I agree. I'm quite fussy about color and color combinations. A big offender is white - so many plants labelled as "white" are actually cream. And when one wants a crisp, pristine white, cream just don't cut it. Also reds - there are neutral reds, orange reds, and blue reds. Pinks and purples have different undertones, too. Oh, heck, all colors do...

I try to make mental notes when I'm out and about at the nursery or touring someone's garden (fortunately I'm blessed with a very good memory, which definitely helps). There are also some plants that I just know the color description is going to be off - e.g. there are no true white coneflowers or nasturtiums - or spot-on, such as the purple in balloon flowers or veronica is always a blue undertone, never red.

Part of the problem is that flower color looks different in different light and in different soils, and can be dependent on heat and age of the blossom. Years ago I bought plant color chips from the Royal Horticultural Society. These are more accurate than paint color chips as they are designed for plant colors. However, I rarely use them because most nurseries don't. Plant Delights is an exception (thanks Tony!), so if you have the color chips, you can refer to them & know exactly what he is talking about. Some reference books also use the RHS color chips to describe cultivar flower colors.

This is what it's all about, to me. Nothing is guaranteed, almost nothing is under your complete control. Not only do vendors describe plants poorly, the plants themselves are in on it. They get bigger than they're supposed to, or stay smaller, they change color, travel, mutate, or outright disappear; they generally misbehave in every way possible.

If you want certainty, gardening is not the right art form, hobby, sport or religion to pursue. Dealing with living things is just a lot more chaotic than dealing with inert material. Some surprises are fantastic, some are not so good, but beyond a certain point, the more control you expect to exert, the less likely you are to be happy with the results.

Well, yea, of course color looks different in different light, or may be darker/lighter depending on various factors.

But the undertone of the original plant won't change (not talking about seedlings, talking about the original plant).

e.g. A cream flower is not going to change to a pristine, pure white; if a pink flower has a blue/cool undertone, it isn't going to change to having an orange/warm undertone, even though the intensity/shade of the flower may change depending on conditions.

I realize for some folks all this isn't an issue, but for a good lot of us, color is quite important; in my case, it's all about the undertones. Not everyone can discern undertones and may be perfectly pleased with, say, any old pink flower. For someone who is fussy (in my case, admittedly anal) about color combinations, putting a warm pink next to a cool pink would make me want to scratch my eyes out, and no doubt one of those plants would get yanked out, I just couldn't take it.

Hmmm, I figure that if God made two plants so that they both bloom the second week in June then they are meant to be used together. I've been gardening for decades. I've learned that Mother Nature's combinations are almost universally better than my contrived ones. She laughs at my art school degree & the A+ that I'm so proud of in Color Theory.

'Ruffled Apricot' is a pale canteloupe color in every New England garden I've ever seen. New England, however, rarely has bright, intense sunshine (especially in the summer). Between our latitude & our weather patterns bleeding hearts can live here in full sun. So, what I'm saying is that 'Ruffled Apricot' (and any other flower) will look different in your light conditions.

Since red & yellow make orange...the more yellow the lighter the orange will be...which is known as "melon". Under your light conditions, it seems the yellow pigment is dominant. Do you have 'Ruffled Apricot' planted in a full sun location? If so, try moving to 1/2 day of just morning sun. That might be enough to tone down the yellow's reflection & bring out more of the red...and you end up with "melon".

Tricia

Hi Muffienh:

I'm quite fond of daylilies, and have encountered this issue quite regularly. The color of the blooms is apparently quite dependent on climate conditions- soil ph, sun, rain, temperature, humidity, etc... In my New York State growing conditions, many of the cultivars that come up pink in other locales bloom peach or even orange in my garden. (ie janice brown, persian market, strawberry candy) This really messed up my cool colors (purples, pink, blues) scheme that I had envisioned, so I feel your pain.

This issue comes up regularly on the daylily forum. I don't think that any of the learned daylily gurus there have indicated that you can do much about making the color more true to form by altering the conditions the way that you can with liming hydrangeas, for example.

I've learned to embrace my own orange-juice-yellow ruffled apricot by altering the color scheme of the bed where I planted it. I do get lots of compliments on it from passersby, and it looks great planted with Cranesbill Rozanne, Hemerocallis Strawberry Candy, Salvia May Night, Petrovskia, and some blue/purple clematis whose name escapes me. Hope this helps.

Jessica

I know from photographing my plants that catalogs and online retailer's photos can be misleading. Pinks and reds are the worst for my digital camera. My film SLR is better with color than the digitald. Anyway, going by photos can lead you way off color. My Siloam Double Classic daylily(soft pink in photos but actually a peachy shade) looked awful beneath roses that have a more bluish undertone. That was easy to fix by moving SDC amongst some sages.

Now I seldom try to mix similar shades but instead go for contrast and complementary color combos.

Here's an article about using the Color Wheel for selecting plants from Perdue University Extension Service.

Tricia

Here is a link that might be useful: Color Wheel for Planting - Perdue University Extension Service

Thank you all. I had forgotten in my crankiness at contemplating having to move plants that of course ph and sun conditions do matter, ie Hydrangeas. Didn't know that affected daylilies.

And I have learned from Johnson's Geraniums that 'blue' depends on what time of day you see it.

Now I am starting to wonder if the Apricot Ruffles I got from a bin at last year's Fedco plant sale might've been something else. Maybe I'll like it better in a different spot. But it sure ain't melon colored.

Don't you just love that daylily name, 'Strawberry Candy'? Got that at Fedco's too - and it bloomed true to the pics I can find. Maybe they will look nice together with Apricot Ruffles.

FOLLOW UP! The daylily that bloomed so golden was that was supposed to be Ruffled Apricot, isn't. Now that the other 2 have bloomed, there is no question: the first one is NOT Ruffled Apricot, it's beautiful, ruffly and big but it's Gold! The other 2 are as true as they were supposed to be, and apricot as expected.

Here is a link that might be useful: