beckygardener said:
Michele - I live in Florida, too. Does it only take 1-2 years for most blooms to stabilize here in Florida? Or is 3 years the true test? I am thinking of Fred's "LILLIAN'S DONNA ANN MANNING". It sure changed each year. And the yellow really came out in the 3rd year along with a smaller eye.
It really just depends on the plant. I would say most are what they are going to be after 2 years, but you just never no. There is no set rule on what they want to do.
"I am sitting here thinking that probably ALL of my home-grown hybrid daylilies would be tossed by most hybridizer's standards! I don't have a named and registered daylily in the bunch and I don't know if any would even be worthy of naming and registering"
If you are hybridizing for you then that is what matters, not comparing it with all the other hybridizers. You need to figure out what it is you want out of them not what you think others want and what you think is worthy to name and register. What I see as ugly I have had people come to the garden and just ooooh and awwww over. I look at it and wonder what they see; beauty is in the eye of the beholder. James Hall will ask me "isn't that beautiful?" and I will tell him straight up "NO" if I don't like it. If everyone liked the same thing then daylilies would be pretty boring and all look alike. It's because people like those "flaws" and take them further and make them into something great.
