I'll start things off with my top five. I've only been hybridizing seriously for the past three years or so and am starting to narrow my focus. That will be apparent in this year's first blooming, so the ones I'm posting from last year were still from the shotgun approach I was using several years before.

You don't have to reveal the parentage if you don't want to. The photos will be just as enjoyable without that information.

I love the feathered throat, the subtle bluish eye and the bluish highlights on some of the petals and sepals. ‘Laura Harwood’ X ‘Smoke Scream’


The substance on this one is amazing. It looked as good at dusk as it did in the morning. It has a sturdy scape, so wind and rain don't faze it. ’New Paradigm’ X ’Eye of Horus’


Consistently poly, this one has an interesting champagne sort of coloration and is another one with heavy substance.


Another one with heavy substance, which is interesting, because I'm not breeding for that trait. Nice green throat. I like the way it flares way out almost to the petal edge. The eye is carried out to the petal edge as well.


Love the color combination on this one. Nice bluish eye and great green throat. Modest ruffling. I don't like ruffling that's overdone.

These are maybe not my *best* seedlings, but to me, they were among the most interesting seedlings that I've had, and ones that given enough space, I would be happy to keep around for a while. They are also not all from last year; only #1, 4, and 5 had maiden bloom last year, but I included #2 and #3 because they are still fairly "new" and I like them better than other seedlings which bloomed last year.


nice near-white daylily, good substance, possibly an EMO (bloom could be larger and the foliage maybe a bit less upright); the image doesn't convey it but there was something compelling about this one to me (or maybe it was just seeing the FFO on a foggy morning, when it seemed that the bloom had an ethereal glow )


another near-white, a volunteer seedling from different parentage, not fancy but it has good opening (an important trait here)


nice small yellow, an EMO and (up to a point) maybe a CMO; it unfortunately has a low bud count and the jury is still out wrt rebloom, but I really like it


sibling to above cross; small flowered color "changer" morphs from gold to an eyed face; similarly has a low bud count but it is somewhat fascinating in the color "change" (which also would make it a challenge to place it to best advantage in the garden)


another volunteer, this one was a complete surprise as its form varies from single to partially cristate to fully cristate; I may work with this one a little bit, to try to stabilize the cristation

I also have some poly seedlings (% too early to determine) which I will work with. All of them are flawed in one way or another, wrt bloom opening and/or symmetry and/or color (mud), so their faces aren't as pretty as those shown here. (The first four I feel I could just plunk down in the garden somewhere and enjoy them as they grow to clump strength... presuming I had any open sunny spaces for them. I'm still not sure how I feel about the (sometimes) crested one... )

SPACECOAST IRISH ILLUMINATION x MAGIC MANDOLIN - I love the incredible substance of the blooms on this one -- they never disappoint!


SOUTHWEST MEMORIES x RIO FIESTA - Second year, and I think it's gotten even prettier. Seed came from Ladylovingdove


SOUTHWEST MEMORIES x CAN'T TOUCH THIS - This is a small with blooms at around 4", and the seed came from Ladylovingdove.


BLUE HIPPO x XYLOPHONE JAZZ - I love how these blooms change/evolve from the first year to the second! And once again, seed from Ladylovingdove through the Lily Auction


WICKEDLY WILD AND WONDERFUL x BASS GIBSON

OK, I can't stand it -- this was such a tough decision that I just have to post my second Top 5:

BUTTERFLY COVE x BASS GIBSON - This was my very first seedling that I kept and it's still among my favorites, and I'm starting to make crosses with it.


MAZIE FARR x ICICLES - Second year bloom, and showing great improvement


GOD SAVE THE QUEEN x WAVES OF JOY - This bloomed for the first time in 2016, and I can't wait to see what it looks like this spring! And I think the seed came from Ladylovingdove.


ORANGE BLOSSOM TRAIL x SPACECOAST COLOR SCHEME - Another bloom with great substance and terrific color -- I nicknamed it "Schoolbus"!


TOOPHER x DR CELIA STUMP - Another seedling that showed good improvement from the first to second year of blooming.


And I just have to throw in a sixth...
PINK LEMONADE PARTY x SPINEFELD - First year bloom

Larry, I really love your second and fourth seedlings -- beautiful!

And Marilyn, I totally love your color changer -- so unique!

Marilyn, thanks for starting us off with such lovely seedlings. I'm really intrigued, as you are, by the appearance of a cristate bloom. I encourage you to work with it. The color changer that presents an eye is fascinating, too. You've got some interesting genetics going on there.

I'm all for heavy substance, Betty. You have some seriously lovely seedlings.

If y'all can't limit yourselves to just 5, go right ahead and post more. The more the merrier.

Marilyn, do you have any idea what the ploidy of cristate-producing seedling is?

I don't hybridized just eavesdropping and drooling Lovely all Maybe someday

I love all the seedlings!

Larry, your Stargate Portal x unknown-1 really has nice saturation. I've always admired Stargate Portal.

