Does anybody know if any of the following are hardy to zone 5B, I'm looking at some seeds on the LA but not sure if it would be a waste of time and money never mind a waste of seeds. There are crosses involving "Fourth of July in Georgia", "Dr Celia Stump", "Briar Patch" and "Home of the Free" . I've seen some of these used as pollen plants from northern growers but not as pod parents. I have some evergreens in my garden but I know not all will survive in my zone. Any thoughts?

I no longer get anything that was hybridized in the deep south, as I have spent WAY too much money and time on wonderful pictures but plants that don't survive here. There are some wonderful things being introduced, don't get me wrong, but plants like to live in their own local (and BTW, sometimes they live elsewhere).

My heart has been broken way too many times.

Might I suggest emailing the person that has hybridized such plants, or the person that has used the plant in breeding and is selling the seed, to ask what they think about it, or what knowledge they know about it? They have often studied the plant gene pool before using it.

Many times plants are purchased just for the gene pool, used and then passed on as they know it might not be hardy for them. That is all fine and good, when we have some heads up.

Oh, and I am sooooo into not buying by ZONE. If you have snow cover in zone 4 and I don't in zone 6, you might be able to grow something that I cannot.

Just sayin' honestly, the 'In My Opinion' thing (certainly not trying for the popularity poll!!!)

I did and I got an answer back after I had posted here. They say the plants have been hardy for them in their zone 5 garden except they aren't sure about Dr.C.Stump. I have a feeling the price tag for these seeds will end up going way past what my wallet will allow anyway. One can dream and I think I'm spending too much time in LA LA land anyway. We usually do have good snow cover in my garden but the last two winters have been sadly lacking! I think that I should stick to proven hardy plants and seeds. Thanks BB.

Have you had daylilies fail to do well in your garden before Brian? The handful of southerns and evergreens I currently have (mostly older cultivars though) have done as well as my dormants and semi-evergreens here and I'm thinking we must have pretty similar climates.

I'm buying some newer/new intros from some southern hybridizers this year. I've convinced myself they will be just fine here.... we shall see! It will be an incredibly expensive mistake if they don't. lol

Anne I have never had a daylily die, not even some smaller roots I missed cleaning up after transplanting in the fall that stayed on top of the soil all winter. I have some evergreens as well but I've been hearing more and more about souther daylilies not surviving northern winters. Normally there is a deep blanket of snow to protect them but last winter and this have been quite different. I think the newest one I have is Destined to See. I'm not so bold as to buy plants from the south, I'm getting seeds. I decided to buy them after all. We'll see what happens.

Good luck with the,m and let us know how they do

As far as daylily plants growing in Canada, Mick and Lanny Morry could be a good source of information about growing southern-bred ones. They are very willing to share their opinions about daylilies. While I know that climates vary greatly in different parts of Canada, the Morrys and other Canadian growers could give you their observations concerning the hardiness of specific cultivars. If it makes you feel any better, there are certain daylilies that do not thrive in NW GA. As far as seeds go, there seems to be many different opinions as to hardiness genes being passed on to hybrids from their parents.
David

That's good to hear! Destined to See did well in my garden. I think our seeds and daylilies will be fine!

Destined to See does very well in my garden.

I was looking around through the plant lists and stumbled into this thread. I don't usually bump old threads but in this case, I am also zone 5B and FOURTH OF JULY IN GEORGIA has done wonderfully overwintering outside without mulch.