my daylilies i bought new this year some dont remotely resemble the sellers phot will they change next year or is it due to heat or what melchor

Some of mine don't either, they're not the plants I ordered.

I'll let someone more experienced with daylilies answer the color deviation question, however.


Welcome to ATP.

Well, I think it would depend on the seller. If you bought them at a nursery, or garden center of Lowes, Wal-mart etc., they were probably tissue cultured, and may never be "quite right"

And, it often takes a daylily a year or two to "settle in" and bloom normally.

If you bought from a daylily specialty garden, that divides plants to get divisions to sell, then they might have sent the wrong plant. However, if you live where it has been hot and dry, the blooms might be pale, and smaller. I know some of mine are pale this year.

Also, photos are usually taken in early morning, when the flowers are fresh. Daylilies can "melt" in the sun and heat, especially reds, deep rose, purples. Yellows, peach and gold fair much better in the sun and heat. So you might look at them before 9 a.m., if you have been looking at them in the evening, say after work.

If you still have the names, look them up in our database. Maybe others have posted photos you can compare your blooms to. Sometimes sellers enhance photos so much, the flowers will never look that good. Most of the images in our database were taken in the average garden, so can be more reliable for color.

i bought them from a well known seller they are the 2012 intros and i bought 6 different daylilies they have the tags they have been here just a little while the plants are huge and the flowers are pretty they are not smashing just ordinary but nice no resemblance to the hybridizer pictures ill wait till next spring as i have charts where i planted them but the d ifference is shocking i should have cut the scapes off and ordered in the spring or fall but i couldnt control myself buy i just wondered if that had happrnrf to anyone else

I can totally relate to this! About 4 years ago, when I got addicted to Daylilies, I bought between 20 or 30 from a very small, local nursery. The owner told me that she bought all of them from the local daylily club when they had their annual sale, so I trusted that they would be the correct plant. When they bloomed, not one single plant was the correct one! Ones that should have been purple were yellow, the yellow ones were red, and so on. There was no way they were a little off. They were totally the wrong plant. She sent about 10 replacement plants to me, and they were all the correct ones, but none of them were newer than about 1965! So, my seedlings that are blooming this year are all dips from old parents! Oh well, live and learn I guess. I lost money, but learned a lesson.

Because of this, I've found a new source for my daylilies. She's a wonderful seller that lives about an hour from me, and digs them fresh from her garden and I pick them up and plant them the same day. Last year, when one of them bloomed, I was a little worried, thinking I got the wrong plant. It looked nothing like her pictures, but it didn't look like any others that she has either, so I thought it just needed some time to settle in. When it bloomed this year, it was perfect! I was really surprised at the difference over last year, and it really did take some time to settle in. Others have only needed 2 weeks to settle in and and looked perfect when they bloomed right after I bought them. So, I think some of it depends on the plant. Buying from a local seller also means that the conditions in her garden and mine are pretty much the same, so I know the plants will grow at my house. It doesn't hurt any that she's a great photographer, and my blooms have looked just like hers.

I do have other daylilies that I've bought from another store here that has a great garden center (not a big box store), and the daylilies come from a local grower. They have all been correct, as to what I thought they would look like, but only because I compared them to pictures that weren't from the hybridizers sites. I've found that the pictures on here are usually way more accurate than the ones from many of the hybridizers sites. Not always, but most of the time.

My suggestion would be to take pictures and send them to the person that you bought the plants from, and ask them what they think. They may tell you to give it another year for them to settle in. Or, they may say that they accidentally sent the wrong plant. Either way, you'll have some documentation about your concerns. Next year, when they bloom again, you can compare them to the pictures from this year. By then, they should have improved if needed, or they'll look the same, and you'll know one way or the other what needs to be done.

Ok, if they are new intros, then it is probably because they are new, and not established.

I usually let one flower open, to try to be sure I have the right plant, and cut all scapes after that. Not everyone does this. I feel it is more important, especially with spring delivery, to allow the. Plant to use all its energy for roots and becoming established.

Another thing I forgot to mention is location. Many say that differences in soil can change a pink to peach, or cause other color shifts.

Another thing about location... Say you bought the plants from a big hybridizer in a southern state like Florida. Then you plant it in Ohio. Chances are good that it will not develop the big ruffles, bubbly edges, etc. here in the north, and may suffer poor opening without the warm nights they have in the south. The opposite can also be true. Take a Moldovan daylily bred and raised in Ohio and plant it in Texas, it might really suffer, and not do well. Or, it might do just fine.

