RobLaffin said:
Meghan - good that you are doing that. A number of big-name hybridizers, including Jamie Gossard and Curt Hanson, have said that many older cultivars have not been fully explored for their potential. Sometimes it's worth it to make crosses with them that nobody else has made and see what you get. Some of the oldies have really good, solid genetics for certain traits, so you might get a pleasant surprise if you use ones that do especially well for you. And you can take them in a new direction crossing with the newer intros that are now available. You might at least be able to work some good traits into your program.
Thanks!! It's great to hear this.
In addition to true sentimental value (the oldest I have were passed down from my grandmother and grandaunt), I'm quite interested in resiliency traits. I'm working under the expectation that daylilies that have stood the test of time are going to measure up to varied conditions and weather stress. Ultimately, it would be really great to have a drought resistance metric or a winter hardiness metric the same way we have a rust susceptibility metric. I'm making my purchases almost exclusively from northern or high altitude nurseries, not only to avoid rust, but also to have some idea of the winter hardiness of the cultivars I buy. I have to say, I REALLY appreciate the hard work of these northern hybridizers and gardeners to test southern stock and go through the costly process (time and money) of testing cultivars, since the weaker ones will not increase well or won't survive.
Just for fun, here is a histogram of the current 60-or-so daylilies I have according to registration year. I plan to get 4-6 more "classics," including at least one Stout, and a smattering of other somewhat older cultivars for my 2020 additions.
Oldest daylilies: Autumn Red and Hyperion
On a related note, does anyone know when (what year) the first tetraploids were introduced, or what the first more widespread dip-to-tet conversions were? The most classic daylilies (back to species crosses) are dips, of course. It would be nice to have a benchmark to seek older tets as well.
Many thanks to everyone for the great ideas here!! I've also really enjoyed some other threads and Society materials that document the history of daylily hybridization. We truly stand on the shoulders of giants!
Meghan
