Now, I do know the botanical difference. But here's my question. How different are they really?

In siberian irises, my specialty, a diploid and a tet are very different. The tets have much more substance, and normally multiply much more quickly, but in Japanese iris, the difference is negligible.

What are the different attributes between the two in daylilies, and how stong is the difference?

Thanks.

I have worked with both for several years and the tets as a whole does have the stronger scapes and more substance. They also tend to have more vibrant color than the dips. I have found that the dips as a whole multiply faster here. I do not care for most of the tet spiders and ufs because of the added substance making them stiff and lifeless. The dip ufs and spiders do a lot more twisting and curling, making them more interesting in the garden. To me as a hybidizer there is enough difference that I only do tet round flowers and dip spiders and ufs. There are pros and cons with both, and some great daylilies from both sides. One other thing I have found over the years, dips are less likely to get crown rot which is a big plus for me.

I agree with Spunky. I do exactly the same thing. I hybridize for round tets and dip spiders. I concentrate mostly on dip spiders though. I have not registered many tets at all, I think maybe two.

Thank you both! Interesting how varied the difference between tets and dips can be in different plants. I'm sure you know that tall bearded iris are now almost exclusively tets. The difference in tets vs. dips in bearded iris is amazing.

I'm looking to buy some more daylilies now that I've seen what beautiful new daylilies there are. And I was wondering if I should look at ones that are tets or dips. So you've answered my question.

I wish we could grow Bearded Iris here, I gave seem some beautiful ones in the northern part of Alabama.