want to know that the bloom stem would have 
as many as fifteen buds or more on it instead of 
the four or five on older varieties, and in further 
evaluating a variety we would want to know that 
an established clump would produce many more 
bloom stems than the old varieties and that its 
foliage was pleasing. Also, we’d like to know 
that that particular variety would stay open in 
the evening and not fold up just because the sun 
pounded on it half the day. When one says, 
“This variety does better in partial shade’’— 
that’s not a compliment to that Daylily, but 
rather a subtle way of saying, “‘This variety 
just can’t take the sun.” We don’t want those at 
all; ours must grow in both full sun and part 
shade. 
Now, as many of you know, there are only 
about twenty species (varieties growing wild), 
all found in Asia. Some of those varieties were 
evergreen and some dormant to begin with—the 
evergreen were found in warmer sections of Asia, 
the dormant in colder sections. Perhaps that is 
why some breeders believe now that you have to 
select certain varieties for your climate. Com- 
petent plant breeders wouldn’t let it go at just 
that. They would surely work both types into 
their hybrids if they wanted to call them satis- 
factory all over America, else one distinct type 
wouldn’t do at all in sections where they don’t 
get “quite” enough cold and others where they 
barely get too much. 1 can honestly say that the 
only difference in any of our varieties growing 
in any section is that some varieties simply 
multiply faster than others, and that’s surely 
not because they are ‘‘ Evergreen” or “‘ Dormant?’ 
but simply because some of the species from 
which they were bred grow faster than others. 
There’s surely nothing any plant breeder will or 
can ever do about that, but in many cases the 
slower growers are far more beautiful than those 
that grow fast, and vice versa. 
After all, when you pay the price for a Daylily, 
you don’t want to experiment. (In fairness to 
you gardeners, that’s for the plant breeder to do.) 
You want to know that those you order are satis- 
factory, regardless of where you live. I hope I’m 
not misleading you, for there certainly are many 
varieties developed by some hybridizers that are 
not satisfactory in all sections of the country. 
But that, in my opinion, is because some plant 
breeders do not make the effort to use the blood 
of both types to begin with, making them com- 
plex enough to stand all sections. We have done 
that, and that’s why you'll find more Russell 
varieties in the past polls of the Hemerocallis 
Society than of any other grower in America. 
That’s why our variety stood at the top of the 
poll for three solid years—longer than any other 
variety on earth. That’s why we won the Stout 
Medal, the highest honor that can be paid a 
breeder of Daylilies. That variety had to be 
hardy and satisfactory all over America, else all 
America would not have had the chance to see it, 
let alone be able to grow it and vote on it in the 
polls. It surely was no accident with us. Ours 
are bred for all America. 
Now, in summing this all up, let’s just ask our- 
selves this one question: “‘ Why is the dormant 
variety Black Prince, which was originated by us, 
RUSSELL GARDENS, SPRING, TEXAS 
“Which type shall I plant?” 
known to be satisfactory from Maine to Cali- 
fornia and why is it on the list of the one hundred 
best in America?” Jewell Russell, which is ab- 
solutely evergreen here, is also extremely satis- 
factory over the entire United States—Florida, 
California and as far north as Canada. This is 
simply because all the varieties we offer have had 
many varieties, both dormant and evergreen, 
incorporated in their background for many gen- 
erations. I know some growers, in different sec- 
tions of our country, who have stressed “‘ever- 
green” too much or “dormant” too much, and 
have not made much attempt to use both types 
of blood. I don’t believe those growers are being 
quite fair when they offer their lists to all Amer- 
ica. We have moving pictures of our fields here 
in Texas in the dead of winter showing thirty 
acres, of which about one half are “evergreen” 
and one half ‘‘dormant.” I think before we plant 
breeders stress the quality of our wares too much, 
we owe it to our clients to emphasize hardiness 
as well as beauty in our plants. And I believe 
the only way we will test their hardiness is to 
send out thousands and thousands of plants, as 
we have done for more than twenty years, to the 
four corners of the earth and find out for our- 
selves. Finally, I wish to say that this is written 
solely for the benefit of the gardening public all 
over the world, that you may learn more about 
the hardiness of our plants in all sections and 
It was certainly not 
written as any reflection on other authors 
or growers, but I must say that I challenge 
any grower in America in backing up these 
statements. 
In conclusion, let me say that in selecting va- 
rieties from our fields for our display gardens, it 
has been absolutely no concern to us whatever, 
whether those particular varieties (since ours are 
all complex hybrids) are evergreen or dormant. 
They are selected solely for beauty and general 
garden value. Some evergreen are more beautiful 
than dormant in their particular color class—and 
we want them. Some dormant are more beautiful 
in their particular color class—and we also want 
them. It must also be remembered that even our 
varieties marked evergreen in our catalog be- 
come dormant for a few months of the year in 
the extreme North, but they are positively 
proven hardy all over America. 
UUTUTVUTUTUTVIVUTUEUTUTVUTUT UVLO 
Dear Mr. Russell: 
I thought you would be interested in knowing 
the daylilies that were planted in northern 
Michigan came through the winter perfectly, in 
spite of 28° below zero. The plants arrived in 
perfect condition and are thriving in extremely 
poor soil. It looks like Russell daylilies will grow 
beautifully anywhere. 
Sincerely, 
Lou R. Maxon 
Maxon, Inc. 
2761 Jefferson Ave. 
Detroit 7, Mich. 
_60—=—=$—0ODODOEEO eo e™=«&=xy””””Kee 
We sold Mr. Maxon over 10,000 plants during 
the past few years for his private estate. 
