Hi amateur expert: I just got an order from Marietta's...and that was my bonus! Lol! I guess we'll find out this summer about it!

lol cousin charles was my bonus also, quess we will all find out how it does in our different zones.
Jill

LOL - I guess the Shooters had an abundance of these this year! I can't wait to get it... and I can't wait to see it bloom.

Christine

I'm another one that got Cousin Charles as a bonus..... should be interesting!

Alexa

Me too! It must increase well. Hope we like it.

Laurel

I figured that would be my bonus, too, since it was sent to everyone else. Just got word from John Shooter that my bonus is MOTOWN BLUES -- I'm happy!

Add me to the list of people getting Cousin Charles as a bonus. My mother got it too. It must be a very hardy daylily if they have this much of it. Will be interesting to see how it does for everyone.

Add me to the list also! Twice!!! I got it on my first order a month ago, then a whole clump of it with the club order I put together. Now 5 people in our club will be growing it. I guess that's a good business move on their part--they get the plant growing in several regions this way. Someone on another post said they got an '07 intro as a bonus--I wonder how they choose what to send? Shooters have some lovely new pink daylilies that I wish I could afford!
Cindi

I got my order from marietta a couple of weeks ago, and I got one of their new intro's as a bonus. Im not sure how they choose the bonuses, other than making them about 20% of your total order, before shipping. Although I have heard people say that when you order something that is out of stock, they will sometimes ask you what to substitute with, and they give you very expensive substitutions. well thats what I have read. The shooters are very generous people, and always send way more than what you pay for! I got a three fan clump of Chocolate cherry dreams as a bonus and every fan was big and fat! I would love to get my hands on that motown blues, it is gorgeous. I have a weakness for the bluish ones. Have you seen catnap blues, and Paw print? I find myself drooling over those two everytime I go on their website.

Well, if the number of asterisks is any indication, they've got 3...

Asterisk in the general listing means outstanding/great performer. Some items have 1 or two, and there's one I see here called Barn Owl that has 6, and Ballerina on Ice has TEN!

And holy mackerel! They've got about 1,852 items listed in their current catalog, and says in the back that they have about 3,000 more that AREN'T in the catalog! Totally jealous of those of you who are driving distance to them!

I only spent about $50 with them and Cousin Charles is $35... so much for the 20%! I definately agree they are very generous people.

Christine

Hmmm I spent well over $300. Both times. I may have jkunkel call in my next order!

To be fair and not sound ungrateful, I should say I am very happy with my orders from Marietta. I estimate that 20 of the 24 plants I ordered each time came as 3-4 fan divisions, and maybe 8 of those were 5-10 fans. You could say that their best bonus was sending extra fans of the plants I chose. The people on my club order who just ordered 1 plant did very well, since I divided the clump of Cousin Charles so that each person who ordered got at least a double fan. I hope this plant is as prolific and pretty as it sounds. I also would love to visit their gardens! I can't imagine that many different daylilies. I have not seen another catalog with as many listings, and their online list is even more. Is there anyone with more?

Marietta has the most variety I've seen. Sunset Meadow and Cottage Gardens have pretty decent-sized lists, too.

My order arrived today and they did send lots of extra fans on about half of my order. They weren't as "green" as most other daylilies I've received, but I think they'll be fine. Of course, I'm comparing them to the ones I just received from Patron's which were enormous, green, had extra fans and were full of scapes.

I had over $100.00 order and recieved cousin charles but they were more than generous on the others. Not complaining any. But worried about my Amber Nicole she just doesnt look as perky as the others.
Jill

Ive never ordered from Patron's before, but it sounds like they send nice plants,so ill have to check out their website. Yours arrived with scapes? Were they all cut off? I got an order from Aren't I pretty daylilies last year, and they must have been in full bloom, cause all the scapes were cut off. And they were covered with them. Needless to say I have to wait untill this summer to see what they look like. They have grown nicely, so im excited to see some flowers!

Cindi, Well if I call in your order, you may end up with two cousin charles daylilies. Just got my email from the shooters, saying my lilies are on the way and Cousin Charles is with them! Wow, they must be trying to get rid of that one. I am happy with anything that is free, as I told someone else on a different thread, Mothers day is coming and I might just Pot cousin charles up and give him to my mommy!

"Wow, they must be trying to get rid of that one.

That thought crossed my mind too.... not that I would look a gift DL in the mouth, but why is that one being pushed so hard?

Alexa

It must multiply like crazy or they are wanting a wide distribution of the plant for a possible award nomination down the road.

Brooke

I received a bonus today that was disappointing -- the plants I got from the Auction seller were big, healthy fans and I was (shamefully) hoping for a good bonus because the plants were fairly expensive.

Instead I got a daylily that was sent to me last year as a bonus, and again last year by mistake (swapped for the plant I won on the auction). So this is the third time I've received Pinebelt Explosion.

Anyone interested in a trade?

Did any of you ever mail a Flat Stanley? Cousin Charles reminds me of him! He's been mailed all over the country! If I had known I was getting multiples, I would have started a whole area for him. The photo looks like it will be smashing in a mass. Looking at the clump we got, I think it multiplies like tribbles!
Oh, I ordered from Aren't I Pretty last year also and the scapes were cut off. It was real early in the season and I was amazed they already had blooms! Sunset Meadow is good also--low prices, but the plants aren't quite as big. Patron is next on my list to try.
We'll have to remember to post pics of Cousin Charles when it blooms, compare notes across the country. (Hmm is that just what the Shooters intended?)

