I spent more for Flying Trapeze than any two others I have bought.
kay

Flying Trapeze is a really nice one, Kay!! I've never seen a bad photo of it.
Mine was Humble Heart, which I thought was pure white in the middle and wasn't, but it's a fantastic bloomer and good increaser and still nice :)

I think Blushing Jellyfish was the most I spent on one flower. But I waited for it to get to $30.00 I just loved the hot pink, but I'm terrible cheap.
I also spent $35.00 for one fan for Smurfette for a father's day present for my dad. He likes Gossards.
I've seen some seedlings sell at CRAZY prices on the auction and I have to wonder how I would feel if I bought something like that and it rolled over dead.......

Lisa, I am so with you lol. I will spend more than thirty dollars, but seeds scare me because I feel like there's so much that could go wrong and at $20 a seed for 4 seeds I could practically have just bought the parent whose genes I liked so much :)

I think my most expensive was last year for Priceless. I love the pink and yellow. It was my first experience with the LA and got caught up bad with the bidding and just wasn't going to let it go. Very bad stubborn I am!! lol! Judy

Lol, Judy. Does the plant look as great as its photo?

CTC wrote, "Lisa, I am so with you lol. I will spend more than thirty dollars, but seeds scare me because I feel like there's so much that could go wrong and at $20 a seed for 4 seeds I could practically have just bought the parent whose genes I liked so much :)"

Yeah, unless you are a professional hybridizer trying to stay ahead of the game, I don't see the point of spending $80 or more for a few seeds. If you can wait a couple years, you could buy the parent plants (which are probably better than those 4 - 5 seedlings anyway) for less than that and make as many seeds as you want.

Of course, this makes me think...how many seeds would I need to produce and sell in order to completely fund a couple of trendy new plants...

Nate

Nate, that thought also crossed my mind. ;)

While it is true that that is alot of money, it's also much easier/quicker sometimes to buy a cross than to try to make it yourself. Say if you buy a parent (you already have one let's say), put it in the ground, it DOESN'T bloom the first year, then you wait until the next year until it does bloom, then you find that both parents are extremely difficult to get a pod off of! OR, like with some Klehms, it takes a few years for them to be receptive enough to make a pod for you. *sigh* Alot of time wasted. If you've got the cash to waste, go for it. If not, time is on your side and the waiting game is on! I do both. I won't pay $80 for seeds, but I also don't have a business that depends on the latest and greatest genetics. I've spend I think $45.00 once or twice. Won't do that again UNLESS it has a high amount of seeds (10-15).

My biggest splurge was Memorial To Steve @ $125 this year. Worked some good ol' overtime for that one!

Dani

I think I'm just not much of a gambler. I'd rather put the $80 toward a $300 daylily plant that I know I like, rather than $80 for 4 seeds that may not all grow, & with my luck would look just like Wildest dream (my idea of the worst daylily sold out there)

I just recently saw an auction for 100 unnamed seeds with a current bid for $200.00. That's fifty cents per unidentified seed!

I think I spent the most this year on a cross with BARBARA WATTS. It is so unique, I thought I'd take the chance. I knew I couldn't even come close to the sales price of the cultivar itself. Since all the seeds I had already purchased from Rich were so perfect and sprouted so quickly, I knew I wasn't going to get any bad ones from him.

I also have to confess I want bananas over ABILENE LILLIAN. I simply had to have that beautiful thing.

I am through with the Lily Auction this fall. I am telling myself over and over I will not bid on anything else again.

But in reality, it's only because my daylily beds look like a war zone, having lost so many from crown rot this year. I need to replace a lot of them so have bought a lot more than usual at the LA.

The good news is that our temperatures have dropped down into the 90's and the nights are much cooler. The bad news is we still have no rain. Now, we have fires everywhere througout the state, as I'm sure you've seen in the news. It's just that bad.

