I just found this thread...very interesting stuff! I grow both Kwanso variegata and Flore Pleno (I believe). The variegata does throw all green fans, but I find that those green fans also throw some variegated fans before long. I think the all-green Kwanso may be a different variety and stay all green.
I can't locate the source, but I have read that there are two mutations that cause doubling in daylilies. One arises in the petal tissue and creates a 'hose in hose' flower....new petals in rows of three, usually with a normal grouping of stamens and a pistil in the center. Since these petals arise from petal tissue, they are fully formed and normal in appearance. An example of these would be the daylily, Leader of the Pack. It is supposed to have nine petals all the time, with stamens and pistil intact. I just bought it this spring and haven't seen it bloom yet, so am uploading a picture from the internet. A second type of doubling in daylilies is caused by a mutation that causes the stamens to become petals. These petals are often not fully formed, and are twisted and show bits of the anther stuck to the side. I am uploading a picture of Double Bourbon, (second picture below, colored like Kwanso) which seems to show some of that type of doubling. Since the stamens are mutated into petals, they are absent or reduced in number.
I believe that the Kirchhoff strains interbreed both of these mutations, so you see some modern doubles with 'clean' petals and some with more bits and pieces of anther showing. I prefer the regularity of the hose-in-hose blooms, although I must admit that Barbara Watts is gorgeous. We just bought her this spring and her blooms are very large. I would guess her breeding is a mixture of both types of doubles since the petals aren't in neat rows like Leader of the Pack. Her picture is at the bottom of the three.
Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread. Reading it really 'made' my day!
Addendum.....I uploaded three pictures with this and was able to view them in PREVIEW. Why didn't they post? This is my first time on ALL THINGS PLANTS....help!
Addendum...after trying three or four times to post the pictures, I switched from Firefox to Internet Explorer and they worked fine. Apparently the software doesn't like Mozilla Firefox. Thanks to Tina and Seedfork for posting pictures and helping me figure this out. Great forum!
