Oh, this is a great exercise -- and I think I'm going to learn from this! I believe I would keep the first three and maybe #5 and the last one. Or should I have kept them all since it's the first bloom? Also, you mentioned keeping in mind the bloom date as it's early in the season. So is that something I should focus on? Are early bloomers rare, a good thing?

Also, do you take pictures of all your first blooms, at least the ones you're going to evaluate further? I think that would be important so you can compare the next year's blooms to the first year. I'm starting a book of my crosses with pictures and the AHS Database description of each of the parents of each cross so I can refer back to check bud counts, etc.

It's raining here, so this is a good paperwork day...

I would have to keep all the first blooms to see how they mature. I see good things in all of those including good sepals with ruffles and then I see the start of teeth and dbl edges and then I see nice patterns and then I see wide ruffled edges. What would you drop from here right off the bat Lyle?

If I had to choose I would keep #3 for the form and contrasting edge, #4 for the color with the dark eye and edge and #5 for the lovely color and the possibility of teeth.

Lyle, I would keep all your seedlings.
Favorites being 1, 3, 4, 5, 8.

#2, 3 and 5 would be my keepers.
I'm about ready to bet Lyle wouldn't keep any. Just a feeling.

Ok Lyle, when we a few more answers, let us know.

This is fun, Mona

3 and 5 - but because I like bold colors.

#2 has an irregular eye, not sure if I would give it more chances.

the last one looks similar to my Wineberry Candy - there seem to be a lot of similar looking daylilies to that one already registered.

#7, not sure, it seems pretty. But I don't know enough about that color of DL ~Jan

Some welcome critiques!

I did keep #3 for the bloom, plant habit and parentage--ROYAL RENNISSANCE X TALLADEGA

For those who don't grow seedlings this is a window of what hybridizers see through daylily during bloom season.

I will post one more group, this group will have more diversity in the forms.

Oh No, I am going to have such a hard time culling I may have to get therapy. I think I need to do what you are doing and put the pictures up here for everyone to scrutinize and then maybe I can get rid of some.

I might keep 1, 3 (Love the color but need to take to a rounder petal) & 8. You have 2 pics there 4&7 of the same. Is that a test??

My bad! Is that better?

Yes.

I like #3,4 & 8 nice edges and I like the more open form. Now if you were going for round none of those 3 would fit that sort of program would they? I guess it depends a great deal on what your goal is.

I love the round but also like a triangle. Another consideration if you are going to sell them is what does the buyer prefer. I think if you try to incorporate as much good in a bloom as you can that is a given for buyers.

From the second group I would choose #1 and #7, they are both very different.

#1 I like the ruffling. It is, for lack of a better word, a tight ruffling. I'm not fond of the color of the self. If the edge was the only thing going for it though it would have to go.

#2 I'm only dabbling in doubles, but I might keep this because it has the little teeth and see if I could get a little bit larger teeth on it. To me the color is muddy (some people like those muddy colors) and I have a double I would take it to to see if I could make the color more clear.

#4 I like the teeth and hooks (?) If the plant habits are good I would keep it.

#5 I'm an eye and edge kind of person. I love how the petals look like they are sitting slighty above the sepals and not resting on them. I also like that the sepals are narrower. I would put a pattern on this to see if I could break up the eye.

#8 I just absolutely love this one. I may be wrong (it could be the lighting) but it seems to have a pink undertone to it. A lot of whites have a yellow undertone. And the edge is fantastic. I would take this to a couple of near white UFs I have

If I could only keep couple though I would keep #5 and #8

#1- I think the contrasting colors need to be increased. Redder possibly to go with that lovely edge.
#2- muddy double. I don't like muddy. But I have a couple for other reasons, one is a VL that blooms like crazy in September. I am also not a double type of person, although I have a couple of them, too
#3- I like the color - I am a red type of person, but would need to know plant habit before I decided
#4- Again muddy, but I do like the teeth. Do the teeth appear in colder climates?
#5- Needs a greener throat, and the edging needs to be larger
#6- Not sure
#7- Love the green throat, it really stands out
#8- Pretty, but am not very familiar with whites & light colors

There is a reason I am not hybridizing..... ~Jan

Thanks for the comments!

The parents=
1) WORLD TRAVELER X CANDID COLORS
2) Sdlg 39004 X LARRY'S OBSESSION
3)PEPPERMINT PINWHEEL X PINK ALOHA
4)MORT MORSS X ALIQUIPPA
5)Sdlg X LOVE FOR JESUS
6)FORTUNE'S DEAREST X BLISSFUL BLACKBERRY PIE
7)BIG CITY EYES X ORANGE GROVE - This is the seedling i will keep
8)PEPPERMINT PINWHEEL X PINK ALOHA

I can tell my taste in daylilies would probably cause me to toss some I should maybe keep, but my keepers would be #'s 1,3,4,6 and 8. But that's primarily because that's where my taste runs -- I'm not that fond of doubles or huge eyes. So I can tell I definitely need some training -- please keep it up, Lyle!

I am such a fan of your PEPPERMINT PINWHEEL X PINK ALOHA seedlings, Lyle -- and I'm so thrilled that you actually gave me one of them! Right now I have it in a 2 gal pot and I'll be planting it in my front yard probably in February so all my neighbors can enjoy it. It's very vigorous and healthy!

Betty- The important facts of a seedling is the scape height, bud count, bloom season, and plant habit - those things aren't usually shown.


This is the scape of my 2011 intro HABOOB notice the branching 4 blooms and none of them are touching, also good spacing very important some daylilies have what I call top loading all the blooms bunched up on the top of the scape the blooms are crowded and don't open full with that type of scape.

Lovely!!!!

Is that all one scape, Lyle? And are there four branches? This is such great information because I don't know anything about branching, spacing of blooms, etc. And do you wait until the scape is finished blooming to count the stubs where the buds/blooms were in order to get an approximate count? Thanks so much for this great information complete with an example! And I do love the way those blooms are spaced apart rather than all jammed together.

Are there some daylilies where the blooms aim straight up all the time? I've noticed a couple, and if they're short that's fine but I wouldn't necessarily be thrilled with that trait if it was a tall bloomer. Mine simply haven't bloomed enough yet for me to tell if they always do that.