Mary's Gold came to live in my garden after a couple of years of prodding from one of the diggers at the local daylily farm (now out of business). For about two years he would tell me "you really need Mary's Gold!" But it was "gold" and I wanted other colors. I finally gave in and bought a double fan for $6 in 2008. I put one fan on each side of the little bridge that gets morning shade. I am happy to say that I do love this daylily.
If there were any complaints at all, it would be that it is top branched and on occasion the blooms get in the way of each other. BUT, other than that, it is a fantastic daylily.
In 2009, the year after I bought the double fan, I made notes about branching and bud count. These are the stats on Mary's Gold from 2009:
Increased from 2 to 4 fans in 1 year
Scape 1: 2-way branching, 24 buds
Scape 2: 4-way branching, 20 buds
Scape 3: 3-way branching, 17 buds
Since then, I have given away one whole clump on the one side of the bridge. The other single fan now has 20 fans after 7 years and no dividing.
I don't see rust in the pictures from June, but the clump now has just a couple of spots, which I'd say is darn good for this late in the season. Looking at past pictures shows that there is very little if any rust.
Bloom season for Mary's Gold is a true midseason bloomer in my zone 6b garden. It bloomed from 6/23 thru 7/18 this year.
Sometimes the midribs have a creamy white appearance.
Not sure what causes that, but it reminds me of a Dreamsicle bar.
This is Mary's Gold this year. I did not get bud count, but I think it may have declined a little bit. I do not fertilize and the clump needs dividing. In the second picture, you can also see how the blooms kind of get in the way of each other.
I think Polymerous statement about the color is spot on. Mary's Gold really draws the eye and makes the garden pop.
Just look at that rich, vibrant, gold color!
