Perennial Plant Peddler

It is that time of year! It's time to attend to your Helleborus (Lenton Rose) leaves. They lasted all winter under the snow, but now is the time to cut them down before the blooms shoot up. I used to wait till I saw buds, but then I had to cut the stems one at a time! Ugh! Now I try to cut them back in February if I can find a nice enough day. Don't delay. With warm weather coming, the blooms will pop before we know it! HAPPY almost SPRING!

THANK YOU to everyone who came for the daylilies this morning. They are all gone! Happy gardening!

These are 2 of the half dozen blooms from the cross of The Undefinable Kid X Explosion in the Paint Factory. The others were simply pretty yellow daylilies, no broken pattern. We will see how the rest are. You just never know what might happen.

I was cleaning up some daylilies yesterday when I found this hybridizing tag in the debris. I picked it up and saw I had done a cross of Richard Norris's "Sportin' Life" onto some daylily behind the house. I put the tag in my pocket.
When I got tired and went into the house, I tried to empty my pocket, but I couldn't get the tag out. I hadn't noticed that it was attached to the scape, and the pod still had one seed it it! Well, this is why I should put both pod and pollen parents on the tag! But I usually don't. There are 3 possibilities for the pod parent (all Curt Hanson plants): Watersong, Fluffy Tufts, and Crintonic Fireball. Honestly, I'd be really surprised if this seed sprouts after being outside, above ground, through the winter. But I don't have anything to lose by trying. We did have pretty consistent snow cover. After what it's been through, it deserves a chance!

For those of you who received daylily seeds: The morning 14 days after I put the first seeds in the pots under lights, there was one small green shoot. The next day, there were 4 tiny shoots. This morning, on the 23rd day, there are 24 seedlings. What fun!

I hope everyone gets lots of seedlings. Drier seeds will take a bit longer to adsorb enough water, and hence, to sprout. Keep the soil just moist, but don't over-water. Be patient!