I feel my daylily mind expanding more already ... thanks so much to you all for the information on what you have seen and experienced. I'm so grateful for the leading-questions asked, too, since I'm never sure what to include!
The first one, Three Stigmas of Eve, I can try to pollinate and document, and will be much more patient about it knowing that Michelle has also tried without result. Sometimes just knowing that something will likely be a rare result and only after many tries over time is encouraging enough to keep on, when time and attention allows.
The second, Victorian Vapors, is grown in my "blast furnace" bed that is mostly a mix of loamy and sandy - we are not many miles from the shore of a large estuary but in an area with lots of vegetative contributions to the soil. Unfortunately, the bed was left untended and dry for at least five years before we moved here. I've amended it over the last six years, but just with basic stuff from garden centers (some mulch the first year, potting soil with slow release fertilizer in it, and fresh topsoil). The first two years trying to bring the bed back to life were harsh, really 95% of what got planted could not hang on through an entire 100-degree summer, even though they were all purchased locally. By years three and four, after yearly amendments as previously, things started to take hold. I also had to put in "steps" to stop the angle of the bed from just draining any waterings right down to the front border. It gets minimal automated sprinkler action (2-3 times a week at night) but I try to keep it more deeply fed with additional hand watering 3-7 times a week depending on need because of temps.
The third one, The Fainting Bush, is then likely (
@Gleni ) a form of Summer Dormancy that Fred has noticed. I hadn't thought about that, but yes, it did occur just at that time. Most of the cultivars that I'd ascribed to having SD did not flop, they just stopped sending up scapes and started withering back in size (and maturity) as the summer heat wave dug in. But it sure would make sense to me, now, that it might cause some of them to lose turgidity in the foliage, too, and have nothing left to stabilize the fan until some recovery begins.
The fourth pair, Godzilla and Sumo Boys, are both in pots with Miracle Grow potting soil mixed with a bit of garden soil. So, it could very well be they are pushing roots against something below, and I like the ideas offered that I can explore further. They do seem, some of the fans, that they are having trouble agreeing on which will determine the depth of crowns. Godzilla has a large crown about 1 inch under soil, but the rest of that bunch are less than 1/2 inch and above-ground. Sumo Boys, I think, have crowns that are both about 3/4 inch down.
Again, thanks everyone, bunches, for your helpful thoughts and experiences!
