Background history:

'Panic in Detroit' is a dormant tetraploid introduced in 2002 by Adams-R..

It has earned the following AHS awards:
Award of Merit: 2014
Honorable Mention: 2009

This plant can be found in our Plant Database at:
Daylily (Hemerocallis 'Panic in Detroit') .

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Daylily (Hemerocallis 'Panic in Detroit')

Big tall daylily with strong upright scapes.It does not have the brightest red color here in zone 6b,but it is a keeper because of it's garden presence.

Commanding garden presence, especially in a clump. I grew it in my zone 5 garden, where it had richer color due to the cooler climate and also in my zone 7 garden where it was more orange. Increases nicely but I could not set a pod on it, so it eventually left my garden. Highly recommend this one especially for northern climates as it is from a Michigan hybridizer., Ric Adams, who works with hardy lines. It was unforgettable as a clump at the national in the Detroit area in 2002.....that is how it got its name. The hybridizer's garden was a tour garden.

'Panic In Detroit' has been in my garden for over three years now and has struggled here. This was the best year so far and it has finally managed to increase a little. It had very few buds, and a very short blooming period again this year. Maybe next year it will finally be able to put on a show. It has managed to bloom every year for the past three years, but that is the best I can say for it so far here in my warm weather south Alabama garden.

Last year I said I hoped this year 'Panic In Detroit' would put on a show. Well, it certainly did, great year this year, close to 40 inch scapes , lots of blooms, but not a high bud count yet and a nice series of rebloom. I never did get a pod to set, and I was told it will not set pods. But, the pollen is good and I did some crosses using it. The scapes need to be a bit stronger still, they do lean with the heavy blooms, and this year there were often several blooms opened at one time.

Panic in Detroit has become one of my favorites. It was planted in '18 as a double and is now 8 fans. It quickly reached registered height of 40" and produces consistently huge blooms on those tall scapes. My count is 14 buds with three way branching. It has just started blooming so a mid season bloomer. A fabulous cultivar

I planted PID in September of 2021. It had grown an additional 2 fans over the winter, bringing the count up to 4. This summer, I was treated to bloom from July 9-31, with 19 blooms. By October, I only counted 2 fans.

The bloom is spectacular, a nice clear deep orange and yellow, and huge. The scapes were tall and strong, no leaning issues here. I hope the plant grows a few more fans for next season, as I really like it.

I got Panic in Detroit in May 2021 and it has not disappointed! What a lovely tall and bright daylily.

In 2022, it bloomed from 6/24 until at least 7/19. Rust is not an issue here.

7/08/2022 - after a rain it held up pretty good. That is Gudrid peeking in from the right.


7/14/2022 - definitely has sturdy scapes for this tall one. Registered at 40" tall and I was surprised that it reached that height after only being in my garden one year.


7/02/2022 - I didn't record branching or bud count, but it definitely gets at least 3-way branching and looking at pictures at least 15 buds. It's a keeper!

2023 update… not a great year for Panic in Detroit. I think it is bein bullied by Howdy, which is growing into it. Blooming from July 13 to August 1, I only saw 12 blooms and many were splotchy. However it did grow two new fans, leaving it at four this October.




There's that big bully, Howdy behind it