Here's some info I just got from John:

What does the *-system in our catalog mean? It is our way of identifying those daylilies which are truly superior and will last as popular cultivars over time.

We purchase many, many new daylilies from established breeders and new breeders. Unfortunately, many of these daylilies disappoint us by not performing well, by not blooming for a long time, or by not having the vibrant color we are looking for, or by not having any pizzazz. We
realize that over time, these daylilies will not be popular sellers.

We began by adding "choice, excellent, etc." at end of the descriptions in the catalog. Our initial purpose was to help us identify those special daylilies which we need to increase in our nursery. Adding "choice or excellent" to the descriptions took away space we needed for the actual
descriptions; thus we changed to the *-system. Some people rate cultivars with one to five stars, but we have found that the single * serves our needs better than trying to determine an actual rating. I always carry a note pad
on the golf cart as I ride through the nursery daily so that I can record those daylilies that deserve a * -- the ones we need to propagate because they will be enduring favorites and good sellers over time.

In evaluating our seedlings, I usually ride the golf cart at a faster pace than walking. I like to see what catches my eye and makes me back up to take another look. I carry three colors of flags with me. A white flag is for those outstanding seedlings that we will take to the greenhouse for breeding. These are definitely daylilies that we will introduce and I want to get their traits into our loodlines as fast as possible. This is not based on just one or two observations. I like to look at bud count, branching, and rebloom. I also look three times a day (morning, after
12 noon, and late afternoon) to see the staying power and if there are any changes in performance during the days. All of our seedlings are bloomed in the nursery rows in the ground in full sun. Thus, we get to see true colors, bud counts, branching and plant habits.

I use red flags to mark seedlings that we are going to breed with and evaluate their performance over the next three years. If they do not merit introduction, they are discarded to make room for the next year's seedlings.

Finally, I use blue flags for seedlings that have potential but need another season for evaluation to see if they are worthy for breeding or introduction.

Seedlings without flags are discarded at the end of the season.
Course, that doesn't answer the question of why a certain CV has more than one star (I replied back to ask him this), nor does it explain why certain CVs are distributed en masse as bonuses like we're seeing here. I like Brooke's theory of researching for a future award.

Here's the final word. Evidently, they decided to just use asterisks to 'take up space' on the detail line, so it doesn't matter whether there's one asterisk or 10, they all mean 'Excellent Performer.'

If it has 1 asterisk that means there were no more room to put more. If it is really good you will see "choice."

ARGGGGGGGGGGGGG!

I spent literally hours going thru their website putting together a list of potential buys. Then went back and had to narrow down the list to around 70. Automatically chose all the ones with 5 and 4 stars...... then started the threes and 2's. Leaving off a whole bunch of one star flowers. Sure could have used that information beforhand, would have saved me much hand wringing and fretting.

Oh well, I still have the original list. Maybe some of the one star flowers will make it to Illinois later this spring or maybe next spring.

Roger

So........does "choice" mean more excellent than an "excellent?" It sure looks like there is room to put as many stars as you want on a listing. Darn.

My goodness, lots of you people got Cousin Charles...hmmmm...I love reds..and I didn't get it as a bonus. I got a clump of their intro "Baby Blue Eyes", but I'm not complaining. I love it too. Kind of reminds me of their new intro Paw Print. Here's a photo of BBE.
{{gwi:688913}}
Jan

I like Baby Blue Eyes, Jan! I sure hope Cousin Charles is a fast multiplier like we are thinking. It certainly looks like it will be wonderful in a clump.

Christine

Jan,
I was thinking about buying that baby blue eyes, Id like to see a pic if it blooms for you this year. I wish they would have sent me that one instead of the red one, it would have matched my other flowers much better! But who knows this Cousin Charles may turn out to win the Stout metal or something. We could all be surprised!

I'll be sure to post a photo of BBE if it blooms for me this season. :)
Jan

I just got an order from Shooters, you won't guess in a lifetime what my bonus was. Nope, you are wrong again...it was , COUSIN CHARLES.....Ellie

well we know we won't be trading that one with anyone else on this forum!

jkunkel, There could still be a trade...Jan & Chris didn't get CC...

Chris, I'll trade you cousin Charles for that one or something else....Ellie

Never mind Chris...I don't like Pinebelt Explosion either...I'll still trade you CC though.....Ellie

Ellie, you remember that aversion I have to yellow flowers with red or burgundy eyes? Well, now you see how I feel about Pinebelt Explosion. And I'm going to have a GROVE of it pretty soon!

CC looks pretty, but I'm not trading my Marietta bonus for it! Then again, I'll see how much I like Motown Blues after it blooms. If it's ugly, then I'm open to a trade!

Seriously, we'll have to swap exchange lists again later.

I don't want any ugly dls. I only want the pretty ones.... FF is coming along pretty good now. Yours??? I am thinking she's a slow starter.....Ellie

I checked it yesterday and it sprouted another fan, although it's tiny. Pearl Harbor is looking wimpy, but the rest look fine.

I just got the online invoice for this year's Marietta order - I looked eagerly expecting to see Cousin Charles as my bonus - but no, I'm getting Dreams of Heaven.

Not that I'm complaining, mind you, but I'm going to feel left out when you are all comparing Charlie's flowers...