Nancy

Nancy, I just love Abilene Lillian also! I am sure I'd have more big-spending stories to tell if I didn't have other people in the house who need to eat. (Children, I've bought a neat daylily...we shall eat pinto beans 4 days a week for the next month ) ;)

I can't see spending the money either. I would also put the $80.00 toward buying the plant that I wanted. That kind of money for seed just seems like flushing money down the drain to me.

Nancy ~ That's $2 per unidentified seed!

Fairly new to this daylily addiction but already flying my colors. I have spent an exorbitant amount on daylilies this year but I have an exorbitant amount of daylilies to show for it! Or at least I hope I will after the winter! The most I spent on one daylily was $75 but it is a special one cause it is Gardening Angel. Can't pass up my namesake daylily. She is soooo beautiful! Of course I also got a gift of White Eyes Pink Dragon with my exorbitant order too! Another amazingly beautiful 'must have'! I would love to learn hybridizing once I am finished all the 50 million other things that are occupying my time! :)

CTC ~ I made money on a litter this spring and I sell my sewing to make up my plant budget. The only babies I have now are 4 legged ones. Couldn't even dream about indulging my love of flowers while I was raising my family as a single mom. You're priorities are in the right order! :)

When I graduated from college my wife offered to buy me any daylily I wanted up to $200. I chose Perfect Pink Porcelain (Benz 2007) and got Voluptuous Beauty as a bonus plant. The total price after exchange, shipping and phyto came to $203 Canadian. I was looking for a good, dormant, ruffled pink daylily to use in my hybridizing program. Next year I hope to bloom some seedlings from Perfect Pink Porcelain X Belle of Ashwood.

{{gwi:648155}}

Wow, Edward, that is a gorgeous daylily!!

honalee, I'm waiting for posts every day next summer so I can see all your new purchases :)

Gee I have lots of unknown seeds (would only know pod parent). Think I could get rich that way? jk Would be happy to send out if some one just wanted to play-but they are off common flowers, nothing fancy. And it is quite a game of patience in the north if you don't have a greenhouse- make seed year one, plant seeds year two, some bloom year three, rest bloom year four. Then wait another year or two to see if they are anything that merits keeping.
And I too love Abilene Lillian-on the someday wish list.

Btw, I'm certainly not saying people shouldn't be selling the seeds for high prices. I just personally can't afford it, but if I could and could set up my plant lights to get optimum growth, I might splurge (not $80, though) once as there is something very very fun about seeing the results of two very great daylilies being crossed. I would love to have some of ahead's green seed crosses as I love green so much, but instead I will glory in the fact that I could get a Davisson intro for fall and thoroughly enjoy it. !!!
My second biggest purchase was Supermodel. It gave me two blooms this year that were..interesting ..I'm hoping it's amazing next once it's settled in.

I listened to one hybridizer (from the north) give a talk once and he says he starts his in the house sitting on an electric blanket. Me-I'm paranoid and would be convinced the house would burn down if I left an electric blanket on the floor running all day.

Buying four seeds at any price is like playing a lottery. Professional hybridizers are sprouting thousands (or tens of thousands) of seeds every year, and only 10 or 20 of the resulting plants are good enough to introduce for sale.

And for the above comment, I agree...leaving an electric blanket running is like playing a different kind of lottery...Russian roulette perhaps?

Nate

"Allot of people enjoy the excitement of internet pics.. the whole process of growing them out.. that's cool. But more than a buck a seed.. you need to shine a light into one of your ears and see how much of it comes thru the otherside.

Just.. the fact."

Are you speaking from personal experience?? lol

Having never tried the flashlight experiment, I can't say for me...but nothing would surprise me:)

I'm always unconfortable when people start speaking "facts". I've picked a two seed pod where both resulting seedlings were unreal good, and will both be named. It's funny to play the exact number game with these things.

The auction item involved trust in what the buyer was offering. The winner is somebody who has purchased seeds from this same buyer for 9 years, and is very happy with his/her results. The auction closed for $85.00 for 5 seeds which isn't even close to a record (see "ruby").

