pinkruffles said:...this situation sort of reminds me of employers who won't hire people unless they have experience, but no one is willing to hire them so that they can get experience!
I see what you're getting at, but it's not really the best analogy, because in this case you can easily do all of the things Daniel suggested without making a single trade. It's important to establish an online presence as an avid daylily grower, in order to give people confidence.
pinkruffles said: The many articles I've read about that say that you should take out the whole clump. Are you kidding me?? I have large clumps that are VERY heavy, and I only want 2 or 3 fans. So, I usually try to trade some of my smaller clumps, or ones where a few fans have come up away from the large clump.
Those articles are intended as a general guide for garden maintenance. As a general rule, articles about daylily culture vary wildly in accuracy and relevance. Try to get your information from "daylily people" rather than garden writers.
Regarding "trade bait", if I'm going to list plants for trading, I like to have them lined out in small clumps or growing in good-sized pots and well-fed. That way I can get at them easily. If I need to get some fans from a thick clump, I'll take a sharpshooter-type shovel, sometimes called a trenching spade, and take a 6" plug from the edge or the center of the clump, clean it off and pot up the pieces. A handful of compost and alfalfa pellets gets mixed into the soil when it goes back into the hole, and everyone's happy. The fans will recover quickly, and even damaged fans will be trade-ready in a couple of months. When I get a new plant, I'll try to slip off a small piece and put it in a 1-gallon pot in case I want to trade.
Another thing about clumps, daylilies decrease in "value", and by the time you have a big heavy clump, there may not be much demand for that variety.
pinkruffles said: I have considered telling someone that if I initiate the trade, I'm willing to send out their plant(s) first, and then they can send out mine if they are happy with what I've sent. That might work, but of course there's never a guarantee that I wouldn't get stung.
That's not a bad move. Don't expect a lot of action—I've sent quite a few messages to people regarding things on their want list and most of the time I never hear from them. Tastes change, people run out of space, and folks are wary of letting their address out. That's a good reason to get a P.O. Box or a drop-box somewhere.
Lastly, keep track of your trades using the plant list. That way you and your trade partners can provide feedback for each other in the "notes" section.