And, many growers grow in pots, greenhouses etc. I know I used to go to a greenhouse where a friend had his plants to increase and to hybridize. The UV stuff on the greenhouse intensified the way my camera, and my eye, saw the colors.

About the only way around this is to visit AHS Display Gardens and daylily sellers on your area. See the plants in person before you buy.

May I ask what the plant names are that you have? We generally have most of the new intros where I help out at. Do you have any photos that you could post of the ones you are talking about?

Juli is right, some photos are really enhanced or they are taken in greenhouses (some hybridizers will tell you they are). But some daylilies will not perform the same in all areas. Heat, humidity, climate in general, fertilizing practices, among other factors do contribute to the way blooms act. Even on established plants I have noticed that sometimes they don't look the way they should until the rebloom scape or the color is not right because of something I added to the soil

Natalie, we cross posted. I agree with what you said. By going to a local daylily grower, their conditions will be much closer to your own. When I used to sell, I had the divisions lined out, and I dug them right then and there, so the customer knew exactly what they were getting. Not all places will do that. Often, you put in an order, pay for it, then come back in fall or spring to pick them up. This is usually when people have clumps they need to divide. They won't want to dig and divide a plant that is in bloom.

The AHS has an area of their website at daylilies.org where they list gardens and sellers by area.

The only problem I can think of, if you decided to only buy locally, is when you want to buy the latest introductions. If you don't live in the same zone where they are grown, you'll have to take your chances and hope for the best. I think the most important thing when buying the latest and greatest is to make sure that they are suited to your climate. A daylily that is an evergreen from Florida is going to struggle in a zone 4 garden, no matter how fantastic it looks in the hybridizers garden! I have a few evergreens here in my garden, and they have done really well, but they are no longer really evergreen. The seller that I bought them from said that they did just fine in her garden, and they have done just fine in mine. And, they have adapted to their surroundings over time. But, I'm sure that they won't all do that. I'd just be very worried about spending a huge amount of money on a new introduction that wasn't grown in the same zone that I live in, or something close to the same conditions. Even if they do well, it may take several years for them to look like they should. By then, I think I would have given up on them!

I must say I am horrified a Daylily Club would sell daylilies by a (I am assuming here) registered name and not one of them be the correct plant. Why on earth would they just dig random ones and put a name on them?? I would think the locals that bought from them as you did would never buy again either. Rather a defeatist way to get people interested in Daylilies.

Steph, our club here buys our SALE plants from other growers and we don't see them in bloom we just tell them what we want or let them pick them out for us for a certain amount of money. They do come labeled, but if they were mixed up then we would have no way of knowing because we don't have them when blooming. We buy ours from Jesse and Terah George and they know if they got something wrong they would have to deal with me Don't you tell them I said that Fred.

I will tell you that when clubs are digging, dividing, washing, and labeling clumps of daylilies sometimes it gets really hectic and this person gets ahead of that person and then these tags get put on the wrong plant and sometimes if just one whole clump gets mislabeled it could mean the ones being labeled afterwards may end up mislabeled. I can see where it could happen.

We get ours the first of April and then have our sales that month and in May so the plants just get hilled in. We actually draw a diagram of the plants and label with the names just in case a tag gets lost or an animal digs it up or the name fades for whatever reason and we will know what the plant is

I agree. I was actually going to join the group, but not after that happened! I can't say anything bad about the group as a whole, as maybe they were just having a bad year, with bad sellers, but I got burned, and I'm not willing to try again. Maybe the nursery I bought them from switched the tags, but I find that really hard to believe. The owner of the nursery has been a great seller, and I've bought almost all of my other plants from her without any problems. I think she just got the bad deal to begin with, and wouldn't have passed them along to me had she known. I'm positive that she would have taken the tags off and listed them as "mixed" if she had known ahead of time. I know that she has done that since my problem, which was the right thing to do. I should have gotten my money back on all of them, or an equal number of replacements, but it's all water under the bridge now. Also, the nursery probably had those daylilies for several years before I bought them, so who would I even know who to blame for sure? I just won't buy another daylily from there again, even if it's blooming!

I've also had horrible luck getting the right iris! I've spent a small fortune on them, trying to get some pink ones, and I've got every color but pink! No more iris purchases from me unless they are blooming when I buy them, or I'm standing there when they are divided!

