The subject pretty much says it all: I'm looking for yellow self tetraploid daylilies that rebloom well in USDA zones 5 or 6 in the Midwest. I'd like fertile ones.

I'm planning to do crosses with 'Gisela's Sunshine' (Mondron), my favorite yellow tet. So beautiful and named for a beautiful friend. I'm hoping to produce a lovely pure lemon ruffly daylily that will rebloom well for us. I'd name it for my daughter (and register it). It might become nothing more than a family garden plant but that would be fine.

Thanks for any ideas!

Ann

Edited to correct cultivar name! I first wrote 'Gisela Meckstroth', a beautiful deep purple from Richard Norris. BTW, her first name is pronounced "GEE-sih-luh" with a hard "g" as in geese. We miss her every time we see these two daylilies in our garden.

There are a lot of other beautiful "spirits" in our garden. It's always bittersweet to be reminded of friends who are gone.

Gisela was a dear friend of mine,too. We spent several enjoyable years working together on the AHS board. She was one of the most diligent , capable and dedicated workers for AHS that I've ever met. Additionally, she was so funny. We spent ( for some reason) a lot of time in airports waiting for connections to our various board meetings. What a wonderful person!

I've meant to get that daylily Richard Norris named for her.

Now, to your subject, what form of daylilies do prefer ( for your recommendation? ). Full form, or UF?

Do you have any more goals? Taller (than 28"), rebloom, etc. I love the lemon yellow ones. There are so many kinds of yellow, but I get what you are saying when you say lemon yellow.

You mentioned ruffles. Gisela's Sunshine has perfect ruffles for my taste, but I guess I'm old fashioned as people tend to like a ton of stuff going on on the edges.

Gisela's Sunshine -- my favorite kind of ruffles
BB Code:

Or are you hoping for more like this when you say ruffles? (Seedling)

Julie @floota and Tim @lyshack, thanks for your interest!

I would probably prefer the classic formal ruffled look rather than the hooks & loops style in Tim's seedling. It's very attractive in its own way though!

I would actually rather see more of Gisela's Subshine's edges lying in flat edged rippling waves rather than the "crumpled" look some have. But it's beautiful and showy in a clump and I don't critique the individual flowers.

The color needs to epitomize sunshine!!

I'm picturing a full form rather than UF or spidery. A slightly trumpeted form might present the flowers better. Self-cleaning highly desirable. Height around 25-36".

Consistent, reliable rebloom with good soil and adequate watering is the most important characteristic though. I've wondered if Pat Stamile's 'Coastal Yellow' is reblooming well outside its nascent California habitat. Is anyone growing it in zones 5 or 6 (or colder).

Ann

I'll suggest Yellow Ducky. Even though I have not seen rebloom on it (I don't see much rebloom on anything), it is registered as a tet rebloomer. It is fertile both ways, but to date there are no children listed from it. I had a lot of seeds from various crosses, but due to lack of space eventually tossed them after five years in the fridge. Listed as having tentacles, but maybe you will get the rippling waves you are looking for in a cross.

It is a Past Plant of the Day and there are some comments here:
The thread "Daylily of the Day: Yellow Ducky" in Plants of the Day forum

Here's Jamie Gossard's listing of it:
https://heavenlygardens.com/im...

I have a terrible time getting a picture showing how pretty and bright it is. With the green throat, I guess it can't really be considered a yellow self.

blue23rose said:

I have a terrible time getting a picture showing how pretty and bright it is. With the green throat, I guess it can't really be considered a yellow self.

A different colored throat doesn't preclude a daylily flower from being described as a self, it would just not be a "complete self".

Daylily Dictionary definition of self:

"The petals and sepals are all the same shade of one color. The color of the throat, style or stamen filaments may be different. If the petals and sepals have an edge, eye, midribs or other markings of a different color the daylily is not a self. In a complete self the throat, style and filaments are the same color as the petals and sepals."

Omomuki? Here's its Daylily of the Day page:

The thread "Daylily of the Day: Omomuki" in Plants of the Day forum

Oh, that's right, Sue. I forgot about the term complete self. Thanks for the reminder!

Great suggestion, Nan. It doesn't show it as a rebloomer, but says extended bloom, which might work.

DeweyRooter said:Omomuki?

That is actually one of the parents of 'Gisela's Sunshine'.

It definitely reblooms in zone 8b.

Gisela's Sunshine (Mondron, 2001)
height 28 inches (71 cm), bloom 6.5 inches (17 cm), season EM, Rebloom, Evergreen, Tetraploid, 25 buds, 4 branches, Yellow self above green throat. (Omomuki × Kathleen Salter)

Mondron's location is listed as Edon, Ohio and 'Gisela's Sunshine' was registered as reblooming.

