I have a bunch of the above listed daylilies. There are no slouches in the whole bunch. It would be very difficult for me to pick my favorite out of them.

Happy Gardening, Marian

I have eight of them, and Starman's Quest is by far the best performer here.

Starman's Quest

Francis of Assisi would be my second choice.
{{gwi:979152}}

Debra

ALL FIRED UP - not my favorite but definitely a fine plant,
good texture in the flowers, of which there are many, they hold color and texture in rain or excessive heat (over 80
degrees) worth voting for.

FRANCIS OF ASSISI - very beautiful, nice texture, holds color, I have only had this a year but almost my favorite.

MYSTICAL RAINBOW - beautiful color, flowers aren't too strong in texture. I haven't had it long enough to judge any further. It is beautiful.

STARMAN'S QUEST - beautiful color, lots of flowers, strong
in adverse weather conditions. Definitely good enough to
receive the medal.

TANGERINE HORSES - I'm surprised to see this on this list,
it does have good texture but doesn't put up many scapes,
takes a long time to increase. What scapes it does have are strong. I was so happy to get this, paid a bit for it
too, and have been disappointed ever since.

TRAHYLTA - another beautiful one, good textured flowers, a
lot of scapes with a lot of flowers. Forms attractive clumps quite readily. A very nice plant.

Will one of my choices win?

Kay-phal

My favorites on the list include:
Tune the Harp-hardy, fast to increase, beautiful bloom
Wild Horses-good grower, looks alot like Gossards Shake the Mountains
Roses in Snow-what a bloomer for me! Planted just this spring double fan that is now fully a clump--very nice
Mystical Rainbow-another very nice bloomer. Does have a more "delicate" looking bloom but lots of them. If you like the really heavy substance-a little more like rubber, this one is not it but the bloom, once done, is less drippy-sticky and tends to dry on the stalk vs gumming-up on another blossom.
Spacecoast Starburst-another really pretty flowering daylily but just a little less hardy in the north here for me.
Barbara Dittmer-another pretty, feminine flower. Good branching but has been a little slow to increase for me.
Trahylta-a very distintive bloom and nicely reblooms. Nothing wrong with this one!
Darla Anita-a very frilly, heavy bloom with thick, supportive bloom stalk. Reblooms as well. Does tend to get splotchy with dew, etc pretty easily. I think it could branch better to hold blooms apart and less on top of each other. Does hold its bloom above the foliage which I like.
The only one in the bunch I absolutely don't think belongs (since Stout awards are suppose to be strong throughout all of our growing regions) is Clothed in Glory. This one is pretty but simply died in my garden over the winter. It was well mulched and I lost no other daylily in this bed. My neighbor has it and says it she hasn't had it die but it doesn't thrive nor perform for her nor even increase-she's had it several years. I'd say for zone 5 we are just too far north for it to shine.

The AHS robin is currently voting on the Stout Silver Medal winners, just to clarify the AHS robin does this every year as a fun exercise. The votes that determine the Stout winner come from AHS garden judges who have already cast their votes the winner will be announced in two weeks. Meanwhile the voting on the AHS robin is very interesting giving lots of information on the various cultivars. I have had experience with 14 of them in my garden. My selection for a wonderful northern growing plant would be Swallow Tail Kite nice long bloom season, not to short and it is breath taking when in bloom. Somehow I missed taking pictures of this one again this year with my sister being sick I didn't get many pictures taken this past season.

I have a few on this list, but most are too new to really comment. This was the 2nd year for Wild Horses, it has multiplied well, but not bloomed well for me. I received Starman's Quest 4 years ago, it has not multiplied or bloomed since I received it. I've moved it this year to see if it does better in a different spot. Of course, since it has not bloomed yet, it might not be SQ. Trahlyta, Buttered Popcorn & Lady Neva are great, with Trahlyta having my vote with Lady Neva close behind.

