Mike, can you tell me if Genesta is a bud builder??

Too bad it is a dormant. Looks like a wonderful cultivar!

Of course, I do have some dormants growing in my garden areas that are doing quite well. Maybe they are not true or hard dormants? Siloam Double Classic is one of my favorite "dormants" right now. She didn't bloom as much this year after being transplanted last year. But her foliage is pretty close to being the kind of "clump" size I long for. No rust or leaf streak or any issues, so that is one cultivar that is doing quite well here in my area!

Yes it is dormant Becky.
For me it is also over there.

Glenn - You are limited by distance and country. I am limited by zone and $$'s!

beckygardener said:Glenn - You are limited by distance and country. I am limited by zone and $$'s!

And I'll add garden space to those limitations!

I have that issue, too, Barbalee!

@Hemlady Genesta is a budbuilder. Most of her branches are "Y", not single like most. She is still budbuilding when the hard frost comes. Her registered height is thirty inches. I measured 54 and 51 inches respectively on both clumps. I have been dabbing pollen on her to get a variety of color to go with her blooming reproduction prowess
Very, very FAST increaser. In case you missed it I counted up to 140 (not a typo) bud scars on one of her scape with another one coming in at 138. A pic of these scapes are in the database. Registered by Betty Earl and Mr Marshall at 60 buds. Found out about her while reading Mike Huben's blog on budbuilders and rebloomers.

Holy Moly! That is some bud-builder, Mike! Makes me wished I lived a little further north.

Does anyone in the south grow Genesta?

@Hazelcrestmikeb Thanks, that is awesome!!!

@ Becky-about anyone in the south growing Genesta--Mark Carpenter at the Lily Farm lists it for $15.

Awesome, Mike.

Avedon - Interesting! I wonder what zone the Lily Farm is in? I am in 9b/10a zone. Genesta is listed as a dormant. I don't have much luck with dormants here in my zone, so that sure makes me wonder about Genesta. Maybe it is not a hard dormant or even a true dormant?

I have Siloam Double Classic which is listed as a dormant. It has done really well here considering. It is probably the one plant in my entire collection of registered cultivars and also my seedlings that now is looking like a clump. (Everything else is a single fan or maybe a few fans at best.) SDC was moved a year ago into a partially shaded area. Which probably reduced the number of blooms, but the foliage looks awesome. (It is rust resistant as well.) So when looking at Genesta, I was thinking that it sounds like a great plant, but would it survive here ... being a dormant?

Which is why I was wondering if anyone in the deep south has grown that cultivar? The bud-building characteristics remind me of Galaxy Explosion (which I have). Similar bloom size too. Sure makes me curious to know if anyone grows Genesta successfully in zones 9 or higher?

Thanks @Gleni.
Becky you could be the tester for zone 9 if no one respond.


Genesta today with over twenty blooms on one clump.


Genesta - the other clump with After Awhile Crocodile in the foreground.

Jealous of all your reblooms! I do see Double Daffy still has a couple blooms and my double peach has a couple more. Other than that I'm down to Going Bananas and it's still going strong. Actually better than a month ago!! I'm sure they'll wait to open until we go on vacation

Becky--zone 8b. It's in South East Texas going towards Louisiana. A much moister 8b than say central Texas 8b. They understand rust. Actually if you Google Jack Carpenter+ tissue culture + rust you might come up with some interesting reading. Many blessings for a spectacular month!
Edited to say. I do not mean their daylilies have rust, but as they are a southern grower who might have some ideas for you on rust and hybridizing. Hopefully I did not confuse you.

Sharon - thanks for that info. That is exactly what I wanted to know!

Mike - What a fabulous cultivar!!! Sounds like it might actually grow well here in my zone and climate.

Genesta has certainly peaked my interest. I did some web browsing to see if I could find any more information about it. I am mainly looking for who it's parents might be. I came across this short article about it:
http://www.mastergardenersmeck...

Betty Earl and Bob Marshall (hybridizers) live in Ft. Mill, SC. They do their hybridizing at Katie Laine Gardens. Unfortunately, no website. This plant was apparently bred and raised in SC.

So..... should I consider this cultivar more of a southern daylily than a northern day?

It is also featured on the AHS website as an example of a bud builder. The photo posted there is pretty amazing!! : http://www.daylilies.org/ahs_d...

I did some research in the hopes to find out about it's parentage. No luck, but I did find an email address for Katy Laine Gardens, so I sent an email inquiring about this cultivar. I don't know if I will receive a reply, but decided it was worth a try. Will share any information if I get a reply.

This cultivar has certainly gotten my attention! Thanks to Mike for sharing info and beautiful photos of this amazing bloomer!

This cultivar needs to be featured on the Daylily of the Day. If so, I will add some of this info to the description.

Let us know, Becky!! Inquiring minds and all that....

Becky, Carpenter's Lily Farm is about a two hour drive south from my house, so yes, Zone 8B. I have been there a couple of times, but it was years ago, when Jack Carpenter was still running the business. I bought just a couple of his seedlings, and the good news was that rust had not shown up yet. I do not know if they now have rust, but they probably spray, just in case--only a guess. I have rust here, not sure where it came from, probably some passalong plant that is now gone, but the damage has been done. I also have two big clumps of Siloam Double Classic, and they do not show rust, thank goodness. Genesta is so impressive, it would seem worthwhile to acquire it and do the trial as to whether or not it will do well in your zone. However, you do want to get a rust free plant, so that probably means getting it from a northern grower.