I got this idea from another site, but thought it would be good over here. Most of us just jump in and respond to threads or ask a question, but never tell anything about ourselves.
There are some on here that no one knew hybridized or had registered daylilies (we are a modest group). So I thought we could tell a little about ourselves and how we got into daylilies and anything else you want to add.
Ok here goes
I am 39, a mother of 3 and a grandmother of 4 (only get to see one).
I got into daylilies in 2009. I used to hate daylilies and didn't want any EVER (I really don't know why) But when I moved in with my fiance (ex now) and wanted to plant flowers I was looking for things that needed no care. Basically just plant and let them grow like mexican heathers and gaillardia and such. Well, I read somewhere that daylilies had no real pest problems or disease problems and grew in just about any soil so I decided to try some when I saw them at Lowes or Home Depot. Well, they were $5.00 and I was not about to pay $5.00 for a plant that the blooms didn't last that long. I bought other plants in the meantime. When Lowes put them on sale for $2.25 I bought about 10 daylilies. I really liked the eyed ones. I liked the daylilies so much that in 2010 I went to local nursery and they had some for like $2.00 and I got a few more and looked at the big box stores. Everything was good until I got this ugly orange stuff on the daylilies. Then I had to go searching the internet for what the heck it was. Well, I found out what it was of course (rust) and had to figure out what to do about it. While searching for what to use to get rid of rust I found this whole world of daylilies. OMG was I fascinated. I didn't know sooooo many different kinds existed. While looking on the internet at daylilies I came across the message boards and started lurking. I also had gotten some seed pods from the local nursery since they don't use the seeds and thought I'd just plant some and get the same ones that I liked (didn't know they don't come true from seed) I came across threads on hybridizing and read that it takes 2-3 years to see a bloom. I said the heck with that (didn't realize that was northern states)!!! I found people selling daylilies on the message boards for good prices and also postage for daylilies so by September 2010 I had aquired about 150 daylilies. On the cubits thread Fred (Spunky1) told me about the daylily club in Pensacola and said they were having a meeting the following Monday and I went with my friend Kim. Kim, Fred, And James Hall started talking hybridizing and I said I wanted no part of it. Then I found out it doean't take 2-3 years here to get blooms. Kim said she really wanted to do it so I said ok. She had moved in with me after her heart attack so I could help her and we started planting more daylilies. I had no clue what I was doing so I just read everything I could about daylilies. I went to Fred and Kathleen's to get some fungicide for the rust and I saw how he had his beds built and decided that is how I wanted mine. They told me what to do and not to do in hybridizing and explained things that I didn't know.
We had a fenced off area that used to be the goat pen and in March of 2011 started building raised beds and I began hybridizing. Next year I will get to see my results. Can't wait to see my babies!!! That is how the addiction began.
I have had a lot of help from Fred in what to do. He has saved me a lot of years of mistakes by telling me how he does things and what works for him. I also have started selling on the lily auction so I can buy new daylilies to use in my hybridizing.
Any time I have a break from the daylilies I'm tending to my goats or spending time with my granddaughter.
Ok so that's the long story short so let's hear from the rest of you.
