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Friday, July 3, 2015

Hybridizing Daylilies, July 3, 2015

Hybridizing Daylilies, July 3, 2015

Welcome to my blog, today I am linking with-

Orange You Glad It's Friday hosted by Maria

Today's Flowers hosted by Denise  Sorry for putting the wrong photo in my link, it was late at night.

Saturday's Critters hosted by Eileen

Macro Monday 2 hosted by Gemma and Mystical Magical Teacher

I Heart Macro hosted by Laura



I have a bed of daylilies that were all hybridized by me several years ago, one of the parents of most was Erin Farmer, which has rather clownish colors and a white midrib.  This is the orangest-

This is probably my favorite for it's very productive flowers-


Some are a more spidery shape like Erin Farmer-

This one has pinched petals-

This one has a spidery shape too in a clear gold-

Hybridizing daylilies is fun, involving selecting 2 parents with characteristics you enjoy, and performing bee duties while wearing a bee costume (just kidding).  I used to try to keep track of crosses but the years have passed....  Daylily seeds germinate better with some chilling so I would plant them in the fall and leave them in the cold garage or in a refrigerator a while until they started to sprout.

The native Spirea douglasii is blooming. Being a PNW native, it has very low water requirements and gets bigger every year.  It is over my head.


Spireas are one of my favorite shrubs, since I discovered the deer don't bother them and they are drought tolerant and good bloomers.  They range from light pink-

Can you see some kind of animal in this, maybe a camel with the hump-

Some are a deeper color, with yellower foliage-

I love variegated foliage, so this was a find, Pink Ice, I like the pink stems and new growth too-

And with the addition of something blue, Chicory, I will wish you a happy 4th of July celebration!  The color came out kind of purple the but blue center has kind of a bursting fireworks effect.

The Cinnabar moth caterpillars from last week exhausted their food supply on this plant-

So I picked them all off, their reaction is to roll into disks, so they remind me of candy-

It's a little difficult to get them to grab on to the new plant so I drop them on carefully-

Where hopefully they will have enough food to mature.

Meanwhile in my vegetable garden I'm picking my first beans, the heirloom yellow wax Pisarecka Zlutoluske, cold tolerant and productive-


What vegetables are you growing?         Hannah

                                                           or cameras are macro



©Weeding on the Wild Side, all rights reserved.  I enjoy reading your comments and will visit your blog and comment there as well, if possible.


60 comments:

  1. Lovely day lilies, I had no idea I would be able to pollinate them , and save the seeds. I have a smaller golden one that blooms almost all year.

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    1. Thanks, Jean, I went through a period of intense interest in daylilies, then daylily rust hit and I lost interest. But rust never came to my garden. I no longer have current maps of varieties and have forgotten the names of most. The bed of my seedlings always makes me happy though, to see what I created.

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  2. So gorgeous flowers !! Especially I'm impressed by the lilies !!
    I see your garden is beautiful !!
    Greetings

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  3. Not a good idea.
    Caterpillar candies.
    But they are beautiful.

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    Replies
    1. True, Rainfield, especially since they are poisonous. But they look so lovely all curled up.

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  4. Thanks, Ela, the daylilies are in a special bed that gets really overrun with weeds, thistles, cleavers, and horsetail rushes, so I'm so glad to have finished weeding it and having it look nice for photos.

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  5. Replies
    1. Thanks, Amo, I enjoyed seeing your Rhodies, mine have all quit blooming for this year.

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  6. Your garden flowers are very beautiful eespecially the Lilies. Have a wonderful weekend.

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    1. Thanks, Margaret, I enjoy them coming back every year. I've heard news of another daylily pest, hopefully they won't find mine,

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  7. Hello Hannah, your daylilies are just gorgeous. And I love the spirea. Lovely flowers. And the caterpillars are cute rolled into disks. Great post! Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Have a happy weekend!

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    1. Thanks, Eileen, the Spireas have been low maintenance. Happy 4th of July!

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  8. those buggers do look like candy. :)

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    1. Thanks, Theresa, their pattern is so cute rolled up. I hope they make to to be moths next year.

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  9. Replies
    1. Thanks, Lea, your night-blooming cereus photos were perfection!

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  10. Gorgeous lilies! How nice that you relocated the Cinnabar moth caterpillars. They are lucky to have you! Happy Critter Day!

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    1. Thanks, Snap, it's unusually hot here so I hope it's not too much for them.

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  11. Such unique little caterpillars!

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    1. Yes, it's a treat to see them. The other cats I have are the woolly bears that are around more in the fall.

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  12. love the lilies. Those caterpillars have another life thanks to you.

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    1. Thanks, Latane, your 4th of July flowers are so pretty.

