All beautiful rebloomed, I think your former Valentine Sweetheart is my favorite. I have wondered about the Gypsy Cats too, miss pics of them. So glad they are doing well, they are lucky felines,

Such great rebloom again, your Valentine is my favorite, glad it’s doing so well. I like Ice Cream Emporoer, lovely white. What’s with the Gypsy cats, don’t know the story, wish I did!

Those look lovely, especially Integrated Logistics and Valentine Sweetheart. But Francis Busby always jerks my heart strings...that is one I would like to buy from you when you get enough to sell a start. I have always loved your photos, and orange is one of my colors. Ice Cream Empreror looks good enough to eat, and Sammie just looks wonderful.

kay

OMG , every time I see Sp. Frances Busby .....my heart skips a beat ! What a spectacular bloom . I somehow have to find that one here ! No doubt about it . I have to add that one to my gardens! Everything else seems to pale in comparison .Thanks for sharing such a lovely picture of it.

Now Sammy looks like he rules the roost ! That look of disdain on his face and that pose makes me think of images of Egyptian rulers , you know the ones where they have slaves waving big palm leaves over them to keep them cool.

Wonderful rebloom! Seeing the tiny bee knowing how to zero in on pollen makes me think of the stupidity of bumble bees. They look for pollen in daylilies and can't find it. They will get deep in the throat and try to walk and walk into the bottom to find the pollen. lol

Most impressive picture yet of Valentine Sweetheart--triangular eyezone, good edge. Is there any registered cultivar that is similar to this?

Mantis - I think the former Valentine Sweetheart is probably similar to several other daylilies. I see the flower as similar to Judy's Jewel, except smaller, and also to Hanson's 2017 Electric Ladyland. But it's dormant where the others are not, and it does have that marvelous propensity for instant rebloom.

Debra

Debra, thanks for telling me the story, so sad when the animals lose their owners or homes. It’s great all the cats are doing well thanks to you! I hope you use Zuzu first for a daylily, don’t need anymore S's ; )

Sherry

Beautiful collection of blooms. The former Valentine Sweetheart is my favorite with The Color of Wonderful a close second. Love the cat photos! So glad they are doing well!

Lori

I remember the Gypsy cats/kitten story and your posts. Could it be that long ago? Integrated Logistics looks great. I don't think I'll see rebloom on it here. Spacecoast Francis Busby is so lovely wit that color but I know it would never survive here as a EV. Your seedlings (former Valentine Sweetheart) are doing very good. Are they a DOR,SEV or EV?

Julia - The former Valentine Sweetheart is a dormant. Spacecoast Francis Busby seems pretty hardy. The multiple days of zero temps did not faze it at all. Scapes were either as tall or nearly as tall as normal, and unlike other plants that lost fans, it kept all of its.

Debra

I agree, Julia, I think S. Francis Busby will work for you. I don't have luck with several Space coasts, but this one does not miss a beat. We had some colder than normal temps the last 2 winters, with little to no snow cover, then almost warm March followed by record cold April. A lot of my daylilies suffered from the wild ups and downs, but not this one.

Debra and Nancy: Good to know about Spacecoast Francis Busby. If and when I can start adding, it is definitely one that would be on the list.

I'm missing the zones after our names, too, as Brad mentioned. It was really helpful giving perspective as to hardiness of some varieties. Will we have to go feed it back in to the database, I guess?

I am really taken with your Sanford Intermezzo - what a color!

Love the Gypsy cats story. We've also got resident ferals - one of whom early on became a housecat and is presently biting my arm as I'm trying to write this - LOL. She can't understand why I am paying more attention to this machine than her!

Alex

Alex, I just went to my profile where you can change your personal information and added KY to the end of my name again.

Brad, I tried it, but it kept acting like I hadn't done anything. Can't understand it. May try again later.

Alex - It sounds like you have your own band of gypsy cats. My indoor baby is a little more polite than your. She taps me on the arm when I'm on computer and she wants my attention - that or just meows nonstop.

Debra

Debra - 15 in all, though only 4 are inside-only cats - except when they get their leash walks. Not exactly like walking a dog as you might imagine. :) Oh, and they have a cattery.

Debra: I love the story of your Gypsy cats. So great to hear that all are still around and doing so well. So Cowgirl is the only one that wants to be an indoor kitty? Will the outside cats let you pet them?.....I bumbled into a great website/organization a month or so ago located in the PNW that rehabs and/or cares for their local feral cat population. It's called Tiny Kittens. They have live feed of the kittens and ferals they take care of and if possible adopt out. Below is a link to one of their success stories. I just saw him on their live feed and he's doing great.............Maryl

Tiny Kittens Mason's story.

Maryl - Zuzu, our male, will come into the basement when it's cold in the winter. But the people smells in our living space cause him to have panic attacks. He tries to break windows with his head to get out. Outside he's a big love bunny, and craves being petted. I can pet Sammie occasionally. My husband is her person of choice, and he pets her multiple times a day. All of the outdoor offspring have bonded more to my husband than me, since he is their feeder. Coco, who did let me pet her when was a kitten, won't let anyone touch her now. The mother, Tuxie, prefers me, and follows me a lot in the garden. She loves being petted and will let me pick her up and apply medication when she needs it. Cowgirl likes my husband and gets petted by him, but she will only snuggle with me and sit on my lap. I thought she might bond more with him when I was out of state so much last year, but she didn't.