Might it be self-compatible? If so, perhaps self-pollinating it might be an idea. Tetraploids are considered to show less inbreeding depression than diploids. Perhaps producing a sizable number of seedlings from self-pollinations might produce some early season bloomers that have a better chance of reblooming?

admmad said:Perhaps producing a sizable number of seedlings from self-pollinations might produce some early season bloomers that have a better chance of reblooming?

Speaking of early season having a better chance of reblooming, I was surprised that 'Yellow Ducky' is registered as mid to late yet described as a rebloomer. That doesn't seem to allow much time in the colder areas.

@Sooby
Below is the relationship between flowering season and the percentage of reblooming cultivars for tetraploids. Apparently there are cultivars registered as reblooming in all the flowering seasons (based on registration information from the AHS database).



For diploid cultivars.

sooby said:

That is actually one of the parents of 'Gisela's Sunshine'.

Oops--I didn't check!

This information is from the hybridizer (Connecticut - reblooms) but possibly a 2020 registration and a 2021 introduction(?).

'Give Your Pooch A Smooch', Howard-R., 2021, 5" flower, 38" scape, M, Re, Sev, Tet, 5-way branching, 35 buds, fertile both ways, {[Mandalay Bay Music x Simply Divine] x Wallingford Woolly Bully} x Forestlake Becky.

http://www.ctdaylily.com/Give_...

admmad said:Sooby
Apparently there are cultivars registered as reblooming in all the flowering seasons (based on registration information from the AHS database).

Right, but wouldn't that depend to some extent on location? A late in Florida would allow more time for rebloom than a late in Ohio?

sooby said:

Speaking of early season having a better chance of reblooming, I was surprised that 'Yellow Ducky' is registered as mid to late yet described as a rebloomer. That doesn't seem to allow much time in the colder areas.

Yellow Ducky always blooms in June for me, so am a little confused as to why it was registered as a mid-late.

sooby said:
Right, but wouldn't that depend to some extent on location? A late in Florida would allow more time for rebloom than a late in Ohio?

Whether any cultivar is able to rebloom will always depend on the length of the daylily growing season.

Whether a late flowering daylily in a location with a long growing season would allow more time for rebloom than a late in a location with a shorter growing season depends on the definition of the daylily bloom season. If a daylily can flower during any time of a long growing season then the cultivars that flower near the end of that long growing season would be late flowering and should not have much if any advantage for rebloom over a late flowering cultivar in a location which has a shorter growing season. If the daylily bloom season is only part of the growing season then daylilies that flower in the late part of that period may have a longer period in which they can rebloom. How much of an advantage may depend on why the bloom season is considered to be shorter than the growing season. If there is a period during which environmental factors (such as high temperatures) prevent flowering (or development) then there may or may not be an advantage.

The flowering season is divided into seven time periods, EE, E, EM, M, ML, L, VL.
The daylily dictionary defines them as "That portion of the growing season when a particular cultivar is in bloom. The seasons are categorized in rather loosely defined periods, such as: EE, extra-early – the earliest flowers to bloom; E, early – overlap or follow slightly behind extra-early bloomers; EM, early to mid-season; M, midseason; ML, midseason to the beginning of the later portion of the bloom season; L, almost the end of the bloom season; and VL, very late – the last flowers of the bloom season."

If VL means "very late - the last flowers of the bloom season" how can any cultivar registered as having a VL bloom season rebloom in any location?

I assume that hybridizers decide that the daylily bloom season does not include all of their growing season even though daylilies may flower during the entire growing season. Presumably they divide the growing season into a portion during which daylily cultivars bloom for their first time and the remainder of the growing season after the last cultivar has bloomed for its first time.

The change in the percentages of tetraploid cultivars that were registered as reblooming between the period 2000-2010 and 2011-2021 in relation to their bloom seasons.

The following tetraploid cultivars were registered as being "yellow" and reblooming. The hybridizers, Lorrain and Lycett were in zone 5/6, Ontario. They grew their daylilies in good growing conditions. They had a watering system for their daylilies. They almost certainly fertilized well if not optimally. Unfortunately I do not grow any of them.
'Bruce Morgan'
'Cocktail Hour'
'Ganaraska Glory'
'Hayfield Good Times'
'Hayfield Lemon Ice'
'Hayfield Lemon Lime'
'Hayfield Sunshine'
'Ontario Sunrise'
'Peterborough'
'Pleased to Be'
'Singing in the Wind '