Hello, all you daylilyholics!

So.... I'm going to be buying a few daylilies from Oakes, and I need help! So many to choose from, so little money to spend!

I have a few dayliles already. I've never really been "into" them, but it's nice having some around. And, especially since I've been impressed by the toughness of the ones I already have, I want to get a few more. I don't need to have the latest thing -- what I want is color and reliability and lots of blooms. Rebloomers a definite plus; fragrance would also be great. I don't want whites or yellows or browns; I mostly want oranges, pinks, and/or purples, but I'd consider reds. Since I'm in TN, I don't much care whether it's evergreen, semi, or dormant.

Here's what I've already got: Crimson Pirate, Desert Flame, Mulberry Freeze, Primal Scream, Ruby Spider, Scottish Fantasy, Sweet Summer Valentine (no, not Blushing Summer Valentine or just Summer Valentine).

Here's my list so far. I want to trim this down to three or four for now, plus possibly another three or four next month when I drive over to their daylily festival:

Tuscawilla Tigress: https://www.oakesdaylilies.com...
Persian Market: https://www.oakesdaylilies.com...
Wayside King Royale: https://www.oakesdaylilies.com...
Orange Vols: https://www.oakesdaylilies.com...
Red Volunteer: https://www.oakesdaylilies.com...
Dorothy Lambert: https://www.oakesdaylilies.com...
Back Draft: https://www.oakesdaylilies.com...
Lady Lucille: https://www.oakesdaylilies.com...
Leebea Orange Crush: https://www.oakesdaylilies.com...
Orange Aglow: https://www.oakesdaylilies.com...
Hot Bronze: https://www.oakesdaylilies.com...
Super Coral: https://www.oakesdaylilies.com...
Chicago Apache: https://www.oakesdaylilies.com...
Mauna Loa: https://www.oakesdaylilies.com...
Pardon Me Boy: https://www.oakesdaylilies.com...
Apache War Dance: https://www.oakesdaylilies.com...
Coral Majority: https://www.oakesdaylilies.com...
Exotic Candy: https://www.oakesdaylilies.com...
Coral Crab: https://www.oakesdaylilies.com...
Dragon's Eye: https://www.oakesdaylilies.com...
Prairie Blossoms: https://www.oakesdaylilies.com...
Plum Perfect: https://www.oakesdaylilies.com...
Siloam Bye Lo: https://www.oakesdaylilies.com...

Are there any stinkers in there that I should run away from? Any varieties that I absolutely can't live without? Any other reasonably priced varieties that Oakes is selling that aren't on my list that I must have? (I had some others on there originally, like Frances Joiner, but it looked like I could get them much more cheaply elsewhere if I decided I had to have them.)

Any input welcomed, and thanks in advance!

Wow, that is a nice list. I have Tuscawilla Tigress and it increases pretty quickly for me. Love the color on Persian Market, and Red Volunteer is always a nice red to have. Dragon's Eye is a cutie in the front border of my house.



I have only heard about some of the others, so don't know about them firsthand.

I have both Dragon's Eye and Siloam Bye Lo and they are both great. Siloam Bye Lo is a smaller plant and good at the front of the border. As Vicki mentioned, Dragon's Eye is a front of the border plant, as well. They would look nice together.

I like Tuscawilla Tigress, Coral Majority is fairly new to me but multiplied nicely over the last year & bloomed really well last year (its first year). Great glowing color, but you have to like orange. Exotic Candy has done well here & I like the flowers. Had Red Volunteer & loved the large red flowers & it bloomed great, but moles burrowed under it & I didn't catch til it was too late. Not the fanciest, but a great dependable one. I had Dorothy Lambert, it was pretty but not impressive for me.

I would say look up all those plants on your list using the database here on Gardens.org. It will give you a good idea of how much the blooms you are wanting might vary from the photo at Oaks. If price is not a problem, they do sell very nice plants. None in that list that could not be purchased much cheaper elsewhere, but they would probably not be nearly as big and the shipping would probably be cheaper also. I don't know how big a problem rust is in your area, so maybe that is not a consideration for you. Down here in zone 8b, the plants that do super good here may be a total flop in your area. I know Stella and Happy Returns do well up there, but I can't even get them to grow down here. Another reason to look them all up in the database here and get a good idea if people in your area are having success with the plants on your list.

Strong dependable daylilies are Red Volunteer, Lady Lucille and Orange Vols very similar, I would take Orange Vols, Chicago Apache, Leabee Orange Crush big flower, short daylily needs to be put in front, puts on a great show. Tuscawilla Tigress is good, too.
Two I would consider not on your list, Magic Carpet Ride and Lavender Vista. Probably could pick up Magic Carpet Ride cheaper.

In the heat had problems with Persian Market, Dorothy Lambert, Mauna Loa, and Apache War Dance.

Congratulations on your win! May many more blessings come your way!

I would agree with Red Volunteer. We have it, and it preforms very well for us. Large beautiful red flowers on a tall scape, that blooms for a long time.