The buyer is very happy, with hope for the future. The seller is very happy too. I'm sure even Mike Longo is happy.

I think to talk about the auction is perfectly fine...many folks were excited. To say you'd never spend that much is perfectly fine too. The proclaim that anything anybody ever says anywhere is "the fact" seems amusing, however.

Steve Todd

Lol. I'm happy, you're happy, Mike is happy, winner =happy. Lots of happy people ;) Sorry for conjuring you up (you're like a genie, I say your name and you appear :)) I didn't mean to start controversy, I partly like to point these things out to my husband (who is darling, btw) to make purchases comprehensible to non-gardeners (see? I only spent $40, when THIS person spent $80 on 5 seeds! What restraint I have shown!)
*meekly*
A fact is I do really like your green crosses *points to comments above*
and although I am personally budget-deficient, am glad you got good bids on your seeds :) Thanks for adding your comments :)

Steve,

You produce a lot of fine looking seedlings, and as expected, the seeds you sell fetch a good price. I have friends that have bought seeds from you out of The Lady of Shalott. They were happy with the seeds and the price.

Edward

I love reading your posts CTC! you have a zanny sense of humour, IMO! I just bet you have happy kiddies!

BTW, you won't have to wait till spring to see my daylilies. I can send you pics of my million little pots today if you like. Lol You may have to wait a couple of seasons,however, to see them bloom. I am hoping I don't lose "most" of them over the winter. Then that would be my biggest "wasted" splurge! :( I seem to push the zones alot. Not because I am stubborn or anything; rather just crazy! :)

Well, as someone who has spent quite a bit on seeds in the past, I plead simply the daylily creed of gotta-have-it.

And, I do have some nice seedlings. Now, if I just had the space to grow them all out properly in...

I've also bought Steve aka ahead's seeds and have always been pleased. He's a very generous seller. I can say these things now that I no longer bid so often or so much...lol.

I'm pretty sure I've written here in the past about how the first year I bought seeds (03? I forget...), I thought I was 'saving' (hahahaha) over buying those expensive plants. Needless to say, I spent so much I could have bought those same plants.

Of course, expensive is relative. The longer you're in this game, the higher your range goes. As time goes by, your tastes will change, your ideas will change and certainly what you pay will change (it always goes up...and up...)

I think collectors...whatever they collect...tend to pay more for their passions than non-collectors (duh). The latter will probably always have trouble understanding...but, all of us probably have something that.....we're willing to pay more for than others.

It's great to have choices!

P.S. These days...if I only had time, space and cooperative weather...I am pretty much happy thinking about the possibilities in my own garden, at least seed-wise. I guess I will never get over the desire to add new daylilies, though.

CTC,

Believe me, I understand "budget-deficient"...I'm a seed seller remember:)

You brought up another area of positive seed selling effects! If I can make the non-buyer look better to their spouse, then I'm happy to help. Unfortunately, there is nothing that can help my poor wife (known as "longsuffering") of 40 years who has had to put up with my antics.

See - I told you I wasn't sure I could pass the flashlight test...lol.

No genie, but I do drive by from time to time:) Thanks Edward, for the kind comments.

Steve

Lol. I should sell seeds but I am so horriffic at labeling all my posts would be: ??x?? Buy this most excellent cross of mysterious origins..oh, wait, these are just raisins someone picked out of their Raisin Bran :( lol

I actually got seeds this year, put them on my windowsill, told people "Don't touch this, so I remember what they are." And then curiously picked them up myself and put them back in the wrong spots. Love that *eye roll*

But, I'm off topic. Yes, honalee. Why would I not want to see pics ? :)

Thank you, Ahead!

There are some prices I could never see myself paying for a seedling, but that doesn't mean it's wrong or crazy to do so. A friend of mine spent hundreds of dollars on a Fendi purse while in Italy....she was happy. Good for her. Would I? No. But she's not me. I'm happy rolling the dice- no different than buying lottery tickets or going to a casino.

