A pair of oriental lilies with their intoxicating scent are keeping me company as I sit here getting back into life without peak bloom and on the road again with our series. A big Thank you to Juli for preparing the last two weeks of intros!
From the Reinke’s garden in Tennessee we travel to Iron Gate Garden in Kings Mountain, North Carolina for the hybridizing programs of Van Sellers and Victor Santa Lucia.
Originally home to the hundreds of iris and daylilies of his mother, Iron Gate Gardens is now home to the vibrant daylilies of Van Sellers and his partner Victor Santa Lucia. Van began selling daylilies in 1965 with his first daylily registrations of ‘Iron Gate Gala’, ‘Iron Gate Galaxy’ and ‘Iron Gate Premier’ following in 1968. ‘Iron Gate Glacier’ was Van’s first registration to be recognized by garden judges with a Junior Citation (JC) in 1971, an Honorable Mention (HM) in 1975 and the Award of Merit (AM) in 1978.
While attending the 1980 AHS National Van met Vic Santa Lucia who was also attending the meeting with his sister Grace Stamile and her husband Patrick. Vic began traveling from his home in New York to help at Iron Gate each year and after retiring moved to North Carolina in 1991. Both Van and Vic have separate lines and likes in hybridizing, but share a common goal for color which can be seen in both the boldness and clarity of color for which their cultivars are known. Distinction, form, EMO (early morning opening) and colorfastness with the ability to look as good in the evening as they do in the morning, especially important in darker purples and reds, are important to both hybridizers.
All American Chief (Sellers, 1994)
From Van’s white lines ‘Iron Gate Glacier’, ‘Iron Gate Iceberg’ and ‘White Temptation’ have been awarded HM’s and AM’s. A double form, ‘Exotic Echo’ received an HM in 1989, an AM in 1994 and the Annie T. Giles Award for best small flower in 1993. His red lines have produced some very popular cultivars with both growers and garden judges. ‘Big Apple’, a 5 inch saturated cerise red, has a 1989 HM and a 1992 AM. Registered as a small flower at 3 ¾ inches (a small flower is at least 3 inches but not more than 4 ½ inches)and red with a darker red eyezone ’Mister Lucky’ was awarded an HM in 1999, a AM in 2003 and the Don C. Stevens Award for best bold eyed cultivar in 2006. In 2008 Van’s ‘All American Chief’, a huge 9” red, received the society’s highest honor for a cultivar the Stout Silver Medal.
Iron Gate Glacier (Sellers, 1971)
Big Apple (Sellers, 1986)
Mister Lucky (Sellers, 1995)
Along with the many cultivar awards Van has been personally recognized with several service awards and for excellence in hybridizing with the 1987 Bertrand Farr Silver Medal. In 2012 he received the Steve Moldovan Mentoring Award, a yearly award given by AHS and established in the memory of Steve Moldovan to honor those who mentor others in the world of daylilies.
Carnival in Mexico (Santa Lucia, 2000)
Vic’s hybridizing lines have also been successful with growers and garden judges. His first registration ‘Seal of Approval’ in 1990 is cream edged lavender, a color commonly referred to as edge no eye, which received an HM in 1996. HM’s awarded in 2002 included Vic’s ‘Rocket Booster’ and ‘Satan’s Fire’. The bold red eyezones from Vic’s line are extremely popular with the 2007 HM recipient ‘Bandito Rojo’ and ‘Carnival in Caracas’ awarded an HM in 2011.The veined rose with red eye ‘Carnival in Mexico’ is Vic’s most awarded cultivar with an HM in 2005, an AM and Extra Large Diameter Award (for flowers measuring 7 inches and over) in 2010, the 2011 Don C. Stevens Award for best boldly eyed cultivar and in 2012 the highest cultivar honor the Stout Silver Medal.
Seal of Approval (Santa Lucia, 1990)
Rocket Booster (Santa Lucia, 1997)
Satan’s Fire (Santa Lucia, 1998)
To see the newest introductions from Iron Gate Garden visit them at
http://www.irongategardens.com...
