


And the tets, both TET ROSE F. KENNEDY seedlings:
SMILING COBRA and QUEEN OF GREEN



And some wonderful new (for me) patterns:
FOUR EYES and GEOMETRIC WIZARD


DRAGONFLY DAWN and COSMIC BLAST


And I finally got to see the pattern on GET JIGGY this year for the first time!



I was able to compare a couple of really huge blooms on MY CUP OVERFLOWS and AMETHYST PRISM.


And I got to see for the first time some greenish blooms, another quest...
ANGEL ON BOARD and JOLLY GOOD YELLOW


WALKING ON THE EDGE and GREEN SUNSHINE


And these were favorites just because I think they are so pretty!
PAUL SAIN'S PRIZE, RANDOM KINDNESS and BUTTERSCOTCH BEAUTY


And finally, my own seedling, a total favorite! The cross is TOOPHER X CASPER'S REVENGE.

All the daylilies are nice, but your own seedlings Betty are dazzlers too.....Maryl

I had the pleasure of seeing the following daylily cultivars bloom for the first time:



There were other new (to this garden) daylilies, but these were the ones whose blooms I really liked, and whose plants did not get rust. ('April Fools', btw, was much prettier in person than any of the ATP images show.)

I also enjoyed bloom on a rescued and resurrected oldie,



re-enjoyed bloom on two seedlings (flowers on both plants open well, and no signs of rust yet),



saw maiden bloom on two more "nice enough" seedlings ("nice enough" in comparison to the rest of the seedlings! ),



and even got a polymerous seedling (which, yeah, needs work ):



Wishing everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year; may all of your gardens be lovely, and may you get enough rain to make them so.

Lovely daylilies!

I, like many others are smitten with Rose F Kennedy, I'm looking for more daylilies to add to my garden with those big green throats. I have stayed away from diploids for the most part, but with all the newer ones it's time to let go of that in the New Year



This Pandora's Treasure x God Save The Queen seedling (also my avatar) bloomed nicely for me this year and is becoming one of my favorites.


Someone in my club was nice enough to share this Gossard seedling with me. When several of these flowers are open at one time it really packs a punch!


I'm slowly warming up to patterns, although I've always enjoyed Etched Eyes and one of the babies it produced for me



Inherited Wealth never disappoints, just can't get it to set a pod


Ashton's Giggles, oh what fun!


And Sabine Baur of course!

You definitely "need" Up on the Roof Kathy!
I haven't been bitten by the big green throat bug yet...that may change after seeing so many images them. Fashion Icon is very unique with the purple pattern eye outlining the green. Great patterns, some of the newer ones hybridizers are introducing really capture your attention.
I agree, the seedlings are all awesome!

I love reading about everyone's favorites and seeing those gorgeous photos! Makes me impatient for bloom season to get here. Seems ironic that the weather here in central/south Florida has been in the 80s and no daylily blooms. I bet Mother Nature is laughing about the temps this year! I don't expect to get much of a Winter at all this year. I imagine the early daylily bloomers will happen in March again this year. Not far off....

Since "last" year (seems weird to say that about 2015) was the first year I saw a few "registered" daylilies blooms in my yard, I don't have a lot to choose from yet. This year should be a lot better since I now have 50 registered daylilies (which was a big deal for me!).

My favorites about ATP this past year .... getting the Daylily of Day feature up and running on the daylily forum. I have found it to be a tremendous asset .... personally. To see what I should consider and what I should pass on is priceless. Rust being the biggest issue in my garden, I am ALL ABOUT rust resistance. Thanks to Dave for making this new daily feature possible!!!

My registered favorites this past year were:

Lavender Stardust: I was so surprised by the beauty of this one. It did not look that pretty in photos, but in person, I was very impressed. Seems to show rust resistance too. I love it!



Paper Butterfly: This shows "some" rust resistance, but not as much as I would prefer. It is such a pretty bloom, that I used it in a lot of my hybridizing this past year. (It made a lot of pollen seeds.)



Siloam Double Classic: First double for me. This was one I was hesitant about acquiring because it is listed as a dormant. But it surely is not a hard dormant because it seems to be more of a sev here. I didn't know if I would like doubles, but this one convinced me that they are worth growing and admiring. Rust resistant, great foliage, and beautiful peony type small blooms. A keeper!



My favorite seedlings this year, but the long term evaluation is still 2 more years off. Every bloom on this first one was a double.

Double: Laura Mast x Dragonfly Dawn



It's sibling was quite nice too:



Dragonfly Dawn x Dragonfly Dawn: I am hoping after another 2 seasons of blooming, I can name this one after my sister who is currently fighting for her life against cancer. This beauty was the right color (pink) and I loved the throat and pattern. Am curious to see what the blooms evolve into with time.



And another one that I loved the bloom, but the growth habit and size is still a make or break deal. Cindy's Tie Dye x Bluegrass Music. I love, love, love the bloom on this one, but the scape height and number of blooms needs to drastically improve for it to be a keeper. It might wind up being a bridge seedling:

This is such a great thread! I love seeing everyone's choices for their favorites this year -- and I especially love the seedling pictures! So of course I've picked out pictures of a few more of my seedlings that bloomed for the first time this year that I was really enthused about:

BEST EDGE X ANGELS GATHER AROUND


PRECIOUS CANDY X XYLOPHONE JAZZ


SOUTHWESTERN MEMORIES X RIO FIESTA


Two smalls (blooms around 4"):
EASY ON THE EYES X PARROTS OF THE CARIBBEAN


And my little toothy cross of FLAMES OF BEAUTY X DR CELIA STUMP

For beautiful color and round form, these two kept catching my eye - over and over and over: The first is 30 SECONDS OVER TOKYO and the second is ENOLA GAY.