I would like to show you a couple of my very favorites and they are oldies, but you can always count on them to give you beautiful blooms year after year. First one of my all time favorite daylilies is Becky Lynn


Becky Lynn is a 1977 Diploid, Semi-Evergreen, 6.75" extra-early bloom

My second suggestion is Dorothy Chaffee


Dorothy Chaffee is a 1994 Diploid, Evergreen, 5.37" early-mid-season bitone bloom

A third suggestion would be Barbara Mitchell






Barbara Mitchell is a 1984 Diploid, semi-Evergreen, 6" mid season bloom
Becky Lynn and Barbara Mitchell both rebloom. But to be perfectly honest..... there aren't to many daylies that I don't like!! Lol. Enjoy your day lily hunt!

Of that list i only have Chicago Apache. Two years ago in was in my big bed doing okay but nothing spectacular. I moved it against the back of the house for morning sun only and it took off like i fed it prime steak or something. Better soil i do not know but if you have a part shady spot you might try it there.
Siloam By Lo i used to have but i am no longer into the short ones with small blooms.

Coral Majority is new to me this year. I've had Mauna Loa for a few years. The orange is eye popping and I recently divided the clump into two plantings. Both are doing well...

Seedfork gave sound advice. The daylily database is awesome. I know I checked the info and pictures on the database before I finalized my lists... Helped me pare out a couple of plants I was considering

Happy shopping!

Thanks to everyone for the advice so far. Please keep it coming!

And yes, I've been pouring over the database. It's a great resource!

Oh, and P.S. -- I've got tons of cedar-apple rust here -- I'm surrounded by cedar trees! -- but so far the daylilies I already have haven't shown any rust problems, so I don't think I have daylily rust in the area.

Hi, Congrats on winning. Oakes sends out large divisions of dls. You will not be disappointed.
Red Volunteer and T. Tigress plus Barbara Mitchell are my top 3 picks. I am just north of you and they do very well. Have fun at the Oakes Festival, it is on my bucket list of things to do

I have both Red Volunteer and Chicago Apache and they are winners in my garden. Have fun making your choices!

I've seldom if ever been disappointed with the daylilies Oakes sells. Oakes seems to carry only reliable daylily varieties that do well just about everywhere. Of the ones you have on your list I have Tuscawilla Tigress and Coral Majority. I like strong colors, particularly oranges and these are good ones. The only problem with Tuscawilla Tigress is that it will fade in full sun, so needs some shade in the PM to retain it's color better. Coral Majority is a later blooming daylily and extends the season, another good point in my book. One you didn't mention but you might like is Mexican Maiden. I bought this on a whim 3 years ago and have been very pleased with it. A shorter daylily that is colorfast/sunfast and has rebloomed reliably for me........Maryl

Mexican Maiden

I just have to ask, are you tied into purchasing from Oakes for a specific reason?

I purchased from Oakes my very first year and was very happy with what I got, but they are a bit more pricey. I have since discovered so many other great sellers via the Green Pages and just by reading some of the threads like:

The thread "2017 Daylily Orders Recieved" in Daylilies forum


If your funds are limited but you want more plants, than I would definitely look around and see if these are indeed the best prices or if you can get more bang for your buck elsewhere.

You want lots of blooms? I wish more people would respond to that part of your request. I grow a few on your list and they are nice and do pretty well here but none of them are what I would consider bloom factories!
I would love to recommend some cultivars but you would be better off getting recommendations in your zone. Just be aware that some daylilies really churn out the blooms while others don't. I think what you might be looking for is what many call good "Garden" daylilies. Out of 200 + named cultivars I have a handful that are really profuse bloom producers.

The one I have from Oakes that would meet your color requirement is Persian Market. It's been growing here for probably ten years. Every year it produces lots of pretty coral/orange/peach blend flowers. The Plant Data Base says the color is deep rose, but not here. Look at the photos on the Data Base, there are lots of variations. Here is a picture I took a couple of days ago. This was taken in the evening about 6:30 or so and it looks just fine, hasn't melted out.


Persian Market--my camera makes it more rose, but it is really more coral here.

Thanks so much for all your wonderful suggestions. The more, the merrier!

@mom2cjemma -- I'm buying from Oakes because I won the gift certificate in this month's not-a-raffle. Also, I lived in Knoxville for more than 20 years (Oakes is just outside Knoxville), and I live about 2 hours from there now -- so I'm hoping to pick up my daylilies at their daylily festival next month, which will be fun (and will also save the shipping costs). I went to the festival once or twice while I was living over there, but I haven't been for years.

Right now I'm thinking of starting with Tuscawilla Tigress, Orange Vols, Red Volunteer, Persian Market, and Wayside King Royale. But are Tuscawilla Tigress and Orange Vols different enough -- and different enough from Primal Scream, which I already have -- to be worth buying both of them? It's so hard to tell from photos!

Oh, and yes -- I'm definitely looking at other daylily sellers as well. But that gets reaaaaaally dangerous, because there are so many beautiful varieties out there!

That is cool that you won a GC.

I did get Persian Market and Siloam Bye Lo from Oakes. They are very nice plants although, I am not 100% sure that Persian Market bloomed last year.

I'm back with a bit of news. We had some stormy weather yesterday, lots of really dark clouds, had to turn on our lights way early and it was cooler. When I went out this morning and saw Persian Market, the color was the rose as listed in the registration. Evidently, temperatures play a big part here in our garden as regards PM. However, I believe this still in the color range you want. I know I am very happy with this daylily, whatever color it decides it wants to be.