The fall AHS Board Meeting will be this month where they'll announce the winners for this years awards as voted by garden judges. Here's a link to the AHS page showing the previous winners of the Stout Silver Medal
https://daylilies.org/awards/s...

Even though I'm not a garden judge anymore I thought it might be fun to do our own unofficial poll for the Stout. You don't need to be a garden judge, all NGA members can vote, but similar to garden judges let's (try to ) vote for one cultivar. The following is a list of the cultivars on the ballot for the 2024 Stout Silver Medal.
Asheville White Winged Dove
Back to Black
Barcode
Big Birds Friend
Big Fuss
Black Panther
Bluegrass Memories
Boss Hogg
Breathing in Snowflakes
Cameroons Twister
Cheddar Explosion
Depends on the Whether
Explosion in the Paint Factory
Hat's Off to Sue
Hotlanta
Humungousaur
Jen Melon
Joan Jackson
Lillian's Vapor Trail
Little Donny Darko
O'Bannon Orchid
One Eye Willie
Opa Klaus
Rolling Raven
Sebastian on Steroids
Simply Karen
Sir Francis Drake
Spacecoast Chomp! Chomp!
Stenciled Infusion
Stop the Car
The One Ring
Thomas Tew
Tidewater Elf
Toy Trumpets
Wigglesworth
Yankee Pinstripes

Of these I've grown 5 and seen one other many times growing in Region 4. The ones I've grown are ...

Asheville White Winged Dove - pretty flower but the plant wasn't happy growing here.

Explosion in the Paint Factory - been here quite a few years now, multiplies well and blooms with those fantastic variegated blooms consistently for me.

Rolling Raven - an evergreen that has done extremely well here, love the dark near black spider blooms.

Stenciled Infusion - beautiful blooms, not hardy, died.

Yankee Pinstripes - I actually tested this for Rich before he registered it. It did very well here.

Toy Trumpets - hybridized in Region 4 I've seen this growing in many gardens over the years.

I have to go with Explosion in the Paint Factory as my pick for the Stout Medal.

If I had a second pick or runner up it would be Toy Trumpets. Might as well add 2 "want list" plants that I haven't seen but would like Black Panther and Bluegrass Memories. I just broke the "vote for one cultivar" whoops. (Fixed it )
So which cultivar would you pick?

My garden says...
I agree Stenciled Infusion is "delicate": died in the Great Freeze in TX. I have another but it'll overwinter in the greenhouse on cold nights.
Big Bird's Friend, Humungousaur, Cameroons Twister bloomed but are new. Sir Francis Drake didn't bloom after a fall transplant so I would have to pick The One Ring, a reliable bloomer not in the best location for sun or soil. Too bad it canoes but sure does pass on the pattern & reverse bitone...yeah, I know the Stout votes don't care about that.
2nd choice Humungousaur.

Duplicate

The ones I grow here ( have most familiarity with) ate

Barcode
Bluegrass Memories
Explosion in the Paint Factory
Lillian's Vapor Trail
O'Bannon Orchid
Toy Trumpets
Yankee Pinstripes

Barcode has been a weak plant for me. It hasn't increased at all and has taken three years to make a few flowers. Boo, not a winner…

Bluegrass Memories is pretty new. Planted Spring 2023, it has remained at three fans and only bloomed 2 ( pretty ) flowers this summer. I need more time before I vote for that one.


Explosion in the Paint Factory, what a great plant! It has doubled in size in two years, going from 3 fans October 2022 to 6 fans as of October 2024. It consistently pumps out great, interesting broken color blooms, all different but on strong scapes at the registered height. And I think it would be appropriate to honor this important plant because it's a key parent of other broken color blooms. So my vote also goes to EITPF.

Lillian's Vapor Trail I planted 3 fans of this and by the following Spring it was gone. This has happened to all but one of my Lillian's plants. Apparently they don't like the North. Or my yard. Or me. Not sure what it is…no vote there.