For very tall, it was NOTIFY GROUND CREW. I had planted it at the bottom of my front deck steps a couple years ago, and this year it really put on a show - flowers at eye level and others you can see from inside or out on the lawn. Perfect spot for it. And fragrant too!



For amazing scapes, there were several. I can't find my pics of PENTHOUSE PLAYGIRL or JACK KEROUAC, both of which have amazing scapes, in addition to UP ON THE ROOF which Char posted , but Judy Davisson is no slouch in this department either, and her MISTER GREEN JEANS, in its third year in the same spot, really put on a show with its huge yellow UF blooms and scapes like trees.




My favorite seedling (I LOVE orange) is more of a tangerine color than it looks here, but very bright, 45" tall and nice large blooms. I'm not crazy about how prominent and raised the midribs are, though . . . we'll have to see how it looks next year.



And finally, for weirdness . . . these are two totally oddball results from totally oddball crosses. The first is from H. Hakuunensis x CAYENNE. The second is H. Hakuunensis x TEXAS FEATHERED FANCY, which is a dark lavender. Not at all certain I even like these, but they sure had surprise value, esp. since they are dips. Really don't look at all like either parent, or even like something in between. Just goes to show you can get some real surprises with nutso crosses. lol






I love seeing what other people like and everyone's seedlings. Every one has some nice ones. Becky, that last one of yours, the blue/white one, is really pretty . . . I hope the plant habit ends up being intro-worthy. Really nice!

Rob

Rob -Thank you! You sure have some stunning daylilies! Your seedlings are quite pretty, too!

This is such a fun and interesting thread. I am really enjoying all the additional info about why you chose the cultivars that you did.

One of my all time favorites, put on a fantastic display in 2015 .... reblooms for me giving it a very long bloom season. Pollen is great, some years it sets pods like crazy, some years it's a struggle.

"Regina Sitko"
Kulpa 2012




Will always grow this beauty, made my heart flutter this past summer. Blooms for a very long time.

"A Lot Like Love"
Davisson J 2013




This one has been a favorite from day one .... loaded with blooms and fertile both ways. Fantastic scape with lovely blooms.

"Panic In Preschool" (my photos don't do it justice)
Davisson J 2013




I could easily name dozens of other Judy Davisson favorites. Seriously, I do not get a commission ... haha. They are the best plants in the garden, hardy in my zone 5a, well branched, lots of flowers, and consistently the best foliage I've seen.

2015 was a great bloom season. The diploids that impressed me the most last summer were:
LILLIAN'S VAPOR TRAIL


MARGO REED INDEED


BABY BLUES


CARMEN RENEE (From HazelcrestMike) Thanks Mike!!!


TETS that impressed me the most:

BUDDY'S BETSY (even rebloomed for me)


DEAN COREY (from Kathy Rinke) Thanks Kathy!!!


HEMAN (first year bloom was spectacular)


RUFFLED STRAWBERRY PARFAIT (always a favorite)


My favorite new seedling was a diploid ufo:

(LIGHTHOUSE NEON GALAXY X NORTH WIND DANCER)

A few of my favorite seedlings this summer.

(Moonlit Masquerade x Najinsky) x Orange Clown




Breath of Blue Air x Mascara Snake




Frequent Flyer x Unknown




Supernatural x Pawprints On My Heart




A few of my son's seedlings ... he's made a lot of progress with his "toothy things" with the help of our friend John Kulpa.

Here are a couple of favorites from 2015



All these seedling were shared on the seedling threads.
A few favorites with both pretty faces and outstanding performers in 2015.
RFK x Super Fancy Face


Green Arrow x Ida Mae Norris


Seedling x RFK


Dip UF


Indian Giver x seedling


? bi-tone tet


Dip


Beautiful Edgings x Heavenly Pink Butterfly

Kathy, Cindy, Ashton/Terry - Wonderful cultivar photos!

I am simply blown away by your seedlings, too! Y'all either have been very lucky or very skilled at making some good crosses for blooming seedlings! I never get tired of seeing new and old photos of those babies! Beautiful!

Oh boy....these pictures are perfect for cold eyes!

Some of my favs from last season are (from top to bottom):

Tetrfkxvicki seedling, Davi's MERMAID'S SPELL, another tetrfkxvicki seedling,Davi's CONFESSIONS OF A HEMAHOLIC and ROSES FOR DALLAS, Gossard HEAVENLY CHRISTMAS CACTUS and a few more of my seedlings.

Really love those last three seedlings, Steve! I think the first of those three is absolutely D I V I N E !!!

But honestly, I also like ALL of them! I wouldn't be able to choose. They are knock-outs!

Some tets that did very well in 2015
BUDDYS SPOOK Hall 2016 fertile both ways and easy pod parent,
used it more than any other pattern

Still the best toothy I grow, easy pod setter and great pollen
DR STUMP Grace 2012

HB06-16 Pod and pollen fertile, just preformed awesome for a 9 month seedling.

Did everything the hybridizer stated, easy pod setter.
TO HOT TO TOUCH Harry 2014