I've seen around 5 dozen first time seedling blooms so far and only one I really like. This is the worst season I can remember and I'm thinking about burning my hybridizer's card. Maybe I'll cheer myself by doing some shovel pruning this afternoon.

On a different note, it's hot as heck here and the weeds are thriving.

Been trying to paint the back side of my house and it's like working in an oven out there! Pretty much hung it up, maybe in a few days/weeks we will get a wee cool off. mid 90's w so much humiditiy. My garden has been taken over by weeds too

Just shovel them up as if you are having an out of body experience, and then go watch a movie like nothing just happened. Over the winter you can evaluate your goals for next year, maybe go in a different direction, or hang it up. I find myself doing things sometimes just because I 'did' do it, but then I'm like well, if I don't enjoy it why am I STILL doing it?

A better spin is that maybe you will have 5 dozen spots open for even newer seedlings? Now you know what crosses do not work, you can try other ones.
And you got at least one you like.

Thomas Edison:
"I have not failed 10,000 times. I have not failed once. I have succeeded in proving that those 10,000 ways will not work. When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will work."

All it takes is 1 to make you start loving hybridizing again.
Hang in there.

Maybe this will cheer you up just a bit--Morning Sky is blooming very nicely here, and the bonus you sent of Blue Rondo has a scape. So, you know your daylilies are making people happy. You have produced lovely daylilies and you will do it again, I'm sure.
P.S. Just posted a pic of Morning Sky to the Three Is Not A Crowd thread.

Oh, I seen Blue Rondo in the database and thought it looked pretty I might have to give it a go sometime.

@daylilly99,
Maybe you are becoming more critical of the seedlings you grow, are you now basing your choices on just the past best selections? I can see how a hybridizer could become gradually more and more intolerant of slight imperfections and feel only the "perfect" daylilies are worthy of selection.
I suppose that is why even with the crappy rate of success I am having this year, I am having my best year yet. I have not had a lot of great selections so anything decent is an improvement. I have actually had a couple of plants with blooms showing some sign of the goal I am trying to achieve, that is way better than the past few years. Now I am all enthused and excited about next year.

I am looking forward to seeing your Rudy's Funhouse. It has scapes, but I don't know how well it is going to do in this heat. Midsummer A Woman's Work has been blooming 2 weeks now. Not a lot of buds on these 1st scapes, but it is the constant rebloom that has kept them in constant rebloom the last 2 years til frost. Amazing plant. One year it went thru 2 frosts before a hard freeze stopped its bloom.

Thanks for your words of encouragement - all of you. It will feel good to get rid of lots of plants to make more room. If only, they were all together in the same bed instead of here and there in many different raised beds. As it is, I'll have to shuffle (as usual) for next years crops.

I just came in from pulling more weeds due to thunder, lightning, rain and blessedly cool breezes. I hope you get the same soon Frillylily.

Most of what have opened to date have been diploids. I got an idea in my head several years back that I should try to hybridize miniatures, but I clearly don't have much of a clue as to how to get minis and how to get them on a good plant. I already vowed last year to try to get much more back with tetraploids and I at least have some of Karol Emmerich's good ones to work off of.

I was joking about burning my hybridizer's card ... It will take AT LEAST one more bad year before that happens.

Thank you for posting this, Pat! You are voicing some who have experienced this sort of feeling at least a few times in their hybridizing journeys. Everybody's words of support and encouragement are totally on point. If I ever hit a low point, I will definitely check back this thread for support.

Pat the ones I got from you are looking awesome. Had a couple on squirrel nutkin. It's adorable

I believe you only fail if you Do Not learn something.

I'm getting less depressed as more new seedlings are opening.

My favorite right off the bat - a diploid.


Two shots of another diploid with really good color (in my eyes)



Good color out of Pray Without Ceasing


Not the best looking flower but it's 2.5" so it has to stay for now.


Westbourne Waltz Across Haversham x Pray Without Ceasing


A red with texture out of Knocking on Heaven's Door


There are not as many to love as from last year but maybe there will be a few more nice ones to come.

Something wonderful for a period of about a month in summer ... this is what we pollen dabbers wait and hope for 10-11 months out of the year.

Glad to see the good results starting to come in, Pat!
Here's hoping we all can get enough success and satisfaction out of this time of year to recharge the batteries!

This is my second bloom of the season and it's a seedling's FFE.

My first reaction was disappointment. My expectations were very different from what I was getting here.

However, it occurred to me that say 5 years ago I would have been quite pleased with this bloom!

My expectations have changed because I have changed, and my program has advanced. So my eye is different now:

• I see things that I didn't see before. I'm taking more things into account when I make an evaluation. While there are more things that can make a seedling good, it seems like there are even more that can make a seedling evaluate as poor.


• Similarly, some things that I did see before, but did not give much consideration to, I now give much more consideration to-- significantly effecting my evaluations.


• Similarly, some things that I did see before, and did use in evaluation, I now apply a higher standard to. Some things that were good enough previously are no longer good enough. Some things that I considered to be only minor flaws I now consider to be major.

So it seems like I'm getting more disappointments because it is more difficult for a seedling to meet my expectations and standards. But being more critical in my assessment is a good thing, showing advancement in me and my program.

I still do get many pleasing results and take a great amount of joy from them. And I take great satisfaction from any advancement that I am seeing in my seedlings. As has been said, numerous disappointments are overwhelmed by just a few successes!

If it makes you feel any better I waited 3 years to see this.😂
And there's a bunch more just like it that haven't even put on scrapes yet.🙄
I think it's a Little Grapette x Happy Returns(?) cross (a warning to others not to make the same mistake).😎 For sure pod parent was Little Grapette.




But I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I see so many seedlings people would toss but I'd have trouble letting them go.

On the bright side it gave you a poly!

And I didn't even notice!
Thank you!!

@SummerBee
I like it it's cute.

@daylilly99 - there is nothing wrong with setting the bar high! And I have to say, Pat, my season is really behind this year (still hitting low 50s / high 40s) ... so walking out into the gardens, what is blooming...?

Oh, yes: Gaia and Beebleberry Pie! (And not many more, yet, though there are plenty of scapes and buds.) So, thank you for the wonderful plants.