Excerpt from an article in The Houston Press, Friday, 
June 16, 1944 
H. M. Russell Farm Writes Horticul- 
tural History with Variety 
of New Lilies 
Daylilies are being hybridized to give 
many colorings, and so many variations 
have appeared that the colors range 
from a creamy peach to the yellows and 
then through the different shades of 
yellow to the red, maroon and purple 
tints. These hardy perennials are being 
taught to bloom twice a year and varie- 
ties trained to bloom for all months of 
the year. Some grow tall, others low; 
some flowers are large, others small. 
HT. M. Russell at the Russell daylily 
farm near Spring, only 23 miles from 
Houston, has been making history in the 
horticultural world with many of his new 
hybrids. His new achievement is to make 
the daylily forget its habit of closing up 
for the night. His Sonja Henie is a 
small yellow daylily which likes the night 
life and refuses to fold up during the 
evening hours. 
At his farm with more than a half 
million plants all nodding in the sun- 
shine and showing a wide range of 
colors, there are many lilies named for 
Houstonians. The Mrs. B. F. Bonner, 
produced in 1942, is one of the finest 
lilies. It has a pale yellow shade and has 
been pronounced by authorities to excel 
the splendid Hyperion, so well known 
in the daylily world. Its bloom is large 
and holds well, appearing profusely in 
May and June. 
Perhaps the newest and most attrac- 

tive lily of this year will be the June 
Olcott, named for the bride of Burton 
McAshan, Jr. This lily is a clear yellow 
but is so dainty and petite in its forma- 
tion that it almost resembles the Peru- 
vian lily. This is a find in the lily world, 
for many of the hybridizers are trying 
for the larger sizes, and it is fast becom- 
ing one of the most popular lilies. An 
excellent variety has been named for 
Mrs. J. W. Slaughter. The Pride of 
Houston has dark mahogany-red petals 
with almost black eye zone. The throat 
is deep orange with the sepals a lighter 
shade. The Black Prince is so dark in 
its red that it appears almost black. 
The Purple Flash, Purple Sage, Pur- 
ple Waters bespeak their colorings in 
their names with Santa Fe, Juarez, 
Twinkle, San Felipe having red shad- 
ings. Some of the lilies are bi-colored; 
some have ruffled petals. There are so 
many variations that it is almost unbe- 
lievable that they have been hybridized 
from the old-fashioned “Custard Lily,” 
found in Southern gardens. 
The true value of the daylilies is their 
hardiness. They will flourish under a 
varied range of soil and climatic condi- 
tions. Wet or dry, acid or lime, sun or 
shade, sand or clay, these lilies will hold 
their own and will continue to grow in 
clumps for many years without any 
special culture. 
See page 18 for less expensive standard varieties 
RUSSELL GARDENS 
