Really nice seedlings everyone, daylilies just get better and better.
Polymerous ask.
@spunky1.... Here's a question for you Fred (and anyone else here who has introduced daylilies), prompted in part by my own seedlings (none of which are registration worthy, but hope springs eternal), but also comments by others. Just what is a good enough bud count to merit registration? Clearly plants perform differently in different areas of the country, so a high bud count from down in FL is not going to be the same in other places. Also, I am given the impression that a lower bud count may be mitigated by rebloom, particularly if the rebloom is instant. And that lower bud count can be even lower, if you have something that has multiple reblooms in a season (such as 'Stella...' or some of the Mike Huben cultivars). That is my impression, anyway, but in general (assuming at most one rebloom) where's the bud count line for registration or not?
I am going to give you my opinion which is worth nothing in most circles. I want a large daylily to have at least 18 buds per scape, small daylily at least 24 buds per scape, mini 30 buds to the scape, ufs 18 buds per scape. It doesn't always happen but that's the goal. I believe the smaller the flower the more branching and buds it should have, I would not register a mini with 18 buds and never expect to register a large daylily with 30 buds, although some in Florida say theirs have more than 30.
As far as rebloom I do not think it effects the bud count on the first scape. Everything I register reblooms, some instant and some not, so if rebloom effects the first scape I wouldn't know it anyway. There is no bud count line for the AHS to register a daylily, its up to the hybridizer if he or she wants to register a daylily with low bud count. This is one reason there are over 80,000 daylilies registered today, there is no standard for daylilies in general, each registered daylily sets its own standard. This is probably clear as mud and forgive me for rambling.