Some people are happy with Starbucks everyday- you could get yourself one good seed cross for 5 cups of their coffee. What choice you make is up to you!

Crackin, Yes Priceless is as gorgeous as the pictures you see. I love it and glad I splurged. I would love to try some seeds but I have nooooo patience. You crack (no pun intended) me up when I read your threads. I always know I am going to get a kick out of your comments. Thanks for giving me a chuckle!! Take care and never change, Judy

Judy, this is good to hear...you don't, perchance, have a home picture of Priceless you can post?
*I'm giving myself 8 bonus points for using the word "perchance" in a modern-day sentence :)*

Hey, Let me look over my pics and see if I can find a good one. I know it didn't bloom much because this was my first year with it and it is only 1 maybe 2 fans. I have been a lazy butt this year and haven't posted any pics but good lord I took a ton! I love to go back during the winter and remind myself of all the goodies coming my way come April. OK, I will get back to ya in bit!! BTW, I'd double those bonus points!! lol

Folks,

I didn't jump in for a pat on the back...but thanks for the kind words. I just wanted to give Jay a poke, when he gets too grumpy.

I forgot to mention that part the auction offer was a seed from TET ROSE F KENNEDY. It was hinted at with the picture. I'm sure that those bidding got the hint.

CTC, I hadn't seen your green comments...only your topic title. I tried to email you through the system here, but I think I shorted out some of their wires...lol. I have some extra "green" potential seeds I would gladly send your way just for starting this topic with a "Zowie"...lol. If you can contact me through the LA or find my email from somebody, I will reward your efforts with 5 shiny black seeds...free. They will be dips.

Steve

OK, I think this is it crackin! Another reason I don't post pics is because I don't keep up with their names. I get flabbergasted with pictures of them and then HAVE to order it and then thats it. lol! I just plant them and enjoy and the "old brain" forgets the names of 99% of what I have. Geesh, giving my age now aren't I??? I dont think the color shows up good and I know it didn't bloom alot but it was gorgeous when it did bloom. Judy

CCC, After comparing pics from the F Smith site mine sure is alot lighter and maybe not as compact. I am almost postive this is it and hopefully it will turn out exactly like the pic on his site. I know I loved it when it bloomed thinking it was my "Priceless" lily and I know I don't have anything else like it. Anyways, my point exactly why I don't post pics. Lol!

Okay, at this point I wouldn't pay $80 for 5 seeds, but that's just because I'm a beginner at this. I've also discovered the addictive nature of the lily auction. I just really like playing with seeds and will start in the house in spring, not with an electric blanket, waterbeds are made for this kinda job.
I don't care if I get a cultivar to name, I just want pretties, so hope the genetics come through.
With martagon lilies from seed behind my belt and a 6-7 year wait to see flowers, this 2 year wait will be a breeze!
Biggest spluges....well Marty bulbs can run 50-75 a bulb and usually sulk in the ground for the first year and yes I have splurged.
Looking forward to all my surprises....kinda like waiting for Xmas.
Flora

OOOh, flora!! Post pictures of your expensive bulbs when you can!!!
Judy, The edge on that definitely looks enough like Priceless to be it! VERY VERY pretty :)
Scott, are you serious????? And all I had to do was use the word "Zowie"??? *runs in figure eights, screeching happily*
YAY!!! *jump* Yay *jump* Yay!!!!!!!!! *jump*
Okay, my husband is trying to call for intervention, so let me track down your email. :)

I love how I just combined Steve and Todd to get "Scott". I'm so sorry.
I will
A: Give back bonus points that I gave myself for vocabulary
B: Use a bigger font when I read
and
C: stop writing posts at midnight.
:(
*slinks away in shame*

Since I haven't responded to this thread yet, I'm going to respond to the original post instead of the interesting chatter that has come up out of it. To me, when gonegardening mentioned something about people spending $$ on their passions, that is the heart of the issue. Some people will spend $100 or more on a bottle of wine, while others think $10 is pushing the upper limit. Some people will spend quite a lot on a "good" cigar, but you'd have to pay me to get me to put one of those nasty things even near my mouth! And I'm sure there are people out there who think every one of us on this forum is crazy to spend even one penny on any daylily other than Stella De Oro, because they believe Stella is the best daylily there is, or to even spend any money on daylilies at all, because you can usually find someone willing to give you ditch lilies for free!

