How should one use the dark daylilies—dusky sirens of the daylily family?
Yellow and orange daylilies are supreme for landscaping large areas. But in the small home garden, a dark accent is invaluable.
Many daylily authorities feel that one dark daylily to six light ones is a good proportion. Who am I to say that I would prefer to accent six dark hems with one light one? Surely this is a matter to be decided by individual taste.
When gardeners make their first daily purchases, most women pick the yellow varieties, while men buy the red ones.
After a few years of living with daylilies, the women start buying the red ones, and men seek the darkest varieties they can find! So now, I should like to tell you about the dark daylilies—the purples, browns, and near-blacks.
What is the darkest daylily yet produced? When the 1951 Yearbook of the Hemerocallis Society went to press, over 20 daylilies had been registered with names that began with the tile word black, and over 20 were registered whose names began with purple.
Excellent Black Daylily Varieties
The darkest flower I have seen to date is Ralph Wheeler’s RAVEN. Although it may fade to a rich purple in the hot sun, it holds its color and substance quite well under the most severe conditions and is a great achievement.
Three excellent dark varieties whose names do not include black or purple are the following:
- Mrs. Thomas Nesmith’s POTENTATE
- Mrs. J. F. Emigholz’s INTENSITY
- Ralph Schroeder’s KNIGHTHOOD
All three are at their best in cold climates.
Of the “black” daylilies, I prefer Geddes Douglas’ BLACK MAGIC and Vestal’s BLACK JEWEL. One of the most widely distributed dark daylilies, and deservedly so, is H. M. Russell’s BLACK – PRINCE.
It is less often as dark as the ones mentioned above, but it performs -well in most climates. I like it because it is an “extended bloomer”—its flowers remain open until ten o’clock or later in the evening.
Among the earliest dark daylilies to bloom each year are Mrs. Bright Taylor’s GUNGA DIN and Mrs. William Bach’s MYRANDE.
Gunga Din is a flat or open-faced flower accented with a striking orange throat. Myrande is almost a true self of purple-maroon and, although it is a new introduction, I am sure it is destined for a great favor.
A purple daylily of intense color and stunning form, which is surely one of the noblest daylilies yet introduced, is Mrs. Hugh Lester’s GALAHAD.
High on the popularity list is Mrs. Nesmith’s PERSIAN PRINCESS. The color is deep purple, sometimes changing to purplish brown. Flowers are not large but are produced generously several times each season in moderate climates.
True Rich Brown Kinds
While some dark red daylilies turn brown in the hot sun, a few good varieties open and remain a true rich brown. The best of these is Wyndham Hayward’s EMPEROR JONES.
Destined to be highly popular is LeMoine Bechtold’s STYGIAN.
Other new and scarce varieties which will he eagerly sought in the next few years are Mrs. Lester’s MINUTE MAN, with its patent feather finish and substance, and Elmer Claar’s PLUM MIST, which not only stood the hot desert sun in my Arizona garden in 1951 better than any other dark variety but continued to send up blooms from early spring until frost.
Purple And Blue Varieties
While I have named several purple varieties, they have been on the red side of the spectrum. There are also some purples with more blue in their makeup.
One of the finest is Wheeler’s AMHERST. Closest to blue is Mrs. Nesmith’s CANYON PURPLE.
Her new PURPLE PAGEANT will be highly rated when it is in better supply. Mr. Wheeler has two other good purples in BACCHUS and NIOBE.
One year ago, in writing about pink daylilies in FLOWER GROWER, I admitted that most of the flowers in that color class were temperamental with a depth of color and resistance to fading. The same must be said of the dark daylilies.
Not only does climate dictate regional performance, but such factors as soil, sun, humidity, temperature and known, and unknown food elements are important in producing and holding depth of color in the dark daylilies.
Some are more dependable than others. But it is important to realize that good dark daylilies are now available for gardens.
Identified Daylilies Species
When we consider that of the 13 identified species of daylilies native to Asia and its adjacent islands, all but one are yellow; it is remarkable what rapid advances daylily hybridizers have made since Dr. A. B. Stout produced THERON, the first truly red daylily.
Only the species Hemerocallis fulva is known to carry red-producing genes. By breeding hybrids from selected clones of H. fulva, we have developed clear reds and shades other than yellow, which promise to extend the color range of daylilies to equal or exceed that of any other flower.
The popularity poll of the Hemerocallis Society indicates the favor in which the more widely disseminated varieties are held.
However, the newer varieties may be at the bottom of the list because only a few judges have seen them.
And sonic of the best are so new that they are not on it at all! However, as a guide to the good dark ones, here are the dark “hems” which appeared in the top 100 of the 1951 poll:
- POTENTATE
- MRS. HUGH JOHNSON
- BLACK PRINCE
- PERSIAN PRINCESS
- KNIGHTHOOD
- PURPLE WATERS
- AMHERST
- BLACK FALCON
- PURPLE MIST
44659 by Philip G. Corlis