I wondered how your fared. I lost a random selection of southerns and more northerns (Sweeten Creek was one). Lost more this winter then in most other winters. It got down in the single digits and stayed there for days at a time more then once and, in a smallish pot, that can be pretty hard to take (as you know from your pot experience). Sorry to hear about your seedling. How did the Former Valentine Sweetheart do?..............Maryl

I lost my treasured start of Purple Twizzler, a new one Robert Searles and another. I also lost Dragonfly Charmer...hate it because I really liked that one. New Paradigm is down to two skimpy fans and I just pinched a bud off since it needs to grow not bloom and die. There are probably others I hven't seen yet. Oddly enough, the pots all came through. Go figure. The problem here was that yes, we had plenty of freezes, but they would could after an unseasonably warm spell when you would swear it was spring. several times I put mini greenhouses over new plants or tender plants (milk jugs with the bottom out and the cap off...stick the wire of the label through to hold it in place.

kay

While I don't think I lost a lot, I know that, like you, many of my fans decreased. Most of these were southern plants, as well. The south does not equal the south as we well know. Where we live, we can get days of freezing temps which is not true for our deep south neighbors. And I know this can be amusing to those who see not only days of freezing temps but also feet and feet of snow, but it can be hard on plants to then feel days of warm up and then be plummeted back into a deep freeze!! If a plant can survive this type of winter, where, as Kay mentioned, it was the up and down of freezing temps and then unseasonably warm and then days of below freezing, etc., then hopefully the plant will survive future winters! It will be interesting to see how the depleted fan plants react now to what I think is real spring.

Kate

Kate, Our very reliable weatherman, James Spann tells us that we have had our last freeze...so I am ready to celebrate spring!

Maryl - The former Valentine Sweetheart is a dormant, so it did just fine. I thought I had lost all but one fan of Pink Aloha, but eventually all the fans emerged and even showed an increase over the number of fans I had last fall.

My Sweeten Creek is flourishing. The Northern plant I lost all but one fan on was Rice's Rouen Cathedral, which was planted in a raised bed. Another one you liked - Crimson Reflections - died back from seven fans to one in the red bed. I'm not sure if it was a casualty of winter or burrowing varmints.

Some of the newer Floyd Cove plants did very well: Flamingo Dancer, Pink Extraordinaire, Venetian Pools, Crimson Dragon and most especially Stenciled Infusion. Lambertson's Blue Over You is doing well, unlike Banded Broadbill acquired at the same time. Petit's Red Heartthrob was knocked back hard but is still alive. The other newer Petits, including Everything You Desire, were not affected by the winter weather.

I know that Pink Aloha is somewhat tender in a pot, so I try and have more then one pot of it around. This year I lost 1 small pot (8"=1gal.) while the bigger pot in a more sheltered position stuttered a bit, but came back just fine. Pink Aloha is vigorous enough during the growing season for me to divide and have another pot going as back up for next year.......The only Petit I've ever grown died over it's first winter. Not encouraging as it was part of a "landscape" series he had going. Of course, it was in a pot so situation not the usual one........So glad my favorite daylily of yours, TFVS, is good as ever. Acquire the Fire, (thank you for the enabling), did fine too............Maryl

So sad to hear about losses over the winter. In my neck of the woods we officially had the coldest April on record this year. I don’t see any plant losses but everything is way behind.

Sherry

Maryl - Glad to know you still have some Pink Aloha. I lost it twice in pots.

I think my plants came through pretty well this year, considering the winter and up and down spring temps. I did lose Frankie's Fantasy for some reason. Not a new one, but it has not been happy the last couple of years. And Running Late. Got it a couple of years ago, it sent up bloom ecapes both seasons but the blooms failed for no real reason. Still, it was big, sturdy fans and had multiplied, not sure what happened with it

Nancy - Some of those losses are just mysteries. I have grown Turquoise Temple for at least 8 or 9 years, but it died this winter. I also lost a new dormant that I was sure would overwinter in a large pot with well drained soil.

I realized today what I told Maryl about the Petits was not entirely true. It appears I did lose all five fans of Gilded Butterfly. It was planted in the ground and mulched. I kept thinking a few fans would emerge, but they never did. I hate losing that one. It was so unique looking. The seller did warn me it needed to go south. I was hoping I was far enough south.

We were surprised that our losses were minimal and most southerns that did survive look better than ever. We got cold and pretty much stayed that way the whole winter. We think that might be easier on the evergreens and semi-evergreen if they stay in that dormant state rather than trying to grow and then getting frozen again. We lost Jewel Eyed Julie (for the second time), Mississippi Memento (which had gone through several winters here), and Don't Tread On Me (which was planted last season). There might be a few more but we are pretty happy. We had frost last night, but, looking at the weather forecast, I think we might be out of the woods now.

