Background history:

'Planet Max' is a semi-evergreen diploid introduced in 1996 by Reed.

It has earned the following AHS awards:
Honorable Mention: 2002

This plant can be found in the NGA Plant Database at:
Daylily (Hemerocallis 'Planet Max') .

Please join in, if you own this plant! We would love to know more! I award an acorn for performance information posted to this thread.



Also, please consider adding a "Local Report" to the NGA Plant Database! Thank you!

Daylily (Hemerocallis 'Planet Max')

Great plant. Tall scapes, prolific bloomer and good increaser. I know that the hybridizer has several intros out of PLANET MAX. Several years ago I won for best UFO off scape at a daylily show with a PLANET MAX bloom. Back then, I was not a big fan of UFOs or smalls and I won both divisions (can't help all of the puns). Great all around garden plant. It won't leave my garden anytime soon. I have it in full sun and the scapes stand straight.

Planet Max bloomed for the first time this season. It has been here for 2 years and has doubled in the number of fans. The blooms did not have the big eye shown in most pictures in the data base but I expect more of that as it matures. The scapes were about 36 inches but, again, it has yet to reach maturity. Scapes stand tall and strong. The purple color is strong and all blooms were consistent. None opened blotchy.

2017 update-- This is now 3 years in my garden. Increase has been really slow but the bloom looks better. It is in full sun but still reaches only 36", much below the registered 42". Bud count is poor at 8 buds and 2 way branching. I am beginning to think it will not be a good performer in my zone.

Wish I had something to actually say about this plant. I've had it now for 3 years, has been growing - not fast but multiplying each year. Not one single flower on it yet, nothing, not even a scape that started but got broken, eaten or blasted. Everything else in that garden that was purchased at the same time and from the same place has been blooming well, this one zippo, nada, zilch. Moving it to a new place this fall and if it doesn't do something next year or two then the compost heap gets it.

Planet Max arrived here in late May of 2014. It has done wonderfully well. The scapes must be at least 36 inches, maybe a little more. I don't care if they reach the listed 42 inches, I am satisfied the way they are. The plant has multiplied well, and the flowers are usually good, get an occasional meltdown when the weather is really hot. I love that color and the white streak on the midrib, if that's the correct term. PMax will definitely be around here for quite some time. I was checking out the pictures on the Plant Database and I see I have not posted a pic of Planet Max--must make a note to do that next year.

It is a slow increaser for me. After 3 years, there are still only 4 fans. I wonder if it is in too much sun. I have moved it to a more shady location hoping for better results.

PLANET MAX is a bloom machine. It is susceptible but not a rust bucket. It increases well and reblooms.
It flowers in the last month of spring here. It is easily pollen fertile. I have never managed to set pods but one bee has.

PLANET MAX is a top notch cultivar here! Once, while visiting Hattiesburg, MS, it was a shock to see it blooming well there, because it was hybridized in MD and some of Margo's won't grow well in the deep south. Apparently this one does. Someone at that Regional meeting came up to me and told me they'd won a show award with it in MS! Here, Planet Max has excellent plant habits, including well branched scapes and a bud count here of between 30-35. Also , I was fortunate several times to get to play with Max ( Margo's beautiful Silver Tabby who recently died at an advanced age) after whom this plant is named.

Julie, that is a great titbit. It is quite marvellous to hear it was named after a cat, Max. Would you believe I cannot let my blue-point ragdoll Kaspar into the garden because he makes a beeline to it and starts munching the leaves.

Another interesting tidbit is that one of its parents was hybridized by Bud Bennett. Those familiar with Bud Bennett, know that he prefers round flowers. So he gifted a seedling to Margo because it was too narrow for him and it became one of the parents of PLANET MAX.

Gleni, this may be off message, but I would love to see a picture of your cat Kaspar. Obviously, he must be a DL lover, just like us.

Wow, I must be doing something wrong with mine. I would love for it to bloom like yours, Julie, and perform as well as yours David and Gleni. Where do you have yours planted? Is it in full sun or partial shade?

Karen,

I have mine planted in full sun. It was planted in partial shade and did not perform as well. This was the first year in full sun and it was outstanding. A person visiting the garden bought a double fan of it based upon the scape. It was well branched and highly budded.

Karen, mine is in full sun and I am in the subtropics here (that will be equivalent to your deep south).

Avedon, I will do a photo of Kaspar for you. I have to sneak up on him.

Full sun!

everyone. I will locate it back to full sun in a different location where it was.

I acquired 2 fans at the end of July 2015 that were potted up. This plant was later transplanted to a new raised bed in October 2015. It did not bloom for me this year (2016), so I am waiting to see what the flowers look like in person on Planet Max. Love the name, btw!

It is still two small fans. It gets full sun, lots of water, and regular fertilizing. Go figure!

Hopefully, in 2017 I will see some action with this cultivar. Or I may have to dig it up and try a different location. I am at a loss as to what it's malfunction is.

I acquired this plant back in March 2016, I think three fans.

Today it has grown to about 12 fans the best I could tell, the scapes on it averaged 40 inches, the bud count was 20, and it displayed 5 way branching. No blooms today but as seen in the photo it is about to have another set of reblooms start, there are 5 rebloom scapes on it now. I had to back off the rebloom scape was so tall.
Edited: forgot to add this photo:

This time of year a lot of my plants have this look about them, very little foliage. I am not sure if that is summer dormancy or die back or if they are the same, but a lot of my plants right now have very little foliage.
Photos taken at an earlier time:



One more edit:
I did find two proliferation on two of the scapes today.