The story of Mason and the little kitten was cute. Mason was so sweet and gentle with them.

Debra

Alex - Five cats is enough for me. I can't imagine 15! I do know what it's like to walk a cat. I used to have a little black cat named Spooky who loved to walk on a leash.

Debra

Debra - believe me, we didn't plan this! Too long a story, but basically we've become an unofficial, DEFINITELY non-profit sanctuary. We won't be taking any more on, but as the youngest of the clan is probably only 4, we're pretty much stuck for some years to come; we're at Year #8 now. No more kittens in the area, though - we have that at least. Now it's almost the end of August, will need to be re-fortifying the winter shelters soon...

Alex

Alex - What kind of winter shelters do you have for the cats?

debra

This is going to look like I live on this machine lol, but as I'm still sitting here, I saw your comment. We have evolved over the years, but our basic shelters now are styrofoam shipping containers (we were given ones by the mobile vet clinic that were used for shipping tropical fish, but we also pick up used meat shipping containers at thrift stores). These we stuff with straw - we've found straw to be better than blankets since it doesn't readily absorb moisture from snow or a cat coming in wet to shelter. Usually we have more than one shelter close together, and have straw bales around and on top of them. Snow can be an issue here, so they're better elevated somewhat. We also turned our north porch into a solarium for them. Would have been better if it could have been on the south side of the house. If I ever get a new greenhouse built, I'd like to convert the old one into a winter shelter. If you'd like other info, message me. I enjoy passing on what we've learned over the years, even if I have to admit that I wouldn't mind a break from these guys now and again. :)

Alex

Here's an old pic of one of the 2012 shelters - still basically the same.

Alex - Thanks for the photo of your winter cat shelter. I need to make something for the two who won't come inside when it's cold. The past few winters. I've made a lean to under the carport next to the house and put straw in and around it.

Debra

The styrofoam containers aren't that hard to find if you peruse your local thrift shops, and they have served me well for more than a few winters. Or you could try to get some at an aquarium shop or even at a department store that carries fish (oh, and King Crab - I've found those before) - someplace like Walmart. Tell them what you want the boxes for - they might be happy to oblige. The straw insulation is the plus that is key, I think. If they're out of the wind, and stuffed with straw, with straw around them, they are truly warm enough for a cat, who's winter coat is already thickened naturally by nature.

They may not immediately test them out (though cat's are generally curious), so you can try sprinkling a little catnip in them for incentive.

Alex

I was given some microwaveable heating pads by my vet when I was "over wintering" a found kitten outside before he was able to be adopted (by me as it turned out - he ended up being my beloved garden cat Yardley- my avatar). They have come in handy more times then I care to count and I still use them. They have updated them since I was given mine, but the concept is the same if anyone is interested (see link below)..........BTW, loved the cat stories. I'm a sucker for cats and the stories that are behind them. Special blessings to all their caretakers.........Maryl

Heating Pad for small animals Microwave

Maryl - Thanks for the link! I've never heard of these.

Just another FYI, Chewy.com is an incredible company, great customer service!

Sherry

Sherry: I just discovered Chewy myself and had my first order delivered yesterday. 2 day delivery just like Amazon Prime, but unlike Amazon I could talk to a live person and ask product questions. Very pleased..........Maryl

Maryl - what a wonderful idea! Unfortunately, we no longer have a microwave - probably one of the few people on the planet without one, excepting those with pacemakers. :) I've just never liked them, but that heating pad is almost enough to convince me to get one again.

Alex

Alex, we have five indoor and one outdoor. All were formally feral cats I hand tamed them with chicken, trapped and neutered the two adults and They Bella is lying here sleeping now...the three that were kitten are scrambling in the other part of the house. Gus is sleeping on the chair. Mama who will not come inside, follows me around the garden and loves to be petted but not picked up. she is 21. Billy (my beloved Billy) is ten. Katy Did It and Murphy are three, and Bella is probably four. They find me in my garden.

kay

Kay - I love it! Great names, especially Katy Did it - ha ha! Aside from Samhain, our indoor children are Sleeper, Fearless and Owl. But they are joined on occasion by Little Mama, Socks, and two of Little Mama's offspring: Sirius and Zee. Oh, and geez, forgot the oldie: Ricki. No telling how old she is - over 10, but maybe not by much. We are in for the long haul, as you can see, with no one over 8 after her. All are spayed/neutered. When we went on our "campaign", we were responsible for 33 TNRs. Not much in the face of the hundreds a couple of our friends took care of for a space of time. Bad thunderstorm; best get off the machine.

Alex

Here's the link to the company's info on this product that Maryl wrote about in case you want to know more about it .

https://www.curtincatcare.com/snugglesafe_notes