Marilyn, your 3rd one, the nice small yellow, is absolutely stunning! I love the perfect form of it. And I don't usually like yellows, but this color is a soft and creamy yellow.

Betty, I really like the color contrast on Southwest Memories x Can't Touch This. Gorgeous edge on it also!

I am not a serious hybridizer, just have over 200 seeds in the fridge that have been there for 2 years . Some that I started in 2014 that were bee pollinated I have already dug up to make room for other plants because they looked too much like the parent.

But I do have some that I started from seeds I got from profesora that will be in their second year of blooming this year and I am so looking forward to it because there were some real beauties last year. I am sure they will do better this year.

Out of 26 seeds that I received from profesora, 23 survived, but not all of them bloomed last year. All of the following pics are seedlings from the cross Emerald Toucanet x Malachite Sunbird.

My favorite is the first one!

Five of my best ones.
ROCK SOLID X UNK
ROCK SOLID X UNK
ROCK SOLID XUNK



SEEDLING X SEEDLING
JOAN DERIFIELD X REMEMBERING JOAN

Larry, I forgot to mention that I love the colors on your first and last seedlings.

The sometimes-cristate seedling is a tet. I mostly do only tet crosses (though last year I confess I was working on a pink dip cross ).

Betty, at your 'Schoolbus' - that seems to be a very appropriate name. (Much as I like screaming golds, I prefer the softer colored lavender seedling, your # 2 in the 2nd 5.)

The "color changer" is interesting, but the bud count (thus far) is low, and I would like a larger flower on a taller scape. I have a hint that I might be able to generate something similar in a larger flower, so I'm going to try a cross or two in that direction this year. (Whether I can get seeds, and then be able to plant out the seeds, is another matter...)

Vickie, the small yellow starts out a very nice lemon color, and then at the end of the day has faded to more of a creamy yellow. I love lemon daylilies and so I wish this one were more sunfast wrt color, but at least the substance and surface texture holds up.

Your patterned seedlings are interesting, but for some inexplicable reason , my eye keeps returning to your very dark eyed purple one.

Boyd, lovely eye on #2, lovely twists on your pale # 4, but I think #5 is best overall.

Thanks for starting this thread, Larry. It's always interesting to see what kinds of daylily forms, faces, and colors are interested and working in.

Wow, you guys have such awesome seedlings. All are drool worthy for sure. I don't have any to show but I am enjoying this thread tremendously. Make me hopeful that some of my seedlings may turn out as nice. Will find out in a few years.

@blue23rose, all those different blooms come from the same cross?
I'm new to this and never imagined all that variety in siblings!

I can't wait to see my first ehm ehm cough cough two seedlings crossed with my hands. I have many seedlings from donated seed but they are still too young to bloom.

Love this thread, Larry it's a great idea!

Marilyn, if you do decide to try something with the cristate form, here is a long list of tets that sometimes go cristate:
https://garden.org/plants/grou...

Tried to make it easy for you to access the the ones in the NGA Daylily Database, but that's the hugest link I've ever seen!

O good. I forgot that links are shown in abbreviated form here.

Vickie, those are some mighty nice-looking seedlings from just one cross. I love the first three and the sixth one.

Boyd, lovely! I'm a sucker for white curls. I'd have lots like yours in my garden, but I'm severely limited on space. I mostly just have room to grow my parent plants and the resulting seedlings.

Betty, I love the "Schoolbus" name. It's almost worth registering for the name alone!

Marilyn, I encourage you to keep working with the color changer. You're welcome about the thread. It gives us another chance to chat about and show daylilies in the dead of winter here in the North.

Thanks, Sabrina. Hybridizing gives us something to look forward to.

Boyd, awesome plants! All those curls on the seedling x seedling and that color makes that one look like a winner .

Marilyn, that dark-eyed purple one is one of the smaller blooms, but you are right, it does grab attention!

Sabrina, I'm new to all of this too, but I have seen huge variations between siblings before.

Larry, I think you have gotten us out of the winter doldrums, lol! Thanks for starting this thread.

I am only into my second serious year. So far it has been learning the obvious. But ce la vie. Must of these aren't a year old yet. It is a worry about the ones with parents that are noids but I have tried many times to see if anone can name them.

Orange Noid x Thin Man #OT2016,14,4
This is an excellent performer. Splendid bloom size, scapes 4 way branching, many buds. Reblooming.


King Kahuna X 42nd Street #KF2016,15,1
This is quite beautiful with an excellent shape. The scapes, branching and bud count are okay so far. I need next year to be certain.



CRAZY MISS DAISY x WAVES OF JOY #CW2014 227
This is an excellent performer with some pattern. It has been blooming for several months now.


Old style spider Noid 88 X Laura Harwood 2016,2,5
Good looker and good flower shape. I am uncertain with the traits of the scapes and buds yet.


WESTBOURNE TID BIT x JOSIE #WJ2014222
There is a problem with its short scapes. At one stage, it was a 100% poly but it is now down to 50%.

King Kahuna X 42nd Street #KF2016,15,1 is awesome, Glen! Is the bloom form consistent?