32 



There are several early-season clonal varieties such as Gold 

 Dust, Sovereign, Estmere and Orangeman that are hybrids be- 

 tween the diurnal H. Dumortierii and some type with a more ex- 

 tended flowering. The general rule of behavior for these is that 

 the flowers start to open after daylight, begin to close after dark, 

 usually about 10, and are fully closed before the following dawn. 

 When the weather is cool the opening may be delayed until near 

 midday and the flowers may remain open throughout the second 

 day, the entire period of anthesis covering as many as 48 hours. 

 Then there may be two different sets of flowers open on a plant 

 during the afternoon. In this case, the older flowers are for a 

 time darker and more orange in color — a condition also to be 

 observed for the flowers of the Lemon Daylily. 



Many of the present horticultural varieties which bloom in 

 summer are complex hybrids which have in their ancestry the H. 

 aurantiaca and the H. fulva, which are diurnal, and the H. 

 Thunbergii, which has somewhat extended flowering. The best 

 of these have a good day-blooming habit. The flowers either 

 open during the night or promptly at daylight and remain open 

 until after dark and even as late as midnight. 



The best sorts of daylilies for general garden use are those 

 whose flowers hold form, color, and freshness throughout the 

 hours of daylight and well into the night, even during days of 

 high temperatures. Then the succession of different sets pro- 

 vides flowers day after day over the entire period of blooming. 

 For many such varieties the flowers continue in good condition 

 well into the night, a feature of value where daylilies are used 

 for evening decoration. 



It will add to the total display of color which daylilies make in 

 the garden and to their value as cut flowers if new types can be 

 obtained whose individual flowers habitually remain open and 

 attractive for a period of several days. Possibly such types of 

 daylilies will be developed in the future. In the breeding work 

 with daylilies now in progress at The New York Botanical 

 Garden, special study is made of the various hybrids in respect to 

 any extension in the life of flowers. 



A. B. Stout. 