I would guess most of the people spending large $$ on the LA are hobbyists. It seems to me that professional hybridizers must make plenty of their own seeds, and don't need to buy others from elsewhere.

For me, right now I won't spend more than $10/plant, because I'm new and have a very limited collection and there are plenty of GREAT choices out there that I don't have yet that fall in that price range. I'm sure in a few years, once I've gotten a good collection going, and my tastes have also developed enough to even know which of the newer expensive ones I truly want, I'll spend more. Probably quite a bit more.

But, I seriously doubt I'll ever spend any significant amount on seed. I am interested in hybridizing, but buying the seeds from somebody else's cross would feel like cheating to me. Yet it isn't "cheating" to buy the results from somebody else's cross once they've put a name on it. So I'm probably just as "crazy" as the people paying high prices for seeds, just in a different way.
Casey

I ended up with almost 100 seeds from one cross I did because I tend to over cross to make sure I get some seeds and the cross took so well I had huge seed pods. It was Walter's Tango (a bloom that had polytepled) X Far Niente I kept some of the extra pollen a couple days and just kept putting it on all blooms Far Niente had. I really want to try to make a double. Don't know that I want 100 seeds though! Casey-I would definately be just a hobbyist, but I have fun crossing things -I picture in my head what I would like to seed and then wait to see what I get. On the other hand, I have bought seeds too-just from a different place.

Casey said, "But, I seriously doubt I'll ever spend any significant amount on seed. I am interested in hybridizing, but buying the seeds from somebody else's cross would feel like cheating to me. Yet it isn't "cheating" to buy the results from somebody else's cross once they've put a name on it. So I'm probably just as "crazy" as the people paying high prices for seeds, just in a different way."

I feel exactly the same way. I think it's my scientist/artist nature.

Nate

I was buying Tet conversions one year and I won't put what I spent on some of the in print publicly. It was just crazy...

This post made me chuckle. Very entertaining.
2 years ago when I decided to start hybridizing. I didn't have many Daylilies to use so I bought seeds from the LA to get me started with. My most expensive purchase that year was a Wedding Gown Cross $25 for 5 seeds. I also purchased several other crosses but they didn't cost near as much. After the Wedding Gown seeds rotted and produced nothing, I was on a mission to get more Wedding Gown seeds. I purchased 4 more crosses with Wedding Gown and not a one of them germinated either. I finally gave up and decided nothing with Wedding Gown as a parent was going to grow for me. lol

I think that year I spent about $150 for seeds and the following spring I had 95 plants. (we won't mention how much I spent on plants that year hahahaha) But my most expensive plant to date is 1 fan of Voodoo Magic for $55

Andrea

I have bought a few $200 daylilies. Of those, Ruby Lipstick was well worth it. Asian Fairy Bluebird, so far, has not lived up to my expectations. I sold Dark Territory this fall for $29. My biggest seed purchase was $26.00 for a cross of Larry's Obsession and Storm of Swords. The auction was for 5 seeds. The seller sent me 8, and 7 germinated. I lost all but two of those seedlings over the winter. I still have hope that one of those two seedlings will be spectacular and give me a daylily I can sell for $200 a pop. I don't have children. I don't take expensive vacations or buy new cars. Daylilies are my only vice, and I will take a gamble on some seeds occasionally.

