Starting off our ATP Hybridizer series are the husband and wife team of Patrick and Grace Stamile.
When Juli and I were working out the details for this series we thought the hardest part would be choosing each weeks feature hybridizer. After sitting with paper and pen for the past three days I can tell you writing an introduction for our first hybridizers in the series had me stumped. What could I say about two of the most talented hybridizers in the world of daylilies? The Stamile name is well known throughout the daylily world for their cultivars, all shapes, sizes and colors. From fancy edges, amazing patterns, clear pinks, whites and purples, Spiders, Doubles, Unusual and the Sculpted forms, to Grace’s perfectly proportioned mini’s and Patrick’s “candy” series for those of us with a sweet tooth for daylilies with bold, bright eyes. The list of individual cultivars bearing the Stamile name that have been recognized with AHS cultivar awards is long, garden value goes far beyond just a pretty flower to the quality of the plant beneath. The cultivars Wedding Band, Strawberry Candy and Custard Candy have all been awarded The Stout Silver Medal, the highest honor a daylily can receive. Both, Patrick and Grace, Patrick in 1997 and Grace in 2012, have the distinction of receiving the American Hemerocallis Societies personal award for excellence in the field of hybridizing, the Bertrand Farr Silver Medal. The quality and scope of their hybridizing vision and creativity can be seen growing in gardens around the world.
Many Stamile cultivars have been and continue to be grown in my garden. The first was Mystical Rainbow an early pattern daylily that proved to be a wonderful garden plant and also valuable for hybridizing patterns. From the “Candy” series I still grow Elegant Candy, Awesome Candy and Huckleberry Candy which never cease to amaze me with their perfect flowers. Night Embers, a distinctive dark cherry red Double, with a bloom shaped like a rose, grows beside Mount Helena (Grooms 85) each complimenting the other. Whiter Shade is one of the clearest whites I’ve ever seen and may not be as widely grown as it deserves. Screen Pattern another, newer, pattern from Pat. A few of Pat’s UF’s and Spiders are here as well, Bali Watercolor and Wild and Wonderful are two that stand out, and then there is the deeply carved Sculpted form, Bas Relief. Grace’s mini’s have proven to be incredible performers here, My Gal Sal is a personal favorite and I’ve seen stunning clumps of Broadway Valentine not only in my garden but in gardens in Ohio, New York, Mass. and Conn.
Please join in and post your favorite Stamile cultivars, stories and comments.
NOTE - You can find all the award winning cultivars, with images, by going to the ATP daylily database, click on “Search By Characteristics”, in the “Hybridizer “box type “Stamile” then scroll down to the AHS Awards section. Check the box for the award you would like results for and click “search”.
Awesome Candy
Whiter Shade
Bali Watercolor
Bas Relief
Broadway Valentine
