Horticulturist and nurseryman Fairman Furness has been on a sort of busman’s holiday since 1943, when he started breeding daylilies as a pastime.
He has kept an account of every cross he has made, and since he’s recorded minute details concerning each plant he has developed, the ancestry of every one of his seedlings can be traced through five generations.
Each cross is numbered serially, and the individual seeds in the pod are listed alphabetically—as 100A and 100B.
Why does he spend so much time improving an already good plant?
Responsive Daylilies
One that is strong, easy to grow, and as effective in the landscape as a choice shrub; one that produces nicely formed blossoms in tints and shades of cream, tan, brown, yellow, orange, pink, red, purple, during the hottest part of the summer.
He does because the daylily is responsive and promises to reward his efforts with varieties that will differ in size and produce more and larger flowers of varying forms in new, clearer colors.
In the Media, Pennsylvania area where Mr. Furness lives, daylilies open about 8 A.M. to disclose pollen-covered stamens and pistils ready to be fertilized.
Seed Germination
He catches blooms just as they open, snips off a stamen of a bloom he’s chosen as one parent and rubs the yellow stuff from it onto the pistil of the flower selected to be the seed parent.
He coats the pistil so thickly that foreign pollen will not likely interfere with the cross. For this reason, it is not necessary to protect it with a bag or some other cover.
The time it takes for a seedpod to ripen varies with different plants, just as the size of the pod and the number of seeds in it do, but usually, it takes about 6 weeks from when the cross is made.
Since germination is better when seeds are planted while quite fresh, Mr. Furness sows them as soon as the pods ripen and begin to open.
Most seeds germinate in one to two weeks, although some lie dormant for two to three months.
Sowing of Seeds
To expedite growth, seeds are sown on a bench in the greenhouse in light, sandy loam rows about 2” inches apart. Seedlings are moved to individual 2” inch pots when they are about a month old.
In the middle of winter, according to their growth rate, they have moved again into larger pots.
As soon after May 10 as possible, they are set in beds in the open ground. The little plants grow apace in the garden, and most begin to flower in June next year.
Variations are amazing and endlessly interesting in themselves. So many unknown factors are involved that the unexpected usually happens.
Daylily Breeding Program
Mr. Furness sets out about 1,000 seedlings every May and thinks that if five out of the lot are good, he has had a successful year.
Though lovely and arresting, he does not keep many because they do not have the qualities he is looking for.
So far, no Furness daylilies have been put on the market. Though their originator is pleased with some of them, he has not quite attained the colors he is trying to create (pure white, garnet, crimson, wine, purple, sparkling pinks, and lavenders).
But he does sell all plants locally. He does not retain them for breeding purposes.
Painting His Daylily Seedlings
Incidentally, Mr. Furness has another interesting hobby which helps him no end with his daylily breeding program. He paints and often uses daylily seedlings as his models.
His watercolors, besides being interesting, colorful compositions, recall more precisely than records the characteristics of his plants.
The amateur gardener who decides to make breeding daylilies his hobby will find the work involved easy and the results rewarding.
Choosing Good Hybrid Daylily
Any good hybrid daylily will do as a parent. But it is important to choose one with the qualities the breeder wants to bring out or intensify.
In one, there may be the color he is looking for. In another, the size or the blossom form.
Crossing one with another makes it possible to combine various desirable qualities and, perhaps, create that perfect daylily that will enchant the world.
Mr. Furness, a specialist in choice woody plants, paints daylily seedlings he breeds as a hobby.
His watercolor studies help him recall the actual tints or shades of bloom more accurately than the duplicate records.
Labelling Daylily Seedlings
The originator checks a label in a field of daylily seedlings. He sets out 1,000 every May and thinks it fine if five out of the lot meet his standards.
Daylily being pollenized, Mr. Furness coats the pistil so thickly with pollen that foreign pollen is unlikely to interfere with his cross.
Pod, tagged with a label on which full information concerning daylilies used in the cross is written, opens and out shiny pop seeds.
Seeds are ripe about six weeks after the cross is made and should be sown in open ground or cold frames immediately as they germinate faster when fresh. Each one is labeled.
44659 by Gottlieb Hampfler