Here's my experience with those I grow:
ALL FIRED UP - Good flower, good plant.
BIG KISS - Too new to evaluate.
BUTTERED POPCORN - Too new to evaluate.
FRANCIS OF ASSISI - Inconsistent. When it's good, it's spectacular.
MILDRED MITCHELL - Love the flower, not much increase.
MOSES' FIRE - Great color.
PURE AND SIMPLE - Outstanding vigor, perfect flowers every time, bloomed and rebloomed most of the season.
SPACECOAST STARBURST - Disappointing. Flowers have never approached the six inches they're supposed to be.
STARMAN'S QUEST - Great color, a favorite.
TUNE THE HARP - Wonderful pastel blend, reliable rebloomer.
TWO PART HARMONY - Great plant, flowers elegant whether single or double. Another favorite.
WILD HORSES - Always perfect flowers, good rebloomer.

My winner would have to be PURE AND SIMPLE for overall performance with a consistently perfect flower.

I grow several of these, and some are stunners for me in our milder climate, and some just don't seem to like it here.

AWESOME BLOSSOM - Healthy plant with tons of scapes and tons of increase, but doesn't open well for me. I have had some nice blooms when our nights happen to be abnormally warm, but that is the exception rather than the rule.

CELEBRATION OF ANGELS--I can't say enough about this one this year. It has done well for me since planted four years ago, but this year it has outdone itself. It has been full of blooms all season, with consistantly beautiful flowers. Fast increase, full of scapes, and has been reblooming like crazy as well. I still have four scapes with buds left on the 12th of October.

CHEROKEE PASS-- New to me this year. Pretty flower but too early to evaluate.

FRANCIS OF ASSISI-- Again new to me, but bloomed well for a first year and flowers were consistantly stunning.

MILDRED MITCHELL-- Another poor opener, putting up few scapes with minimal buds... a fairly weak plant in my garden. I was excited when I bought it a few years ago, and have been let down ever since. I am going to try moving it this fall and see if it makes a difference.. if not, she may be leaving.

PURE AND SIMPLE-- An absolute stunner here! Great increase, full of blooms, and each bloom is perfect. Has never rebloomed for me, but one of my favorites for overall performance.
SABINE BAUR--Has not been a vigorous plant...slow increase, and the blooms are inconsistant. Half are just lovely and half are spotty or misshapen.

SPACECOAST STARBURST--Stunning blooms, but it has been stingy for me. Minimal scapes and low bud count.

STARMAN'S QUEST --New to me this year, so I can't give an overall opinion, but loved what I saw for a first year. It bloomed and bloomed, and the flowers were all perfect.

STRAWBERRY FIELDS FOREVER--Vigorous plant with lots of blooms, but another inconsistant opener. The blooms don't seem to have enough substance to bloom well with cool nights.

TWO PART HARMONY--A wonderful and prolific plant. Lots of scapes and lots of buds, with good increase. My blooms are about half/half double and single, but as was mentioned above, both forms are beautiful, and both open perfectly.

WILD HORSES--I love this flower. It's coloring is always perfect for me, and is a very good bloomer. The only reason that it would not be number one for me on this list is that it's bloom quantity is not quite as good as some of the others.

My top two would be Celebration of Angels and Pure and Simple, based on overall performance in my world.

Julie

I grow (or have grown) 19 of the contenders, and by far my favorite is SWALLOW TAIL KITE. STK is tall with beautiful, clear blooms and increases rapidly -- a stellar performer.

Runners-up would include RAM, WILD HORSES, PURE AND SIMPLE and MILDRED MITCHELL.

I've also parted with a few of these (or will send them off in the Spring) because of non-performance: STRAWBERRY FIELDS FOREVER, FRANCIS OF ASSISI, TUNE THE HARP and SPACECOAST STARBURST.

I know I'm not overly familiar with daylilies, but it would sure disappoint me to buy a "Stout Medal winner" and find out that it wasn't sunfast. I love Clothed in Glory, but the color bleaches out out to almost nothing by afternoon. Perhaps that's expected in the daylily world, but after purchasing a few other faders I can tell you it's not a plus in my world....This is a great thread. Some of the daylilies mentioned are on my short list. I'm really looking forward to hearing comments about them.

