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Daylilies
daylilybedmaker

Article on Debra from this forum

5 years ago

I just received the Free State Daylily Society Newsletter and there was an article featuring Debra.


Below is the article.


Hybridizer Introduction: Debra Zimmerman

http://debras_daylilies.plantfans.com/

Debra started dabbling as a backyard hybridizer back in 2009, planting no more than 15 seeds. A couple of those very first seedlings showed promise and were later registered. That fueled a hybridizing obsession that grew stronger each year. Unfortunately, with only a small city lot in Nashville, TN, most years she has only grown 20 seedlings. Out of those small efforts, she has registered eight daylilies. Last year she planted 70 seedlings, and this year hopes to plant around 100.

While she hybridizes mainly for tets, one of her earliest registrations was a diploid spider variant called Sangria With Mia, and she still plants a few diploid UF crosses. Tet UF crosses are more of a focus, shooting for watermarks or dramatic dark eyes.

Debra also hybridizes for round ruffly daylilies with interesting edges. Her 2021 intro is called Coco’s Curiosity, which is a good reblooming evergreen.

Her best-selling intro is Dearest Valentine. She loves highly saturated colors and pinks with triangular watermarks, so this was love from the first bloom. This dormant is a terrific rebloomer and usually has instant rebloom, a trait it passes to its offspring.

Debra also hybridizes for extra-large flowers like her 2020 intro Gypsy Cats. A dormant, it has blooms that range from 7-8 inches and is named for four feral kittens and their mother that she adopted many years ago.

She loves white edges, whether they are lacy or toothy. Cowgirl Spurs came out of crossing for white toothy edges. It only has a few white teeth on sides of the petals, but it breeds toothy kids. It is one of Debra’s fastest multiplying seedlings and is a reliable rebloom. This one is also dormant.


The article also featured pictures of the following daylilies:


Coco’s Curiosity, Dearest Valentine, Gypsy Cats, Cowgirl Spurs, and Sangria With Mia.


David

Featured Answer
  • 5 years ago

    Wonderful article! Congrats Debra!

    Brad

    Comments (22)

    • 5 years ago

      How nice, Debra! Recognition for your lovely work.

      kay

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    • 5 years ago

      Thanks for sharing, David. So wonderful to be recognized for your work!

      Sherry

    • 5 years ago

      And based on the seedlings you have posted, the best is yet to come! Good job!

    • 5 years ago

      Does the Free State newsletter cover a certain area? I like how the article highlights some very creative names.

    • 5 years ago
      last modified: 5 years ago

      Hi David! If you're in NY, how are you getting the Free State's newsletter? Thanks everyone! Jill Zimmerman, a friend from NGA, wrote the article. She writes the column "Hybridizers' Corner" and is focusing on new hybridizers from around the U.S. this year. The Free State Daylily Society is in Maryland. By the way, my Plantfans site is still under construction. I hope it will go live next week.


      Debra

    • 5 years ago

      A very nice article, congratulations! You do have great plants!

    • 5 years ago
      last modified: 5 years ago

      Debra,

      I used to live in MD and was highly involved with Free State Daylily Society. I am still a member and attended their sale and auction pre COVID. I continue to make suggestions for club plants for the members to grow. My family is still in MD, so I visit them and attend select club funtions. One of the members is a garden judge and grows some of my seedlings for evaluation. MD gets hot and humid and it is a great way to evaluate seedlings. I introduced by first seedling this year and it holds up to the heat and humidity of MD.

      Speaking of Jill, I connected her to the FREE STATE DAYLILY SOCIETY.


      Mantis: FSDS newsletter covers MD. There are members of the club who live in northern VA and York PA and of course a single one in NY.


      David

    • 5 years ago

      Applause please for a very good hybridizer and even more importantly a very nice person..........Maryl

    • 5 years ago

      Yes indeed applause for you Debra! Congrats for your work being recognized, all of your seedlings are beautiful.

    • 5 years ago

      Wow Debra! What a fantastic article ! You must be beaming and rightly so. You have shared images of your really lovely blooms with us and it is so nice now to have them recognized as the beauties they are with everyone else . No doubt they will become difficult to obtain as they gain popularity with folks outside of this forum and the National Gardening site.

    • 5 years ago

      Hooray! The link is now working to my Plantfans site! So if it wasn't working for you yesterday, and you want to see my intros, plants for sale, and selected seedlings, it is live now.


      David - Thank you for connecting Jill with the Free State Daylily Society! And thanks for the info about how far its members might live.


      Heather - I was thrilled about getting the exposure.


      Peren and Maryl - Thanks for your sweet comments!


      Debra

    • 5 years ago

      Nice article! You certainly have had good success with the limited number of seedlings you can grow. I can't wait to see Dearest Valentine this year now that it is settled in.


      Make sure you notify Charlotte at Charlotte's Hybridizer's Corner so she can link your name with your new website.

      Nancy

    • 5 years ago

      Thank you, Hoosier Nan! I will be letting Charlotte know about the webisite change.


      Debra

    • 5 years ago

      Debra I didn't know you had a link on Charlotte's Daylily Diary . Can you include the name of your site here please.

    • 5 years ago

      Heather - The link the website is on David's initial post in green letters. It's

      http://debras_daylilies.plantfans.com/


      Although my link is live, the website doesn't appear in the list of Plantfans sites yet. The name of my website is Debra's Daylilies.


      Debra

    • 5 years ago

      While my site was live for a few hours yesterday, I noticed it isn't today. The message I get with the link this morning is Coming Soon.


      Debra

    • 5 years ago

      I just tried it Debra and got the Coming Soon notification also. Hope it rectifies itself......Maryl

    • 5 years ago
      last modified: 5 years ago

      Congrats, Debra! Very cool. Let us know when your site is up and running, I'd love to take a look.


      David, thanks for sharing!

    • 5 years ago
      last modified: 5 years ago

      Laura - I'd love to know when its up and running. I checked the box to have it go live more than a week ago. The Plantfans owner has not answered my emails. I'm getting very frustrated. It's working right now from this link, but not my other link on my Plantstep catalog.


      Debra

    • 5 years ago

      Debra: Good article. The link isn't working for me. I checked on DV in the garage yesterday and it seems to be quite dormant with no foliage emerging. I haven't been watering the pots so maybe I should as the top of the potting mix looks very dry. Finger crossed DV makes it to our new location and flourishes as it did here.

      Julia

    • 5 years ago

      Julia - The link isn't working for me now either. I would hold off on watering pots until things warm up. Dearest Valentine is a hard dormant here that doesn't show foliage until we've had several days in the 50s or above.


      Debra

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