amberjewel said:@judydu2 what were the lessons you learned? Anything that might help a newbie?
I learned to avoid new introductions that have been grown in a "pampered" environment. By pampered I mean container-grown with the perfect ratio of components, water and nutrients being supplied 24/7 and grown under shade cloth. While I have to give props to the vendors being able to grow a daylily to "perfection" under these conditions, it doesn't usually translate to livability under normal garden conditions. Humongous fans with a mass of feeder roots look absolutely amazing upon receipt but will, on most occasions, suffer and struggle when planted out into normal gardens. Feeder roots will not sustain a plant while it is adjusting to different cultivation conditions. The same holds true for greenhouse grown plants. Been there, done that, lost plants from that scenario, too.
Since I can not replicate optimum conditions that pampered daylilies are grown in, I stopped buying them, as few make the adjustment. They are too expensive to be annuals.
There are vendors that offer new introductions as field-grown plants. Field-grown means far less problems in adjustment from dirt to dirt. I feel these vendors need (and deserve) my monetary support. If there is ever a doubt as to how a plant is grown, I make the time to ask.
Buying on the secondary market allows someone else to take the risks and lowers the intro price. Of course, it's no longer a "new" into when purchased in this manner, but the chance of loss is much less.