O'Bannon Orchid- I planted this one in 2022, the fan increase has been good, going from 2 to 7 in two seasons. The flower is beautiful, I didn't get any last year and only 8 this year. The scapes are super thin and lean, I had to stake mine up. The flower is unusual but I don't think the weak scapes enable it to be a Stout winner.

Toy Trumpets, I really like this one. It's sturdy, produces lots of bloom, which have an interesting reverse side, so look good from different angles. It has more than doubled, going from 3 fans in 2022 to 7 fans in 2024. The blooms aren't fancy but they are a cheerful presence. So, maybe not Stout worthy but a great plant, nevertheless.


Yankee Pinstripes- another great plant by Rich Howard. Ok, I'm a sucker for broken color, I'll admit it. This one was a gift of 2 fans from Cameron Stern when he and his Mom visited my garden in June 2022. It has since grown to 8 fans and pumped out huge amounts of flowers this year. So, this is a close runner up to EITPF for me. I think Rich is definitely due a Stout award.

Of the others, I have been admiring Cheddar Explosion ever since it premiered, I almost bought it on the spot but decided to wait.
Breathing in Snowflakes makes me smile but I opted to buy Breathing in Lilacs instead ( hopefully see bloom next summer).

I know I've seen a lot of the others but not in person. I don't think it's fair to vote on flowers you aren't really familiar with.

So my vote goes to Explosion in the Paint Factory

I haven't grown enough for my vote to count for anything. I've grown Explosion in the Paint Factory, Stenciled Infusion, and Humungousaur.

I agree wtih all the nice words said about EitPF, and will add that it's been a fun parent plant for me as well. I haven't had it give me a broken pattern, yet, but I've gotten several beautiful orange unusual form childtren from it so far. It seems to accept the watermark gene from it's cross partner, which for me makes some really lovely kids. Two that I consider keepers, tall and generous bud counts.

And I have to say Humungousaur has been a better than average plant for me, too. It has multiplied well for me, and I like that for such a large bloom on tall scapes, it blooms really early. It usually starts blooming within 10 days of my EE in that area, except it's 4x taller and the bloom is 10" bigger. It keeps you excited until peak season arrives.

It would be nice if something I knew won, but it never seems to work out that way.

I'm hesitant to vote. I have Hat's Off to Sue and Breathing in Snowflakes, but they are such new plants that they haven't bloomed yet. I also have Big Fuss, which has been a super plant for me, so I cast my vote for Big Fuss.

Tim and I apparently got the dud EITPF. However, I contacted the seller and he sent me a replacement this fall that bloomed in broken colors in his garden this summer. We shall see next year. I must say that EITPF is a very hardy plant. It was one of a few that survived winter before last in a big pot. I grow Lillian's Vapor Trail, Jen Melon and Stencil Infusion that I got as a gift from Breeze. Currently LVT is at the top of this list as of right now. Jen Melon is a nice late bloomer in my garden.
Zoia, Northwind Dancer won the SSM and it is a leaner/flopper. Go figure. It's all relative.

A fun thread for sure and an exciting time for those in the running. I do not grow any of the candidates, so am just guessing for the fun of it.

Explosion in the Paint Factory is certainly a good candidate, but I'm going with Lillian's Vapor Trail for the win. Thomas Tew 1st runner-up, and Big Bird's Friend 2nd runner-up.

My mother said 'If you can't say something nice don't say anything at all.'
Sooooo...I am trying to think of a nice way to respond to this interesting question. I do have some of these Stout candidates. Stay tuned for carefully phrased sentences.😁

Well…I'm personally a big believer in honesty. I doubt you'll hurt the flower's feelings if you tell it like it is. And weirdly, there is no proviso that the Stout has to do well everywhere, I think that's the Lenington, although , in my humble opinion, it really should be part of the consideration.

Yes yes Zoia honesty is one of my faults.
Which is why I just wrote and then deleted a long response.
Oh well.
Thanks for posting the interesting list Char.

Well, we know who has been watching Bambi!