Nancy

Thanks Debra for the update on the Petits. One of my vendors up north warned me that many of the Petits are not really winter hardy. I've also found out over the years that even though I think I'm a southern gal, some of the deep south bred daylilies often do not.............Maryl

Good news! Core Values has all six of its fans back now, and Nordic Soul has gone from one to two.

Debra

Wonderful! so happy for you. I didn't lose it, and I love the bloom, but I have had Hyacinth Macaw for about five years and it is still just one fan. I am going to move it, but wonder if I should pot it instad of putting in the ground. What do yall think? It is going to leave no matter how I love the bloom if I can't get it in a happier mood.

kay

Kay - I definitely would move Hyacinth Macaw to a more sheltered position in the ground to see if it will multiply. Do you have anyplace next to your house or a shed? If not, you might try it in a pot to see if you can get it to multply. I have two that are still a single fan after many years planted in whiskey barrels. Wisley and Bold Encounter. I'd love to get those in the ground to see if they would multiply that way. If I could only find some space.

I'm sorry about the losses; it is always disappointing.

Thanks for the sympathy, Brad. I wrote off Gilded Butterfly too soon. Yesterday it put up a fan. And Bow Tie Affair is back to two fans again. I guess with all the late freezes, they are taking their sweet time coming up.

Debra

Two more for the daylily graveyard. This time, Jane Trimmer intros. Snow Dance and Star Bright are definitely gonners. Both were only a single fan last year, and since so many others were bouncing back, I had hoped those would eventually scape. But they did rot over the winter, one in a raised bed and one in the ground. Dragonfly Dawn is OK but lost a fan and has very few buds. Jungle Queen came back as a huge clump, so that one of hers seems hardy.

I am also going to move Salty Skipper...it did beautifully the first two or three years, but it has struggled and I think it too need shelter...funny that Hyacinth Macaw is a Florida plant and just sits there and gives one bloom or two a year....gorgous blooms, but waste of real estate.

kay

Well I can empathize with everyone's losses.

This was one of the harshest winters here even though we had good snow cover most of the time . I can't really figure out what did it but I am guessing it was more related to spring weather than the winter weather . Too many rounds of freeze /thaw and rain forming puddles on top of the ground which would then freeze the leaves that had started to grow.. Most of what I lost were only planted last season and many were southern plants.

I have had to dig up and treat at least 9 cultivars so far with peroxide for crown rot . So far I have been able to rescue 4 of the nine with number 5 beginning to show signs of life. I lost Bullfrogs and Butterflies , for certain but was able to rescue Xylophone Jazz. So disappointing as I am sure I wont see bloom this season and who knows if it will survive another winter here.

Signet - Sorry for your losses. I hope the nine you're treating for rot make it.

Kay - I know you're saying about Hyacinth Macaw. Some plants, no matter how gorgeous the blooms, aren't worth it if they don't perform. I have about a dozen that I plan to put on my fall sales list because I think they need to be grown farther south. Space is even more a premium for me than it used to be because about a third of my yard is too shady to grow daylilies now. I moved a dozen of the ones I really loved out of the shade this spring, and I moved my best seedlings last fall into full sun.

Last year I bought Spacecoast Better Late and got Pineapple Moon as a bonus plant. I don't recall the vendor and my paper work is in such disarray that I may never find the invoice (assuming I saved it). I put them in pots until I could figure out where to put them. They both croaked over the winter even though they were protected from the elements. I have a gazillion other plants in pots and they are all doing just fine. It would seem, then, that I got inferior plants and it would be nice to know the vendor so I get my money back and scratch them off my vendor list (which, BTW, grows larger every year)

DaveinVa - I doubt that you got inferior plants. They were probably just too tender to winter over in pots last winter.

David - I agree about Lambertson's intros from the past few years. There are very few I can keep alive. Blue Over You is doing fine, but I didn't get any increase. The same goes for Violet Sabrewing. The longer these hybridizers create plants in Florida, the more tender they become. I love those Florida plants, but I can't see investing more money or space with them. It's too dicey in hard winters.

Agreed. It occurred to me a few minutes after I posted my comment that the plants were just not suitable for my climate (7a). Lesson learned.

Been there done that DaveinVA . I have tried numbers of southern plants including several of Lambertson's ......and so far none do well here in my 6a zone garden. It is disappointing and a little disconcerting that so many of the Canadian sellerseither have some magic knowledge that allows them to grow these plants successfully or they are just importing and then selling on . Same thing has happened here with Petit's daylilies , Peat's daylilies , and Ned Robert cultivars that he raised down in Florida..

After reading posts on here for a few years I decided not to buy from southern breeders/nuseries because I’m in 5a. Looks like I made a good decision after reading this post today. Those kind of losses aren’t in my budget. I do like those pretty faces but have resisted.

Sherry