The good news about the daylilies is that I found a new home for all of them. I gave them to my Dad, and he's thrilled to have them. He sends me e-mail updates daily about what is blooming, and he really loves them. I was so mad to begin with, but since they have made my Dad happy, I guess it turned out okay. Yes, I wasted a bunch of money, but it's okay. I got a few pretty seedlings from them, so I guess it wasn't a total waste.

This does sound like a good time to mention to buy locally.

I want THAT PLANT!

Pictures are not meant to deceive (usually) but cameras, moniters, and well, just the right perfect day for the best pic, of course, is the one you see advertised!

Local, conditions, soil amendments and as Juli mentioned above, first year plants often vary.

I am a northern garden but even if I buy northern hybridized plants, it doesn't mean that I will get the same color. Look, yes, but colors vary.

As mentioned above, there is nothing like buying locally.

Hope things work out for you.

I believe Lyle posted some pictures several years ago (in the "other" forum) comparing the same plant at different locations.

The colors were slightly different. You could see the resemblance - but the colors were "off".

Also, lighting and time of day can affect it. I have an older daylily called Purple Giant. It is normally a light lavender color. This is the same plant - heck the same stalk, 2 different days, the first one early morning:


I have NEVER seen it that rose color before. I will state that with my eye, that rose one looked more purple, but it certainly wasn't lavendar. - but this is what my camera saw.

Michelle I am glad you explained that since I have no club near e to see how things are done. Under that condition things could get pretty crazy.

thank you all so much i understand i was just surprised they were follow your fancy smooth talker count your assets and when stars align nicoles plants are the best and i think it was a combination of just arrived heat soil and whayever i was just shocked since i had just joined this group i knew i had the best resouce and knowledge to turn to from your experiences i can learn thank heavens i knew nicole was so nice and smart so i didnt have the experience to figure it out i called her but she wasnt there i bet she laughed when she heard my newbie message thank you so much wow they are so different but good shape and beautiful huge plants i know all will be great thank you all so much for your help

Hines, look at the thread I started entitled What Happened to this Flower. I am experiencing the same thing. My flower doesn't look at all like it should.

Hines,

I can relate quite well. I also bought some of Nicoles this spring. You have to remember that her soil and growing conditions are completely different from yours. Also she is taking pictures of flowers from establised clumps, yours are new and have traveled around the country bare root in a hot closed in box.

I also got Smooth Talker, although it was gorgeous, it did not look exactly like her picture for me. When people edit their pictures they make changes to them, not that I'm accusing Nicole of doing this, but cameras all take different looking pictures. You can try and edit them to look just like the flower you saw in the garden, but lots of times, this is impossible to achieve. Also as pointed out in the above post, the time of day the picture is taken has a lot to do with how it looks on the monitor. I take all my pictures early morning to get the most accurate pictures in the shade. You can look at the same flower in the afternoon and it looks totally different.

Here is Smooth Talker as it looked for me. No it didn't look exactly like hers, but it was new here and planted in potting soil not garden soil.

I also got Follow Your Fancy, but it declined on me and finally died. She replaced it for me and the new one is fine.

Dot

Smooth Talker

not even close thats really pretty ill just wait and see in a weird way its exciting as who knows what is next can you tell im a little bored thanks so much for the picture that helps a lot nicole is in fla. and im in so. ga. so theres not that much difference but i get it now different everything soil newness heat water at least the plants are great andim sure theyll settle down my carla ruth is absolutly smashing and sizzling diva so ill just wait till spring thanks again for the picture seeing pictures really helps

Some of the most beautiful, elaborate daylilies never look the same for me as they do in the hybridizer's picture or even pictures submitted by others here in the forum. We have a very dry, hot climate in Bakersfield, and I've just had to realize that some may never look like I wish they would look here.

Here is how BAJA CALIFORNIA looks in Bakersfield, in early morning shade and sunlight -- and this was the best flower I saw, but nothing like I was expecting.


And here is the link to the hybridizer's photo:
http://trimmerdaylily.com/cult...

And I think my biggest disappointment was TALLADEGA, since I was expecting a bright fire engine red based on the hybridizer's picture. I've had it for three years now, and this is the best I've seen from it.

Bummer!

And here is the link to Floyd Cove, where you can view Talladega if you scroll down on the left side.
http://www.distinctly.on.ca/fl...

What a difference, eh?