My thing about the Stout is that it usually takes several years to get there, and in that time, there are a dozen newer releases that make them seem dated. The winner will normally have a run of people wanting to purchase plants, and like I said, there are in all likelihood better ones out there. I once bought a bunch of Stout winning plants while thinking that they were winners for a reason- but found out that my tastes superseded the award. I think I still have two...

I have grown several on the list, and still have a few of them for one reason or another. I can't say that any of them are worthy of an award.... but I watched Bambi too.

I grow nine of the plants on the list. Very limited in the time some have been in my garden, others have been here for several years. This year my vote might be different than it would have been last year or next year, but as of right now my vote goes to 'Stop The Car'. It is just beautiful to me, and it has been a great performer here and has multiplied well.
The stats are part of the reason for picking the flower but the beauty is also a huge part of why I pick this one.
Scape height: 47 inches
Bloom size: 7 inches
Bloom time: Midseason-Late
Plant Traits: Rebloom
Instant Rebloom
Bud Builder
Diurnal
Early Morning Opener (EMO)
Bud Count: 46 & over
Branching: 5-way
Rust Resistance: Shows Resistance
Fertility: Pod Fertile
Pollen Fertile

It really makes itself stand out and be noticed in the garden.

I almost bought that one four years ago, your review makes me want to buy it again now.

I just got my Stop The Car last year, and it wasn't so great yet this year. I have seedlings that might be distantly related with similar coloring and stats... but more of a full form. I donated one of them to the Region 2 meeting for naming rights, but have no idea after that. (Nobody contacted me)

I also have another seedling with similar coloring and a huge 8" flower. There are several, so I'm just having fun with my own seedlings rather than waiting for the awards to come out... but since I don't have the time or the space, they come and they go...

I'll name it for you, Deryll!

I have five here as well. They are:
Big Bird's Friend- Reliable plant that increased well to form a good clump. Large flowers are seen well from any point in the garden.

Cameroons Twister- Grew from two fans to a HUGE clump in just a few years. Even at that stage it continued to produce tons of flowers on each fan. Flowers bleach some by mid day, but rebound some by evening.
Rolling Raven- This is by far the best spidery type I have. It grows well, produces a ton of near Black flowers that hold their color throughout the day. It's scapes are nicely branched and sturdy considering that it can stay erect despite three blooms at the same time. It easily makes seed pods.
Sir Francis Drake- Plant was whimpy until it got better established in it's third season here. It probably stayed alive because I moved it to be next to the house where it got extra warmth over Winter. However, since the third year it has done great. The blooms are a sight to behold: electric colors that are well-defined and bright. Large flower size even on third bloom on the scape. Flowers have good substance with moderate resistance to water damage. It could produce pods better, but I'm not going to throw it out.
Wigglesworth- This is one of the Best of the UF class. It grows really well here with moderate rate of increase. Flowers are beautiful and evenly colored. My only complaint is that the scapes are not strong enough to support the flowers if the one flower blooming is larger than most, or there are two flowers in bloom on the scape.
Big Bird's Friend

Cameroons Twister

Rolling Raven

Sir Francis Drake

Wigglesworth

This is a hard choice because I like all of these flowers and most have been with me for many years. However, if I have to choose one it would be: Rolling Raven

White Eyes Pink Dragon is out of Cameroon's Twister and has been runner up for the Stout. Here is another instance where we seem to be going backwards. My Cameroon's Twister really isn't nearly as impressive as WEPD on its best day, and I actually came very close to taking it out. I did have Big Bird's Friend for a few years and had to stake it. It was a great plant for me and increased exceptionally well, but alas, it was replaced with something a little nicer.

Greg, if you like Rolling Raven, you might try Buddy's I Am Tired. It was awesome, even this far north, although slow to increase here. It did eventually clump up for me, and the flowers are fantastic. I took it out this year, along with several others, but it was a tough decision! Our plants chairperson chose a seedling from it as another one for naming rights at the Region 2 meeting. I have so many seedlings from I am Tired that I donated my entire clump of the seedling, but it was a really nice one with huge flowers and nearly four feet tall. I also donated I Am Tired to the plant sales, and someone got a nice one...