Talk about the weather!!! I hope this front we have now does not dip any further south. It's hideous! We are covered in a layer of ice and temperatures are going down even from our high of 20 yesterday. They predict we will go below zero at night, with no end in sight to below freezing temperatures in the long range forecast. This means that the ice can't even melt..........I've been cutting back on my daylilies, but this may do an even harder job for me then I wanted. Lord only knows how many I will loose..................Maryl

Maryl, I bought some bell-shaped covers meant to use on plants in spring, but for the last two years I have covered selected daylilies.and they seem to do very well...there is a valve on top that you can leave open or closed, and they seem to get plenty of rain it is like a terrarium , I suppose. I have seen the miserable ice and snow; we may get a bit next week, but it was 73 today and I used it to cut down that Japanese Maple tree that has been sapping my daylilies.

It did feel like spring and bright sunshine. i wish I could send you a pacage of good weather.

kay

Oh man........ a foot of snow, flurries every day and high temps of 15 degrees here. Spring is a long way off, Kay, I’m looking forward to seeing your blooms in a month or so........

Sherry

Brr, freezing rain predicted tonight, although I think (hoping optimistically maybe) that the worst is going around us. Spring feels too far away right now. I am looking forward to your daylilies, Kay!

We will be cold again by Saturday night. These fake springs jar the plants.

kay

Oh my goodness, Nancy! If I remember correctly that’s a repeat of last season, you ended up with over 1000 seedlings. More power to you!

Sherry

Nan: Good Grief that's a lot of seedlings. I'm assuming you have an automatic sprinkling system in the greenhouse. I can barely remember to water my indoor overwintering plants, let alone a thousand extra. You go gal..............Kay, I've seen those domes you are talking about, but couldn't swing 80 of them to put on my outdoor pots. Besides I'm not stepping out of this house to do nuttin' until the ice clears. I can barely hobble around now as it is, don't need a broken hip........Maryl

Nancy, I made a comment but it disappeared. That is so much work, but you have such beautiful results form the ones that make the cut and some of the ones that don't.

kay

Kay: Glad you got a chance to go out and get some gardening done. Here in NYState we have had one snow event after another. I can't remember when we've gotten temps above freezing. 20F feels like a heat wave. Expecting another storm on Monday-Tuesday as a Winter Storm Watch is already posted.

I don't know how Nancy can plant that many seeds but I'm sure some of those will produce some nice babies.

Julia

Thank you, Julia. As usual here in alabama, we go from phantom spring to winter to phantom spring to winter, over and over like a yo-yo. I ft he warm lasts too long and then the cold, the lilies don't like it. I would hate sustained cold since this is what I have always had. Of course, it is also the season when the warm can bring tornadoes.

kay

Maryl, we have a manual watering system named Bob. Actually, right now the seedlings are under lights in the basement. We have shelving set up to hold over 2200 seedlings and will be adding some lights to accommodate about 280 more. Then they have to be squeezed into the greenhouse. The problem is the greenhouse is currently full (and stuffed to the brim) with tropicals. The hibiscus, gingers, and bananas Bob likes to grow take up a lot of room.

Hybridizing is a lot of work but it is also the most fun thing we have ever done with plants. From late June through July, it's like every day is Christmas.

Right now spring feels a long way off. We are expecting anywhere from 2 to 11 inches of snow, depending on which weather source you listen to. I am just going to stay in and plant daylily seeds.

Nancy

Well, Nancy, I guess if Bob is the watering system, which I know is a lot of work, he can enjoy his tropical. plants while he works. Interested in seeing your newbys.

kay