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  13. GORGEOUS FLOWERS ,GRETING FROM BELGIUM.
    http://louisette.eklablog.com

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    1. Thanks, Louisette, I enjoyed your beetles and 200th anniversary of the defeat of Napolean.

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  14. I love the daylilies, they're all gorgeous. The caterpillars are very pretty. They do look like candy. Have a wonderful weekend, Hannah!

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    1. Thanks, Gunilla, I enjoy them more since they are my seedlings, and the cats are fun to watch.

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  15. Wonderful flowers, and I appreciate your dedication to the littlest critters!
    ~

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Thunder, and I liked your Polyphemus moth, one showed up mysteriously at my house too, a long way from yours.

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  16. The Daylilies are gorgeous! Those bugs are pretty to look at. The yellow waxed beans look yummy!

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    1. Thanks, Stephanie, I'm happy to be growing the beans again. They were one of my earliest heirlooms and one of the few of those that I still grow. I liked seeing your banana slug, I guess people who don't live in the PNW haven't heard of them.

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    2. Thanks for the info on the Banana Slug.

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  17. that is some nice caterpillars. I hope they will turn into some fine butterflies too. :)

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    1. Thanks, NF, they will turn into Cinnabar moths, very pretty, the reddish color is known as cinnabar, hence the name.

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  18. Replies
    1. Thanks, Birgitta, summer is a fun time to see what is doing well and blooming.

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  19. Caterpillar candies, straight out of a Tim Burton movie. lol. I finally saw a cinnabar moth here the other day.

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    1. Thanks, Evan, that does seem rather Tim Burton. I'm disappointed with the number of caterpillars I saw this year, I hope the high temperatures are not having a bad effect. Maybe you will get some cats after all.

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  20. The caterpillars look wonderful but I'm still afraid to touch them.
    Love your flower shots.
    Thanks for dropping by :)

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    1. Thanks, Lina, they are very mild little caterpillars, after a while they straighten out and try to crawl away, so I have to keep pushing them back. The moths are very beautiful, but I don't get to see them much.

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  21. Wonderful diversity of daylilies (I've never tried to hybridize flowers) and: I like spireas too. Have one with dark copper leaves and one with bright yellow-brown leaves in spring (during the year they stay yellow-green).
    How friendly to give the caterpillars a new home :-)

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    1. I don't have any other fun caterpillars around except the woolly bears, which are not much fun to handle. I'll have to look out for a coppery spirea, that sounds pretty.

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  22. Wonderful flower pictures and the moth caterpillars, superb.

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    1. Thanks, Bob, I'm glad you like the caterpillars, I look forward to them every year.

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  23. Wonderful flower pictures and the moth caterpillars, superb.

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  24. A delightful collection of beautiful flowers. And those stripey caterpillars are amazing.

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    1. Thanks, Gemma, they enter a whole new realm of appearances when they curl up.

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  25. Hi! There are various kind of day lilies. Did you make by your preference? You have a nice sense of humor. I imagined you were wearing a bee like costume. I learned many things from your post. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Thanks, Minoru, I grow mostly Hemerocallis fulva varieties that have been extensively hybridized into various forms and colors. I just picked a few varieties to cross to see what I would get. Sometimes they are like the parents and sometimes not. I googled and a Japanese name is Edauchi Wasuregusa.

      I also grow one variety of Hemerocallis citrina, the lemon lily, that blooms earlier and is fragrant. A Japanese name is Ukon Kwanzo.

      I like to try to be funny once in a while, I hope I succeed.

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    2. Hi! I checked your Japanese name flowers. Thanks for your hospitality.

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  26. I LOVE it when the day lilies bloom...and they are just starting to here. Your photos are great!

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    1. Thanks, EG, they put on a show for quite a while and are very carefree.

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  27. Beautiful array of colours :) lovely captures..

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    1. Thanks, Clairejustine, I enjoyed your puppy and the Nigella is beautiful.

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  28. I would love to have some chicory in my yard, but it's my understanding that the state of Texas won't allow it. What gives?

    Beautiful images of such a wonderful array of flower blossoms.

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    1. Anni, I tried to find something about Chicory being banned in Texas but could not. I purchased seeds for the Chicory but I was not actually good at using it, compared to other greens. I did have one surprise plant blooming this year, that I could photograph. I admire the blue flowers.

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  29. lovely colors, the dailyness are just stunning! Happy weeding!

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  30. Thanks, Mandy, sorry I can't comment on your grandchild's photo, very cute, since it is only Google +. I'm glad you enjoyed the daylilies.

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  31. Fabulous daylilies....and I hope to have beans soon as they are flowering.

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  32. Thanks, Donna, I have been picking some early beans and peas. I like your Pink Octopus campanula.

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