Not so many of the daylilies mentioned above have crossed the atlantic..... I am a bit oldfashioned so I vote for 'Pure and Simple' and as a runner up 'Schnickel Fritz'.

I would vote for CELEBRATION OF ANGELS - it has been a stellar garden plant from year one for me with consistent rebloom.
FRANCIS OF ASSISI is a spectacular bloomer here, bright red with white ruffled edges,and if we were choosing on the flower alone I'd vote for this one. It's my runner up.
I parted with SPACECOAST STARBURST because of non-performance, too, but have several kids that do really well for me.
SWALLOWTAIL KITE was new for me this year, but bloomed for 2 months anyway, a typical Hanson - which means just phenomenal!

My vote went for All Fired Up. It is the only one of the choices for the Stout Medal I have.

I have several of the nominees; but for me Pure and Simple is one of the favorites of all of my daylilies.

I have a few of the Stout nominees
PEARL HARBOR- Nice plant. Wish it were a little taller but grows well for me.
ALL FIRED UP-Dependable. Nice tall scapes. Grows well for me here.
PURE AND SIMPLE-One of the first to bloom and rebloom here. Increases well. Lovely flower that glows.
AWESOME BLOSSOM- A real dud here. I was so excited the first year I got it and it increased to 13 fans and it went downhill from there on out. I don't think it even bloomed this year
BARBARA DITTMER- beautiful bloom of a delicate color. Not the strongest grower but holds it's own.
BIG KISS-Big, loud and sassy. Grows like a weed and has scapes like a tobacco stick. Has good foliage even during a drought.
SABINE BAUR- Wimpy here. Pretty flower but doesn't grow well enough here to be memorable.
SKINWALKER- Heck of a flower. Multiplies well, lovely bloom that's held up on good scapes. Reblooms for me.
CELEBRATION OF ANGELS-ok but doesn't stand out
SPACECOAST TINY PERFECTION-Grows well and every bloom seemed perfect. Multiples reasonably well
CLOTHED IN GLORY- Lovely blooms if the thrips give it a break. Wish it were a bit taller for the bloom size. Not a fast increaser for me.
STARMAN'S QUEST- Lovely purple. Reasonable increaser
DARLA ANITA- Not a robust grower. It's been in the ground long enough that it should be a reasonable clump but it's still sitting there. Not a memorable bloom either.
STRAWBERRY FIELDS FOREVER-another wimpy one. It needs to go south.
DESERT ICICLE- Beautiful flower. It got off to a rough start to I can't comment on how it'll increase for me.
SWALLOW TAIL KITE-Took off and started growing well. Lovely blooms for a long period of time and every one looked perfect.
FRANCIS OF ASSISI-two years ago it was awesome. This year I barely noticed it. Not a dependable performer for me.
TANGERINE HORSES- Good grower and lovely blooms. Love the color.
TRAHLYTA-Dependable and good looking flower
LADY NEVA-Another dependable one. Later blooming. Wish the scapes were a little stronger.
TUNE THE HARP- Lovely bloom but needs to go south.
MILDRED MITCHELL-Grows here but could be a bit more robust. Pretty when it blooms.
TWO PART HARMONY- strong grower. Reblooms. Doesn't double regularly.
WILD HORSES-Stong grower, prolific bloomer. Reblooms
MYSTICAL RAINBOW-stong grower, lovely bloom.

I'd narrow it down to
PURE AND SIMPLE
BIG KISS
WILD HORSES
MYSTICAL RAINBOW
SKINWALKER
SWALLOW TAIL KITE

with the final choice being

BIG KISS

Wow, this is awesome info I'd pay $ for!!

It seems a few Salter intros are duds here in z5. Another z5'er from a different web site commented on Darla Anita's lack of performance & said she could care less if it died. Now 2 people have mentioned Francis of Assisi petering out.

Swallow Tail Kite, Wild Horses & Pure & Simple are the ones people seem to rave about the most.