Debra

Lol. This is fun. You know, now that you refuse to put it in print, I'm horrifically curious ;) Fifty five dollars for one fan is not too awful, timberohio, but that's a bummer about the Wedding Gown seeds. I. bought five seeds of Wedding Gown x Kennesaw Mt Lemon Sober and had almost all germinate and one seedling blooming this year. It is pretty, but didn't open very well, so we'll see what it does next year :)
Shive, that makes total sense if you love something and don't have other expenditures :)
I actually spent so much on a flower budget one year that I gave up eating out, going shopping, etc.for 2 months to pay it off and that was really hard for me. (Maybe I'm spoiled, but man, I got sick of spaghetti after that)

:) I am cheap in comparison. My most expensive DLs are a couple at 35, and it's a LOT for me. And, I never even go to LA.
Can't give up eating out either, because we go out only like 2-3 times a year, and I shop on clearance mostly.
Anyway, with the last order I filled my garden completely. So next year I'll just enjoy what I have (maybe ;)

I think I paid $60 several years ago for Jerry Nettles. Now of course, it is very inexpensive. To me $60 was a lot of money for a plant, but I knew I would get a nice bonus plant so I didn't feel too bad about it. I tend to wait a couple of years now for them to come down in price, but a few that I would like to have don't seem to get any cheaper. I don't know if it is because they are that popular, or because they don't multiply as fast.

I just love this thread!! I set down and read the whole thing which is unusal for me lately. I'm still on a mission to get all 800 pots repotted before Christmas. I've done nearly 400 now. Those 400 have netted me over 700 new pots. So, no, I haven't spent that much on seeds but I have stock in Miracle Grow garden soil and fertilize!!!! Lots of stock!!!

I love Nats "so next year I'll just enjoy what I have. Maybe" Yeah right!!! I've said that one before. Then I start looking at the Hybridizers sites and I'm lost in that wonderful world of wishing I had all the new ones. Since I can't afford the new ones, I hop on over to the Lily Auction and promptly spend way too much on some that I just think will fulfill my itch to have something that even looks like all the $200 to $300 new intros. And then came my adventure of finding out about Maryott's wonderful end of season sales and WHOA!!!! I may have to take out a loan to get all the ones I WANT!!!!

Yes, I WANT and WANT and WANT. How much would I spend on seeds? I thought $1 apiece was huge 5 years ago. Now, the opening bid is usually more than that. So, I've thought about $5 a seed but so far have resisted. I may not make it through the year, though. I've seen alot of beauties on the Auction. If I didn't have to worry about money, I'd be a force to be reconned with on bidding for my WANTS.

I wish God's blessing on all from Texas. May you get a slow and long rain to replenish your parched land. Blessing to all, Mona

For us people from overseas it is very difficult and expensive to buy US daylilies. Most hybridizers do not ship their plants to Europe. Importing seeds is not difficult and a good opportunity to get some genes into our hobby hybridizing programmes which would otherwise be unavailable.

Casey said, "But, I seriously doubt I'll ever spend any significant amount on seed. I am interested in hybridizing, but buying the seeds from somebody else's cross would feel like cheating to me. Yet it isn't "cheating" to buy the results from somebody else's cross once they've put a name on it. So I'm probably just as "crazy" as the people paying high prices for seeds, just in a different way."

I can see how you would feel that way, but I have often bought seeds off of the auction hoping to get good bridge plants. I couldn't touch Wonder Of It All a couple of years ago, so I got some seeds from the auction and bought some with WOIA as a parent off of Fran Harding. Got quite a few nice ones to use in hybridizing.

Those reasons make total sense to me and are a great option if you have a good system for successfully growing seedlings. I think part of my dilemma lies in the fact that as a renter, I'm never quite sure how long I will have access to my garden (or any garden) so I feel like I take a chance as well, that I'll even have 3 seasons to see the seedling results. I just love the possibilities that come with seeds, though, and if I had lots of space, could really see seed planting be an obsession. :)