Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Digging for the Market

Today was spent washing daylilies in the flower shop, much to cold and windy outside. We dug them last week. Once they get in the washing phase, all of the excess soil is 'shagged' off by one person who also cuts them into fan sections, then they go to the water barrel where most of the remaining soil is swished off, then to the sink for the final shower. Then outside to dry off on pallets, then back into the tubs waiting to be graded and tagged for the market. We had 2-3 at any one time working on these. So when someone wants one of my beauties for a buck and says "don't you just dig 'em from the garden?" As with many jobs, we do not realize the steps involved in the work of others.
Many of our dayliles are 'Tetraploids' which have 44 chromosomes. The basic daylily the 'Diploid' has 22. Tetraploids have many improved characteristics. Their flowers are larger with thicker petals & vibrant intense colors. Double click on Spiritual Corridor above, and you can see how thick the petals are. They also have sturdy strong scapes (stems), and the plant is more vigorous with thick heavy leaves. The diploids are great too, the tetraploids are just better!


The daylilies we will be selling at the market Sat. are being sold 'bareroot.' We will have a photo card posted by all of our varieties so you can see what the bloom looks like. We will have potted ones throughout the summer as well. We hope to have 12-20 of our 100 some varieties at the market each week thru mid June.


Flower class is next Monday, so don't miss it. A general rule of planting: flower plants should always be planted in 'odd' numbers, at least until 11. So daylily, iris, peony etc., should always be planted in at least a group of 3, 5, 7, 9 of a kind. Now this isn't just me trying to sell you more. Ever wonder why some landscapes look so much better? Count their plants. Mass always looks better over hodge podge, one of this, 2 of that and so on.



This daylily flower is huge! Seven inches across, ruffled and fragrant. Whats not to love about Alabama Jubilee. It is also a Tetraploid. Now that you know this little bit of info about the 'ploidies' you can wow you gardening friends with your knowledge! This daylily is also considered a 'Designer Daylily' which means the colors are sunfast, they are heavily budded with blooms continually opening, even in crappy weather. They are fully winter hardy. They have vigorous growth all season, superior form and substance. So a daylily that is a Tet., plus in the "Designer" group, is as good as it gets.




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