Big Kiss seems to be a rock star performer even in the south. A lady from Florida posts on here once in a while & just raved about it's performance.

I only grow 6 of those, and my vote goes to one of my oldest DL, Buttered Popcorn, the total performer in the yard.

Bj

"Big Kiss seems to be a rock star performer even in the south. A lady from Florida posts on here once in a while & just raved about it's performance."

Hey...that would be ME! I guess everyone knows how I'd vote. BIG KISS is a winner in every aspect - good plant habits, consistently pretty blooms, strong grower in nearly every garden, rust resistant, very fertile. What's not to love?

{{gwi:979153}}

XXX
Kathy

Ha, ha!! There you are Kathy, I'm so glad you came in to give it's 1st hand credibility! I remember your post on the top 10 best performers list & how much you raved about it then.

2 huge votes coming from people that grow them in the extreme opposite conditions that says it's performance is amazing says a heck of a lot.

I agree, the information posted about how cultivars do for people in different locations is priceless. You don't get that out of a database or garden sales website.

Here is what a responded to the Robin with a few corrections (I figured out I was mixing cultivars in my brain and writing comments about the wrong plant...oops!)

ROSES IN SNOW- I was disappointed with this one in my garden this year. I can forgive it blooming on short scapes and having few blooms due to it having been planted in May, however, it was pretty much red with very little edge. I've heard others complain of the same thing after several years in their gardens. I'm going to wait to see what it does next year but my hopes are not real high.

SCHNICKEL FRITZ- I saw this one first on a garden visit and later received a clump of it as a gift at a local club event. I'm really looking forward to seeing it bloom in my own garden. The day I saw it at the other garden it had chosen to poly instead of double. I'm told that it occasionally does that here, especially early in the season. It was a beautiful clump with a lot of buds.

MOSES' FIRE- Like SF I saw this one first on a garden visit and which was right on the early side of bloom season. It bloomed single on the day I visited the garden but the color was so hot that I fell in love with it immediately. year.

WILD HORSES- MY VOTE. This one's performance for me was phenominal even in its first year. I received a clump on May 15. Put it in the ground and it bloomed from June 27 to August 8 on 9 scapes. Every flower was perfect quality. In fact it took a blue ribbon at our local show. The scapes again were shorter than typical due to short time between planting and bloom but I gather that is typical in first year plants. To show its vigor it set pod well and each flower held up perfectly to water & heat w/o melting or fading seriously, even on 100 degree days. This performance gives it my vote. Others in my club tell me it does fine over the winter for them.

Seen in other's gardens:
SABINE BAUR- unfortunately I was not impressed with it as the day I visited was after a cool evening and the form was strange, just not evenly open. It looked odd though the color combination was beautiful. Perhaps if I had seen it on a different day a little bit later in the season I would have a different opinion.

BUTTERED POPCORN- I saw this one at a local garden center. I nearly brought it home right then & there but I was on a mission to ID my diploid yellow that in every way resembles Mary Todd, including scent which is as I recall why I decided it wasn't this cultivar. So, I was too focused on the immediate task. It is a nice bright yellow and reading the positive comments on the Robin & here make me reconsider it.

Have seedlings coming from each of these and I certainly hope they carry the wonderful qualities of their parents:
CELEBRATION OF ANGELS, SPACECOAST STARBURST, SPACECOAST TINY PERFECTION

I won't vote since the ones I do have, haven't been in the garden long enough to really give a clear winner vote.Most were planted in mid August to early September except Trahlyta.
I have:
DARLA ANITA -
FRANCIS OF ASSISI
PEARL HARBOR -
SPACECOAST STARBURST
TRAHLYTA - Planted in mid June and FFO on July 12th. Good foliage, many scapes and lots of buds. Anxious to see how it does next year.
WILD HORSES

I too have seen many posts on the robin about Buttered Popcorn and will have to consider it for next year but I have so many others I want to get first....decisions,decisions.LOL.

Julia

I have six on the list and BIG KISS is my favorite. The blooms are so scrumptious that I want to take a bite out of them:-)