Loon Song Gardens

'Betty Ford' at Loon Song Gardens

2011-07-09T10:22:00.000-07:00

The daylily 'Betty Ford' in Loon Song Gardens—

FFO on July 8, 2011

Betty Ford died yesterday, July 8, 2011, at age 93. In addition to being former First Lady, she was a noted advocate for women's health and wellness. Yesterday, on the very day she died, the daylily named in her honor had its FFO (first flower open) at Loon Song Gardens.

'Betty Ford' is a 5.5" sunfast garnet red flower with a watermark halo, registered in 2002 by renowned daylily hybridizer David Kirchhoff. You can see a hint of the outstanding branching and bud count in the photo. Being EE (extra-early), 'Betty Ford' is usually finished blooming by the time of our local club tours. Because bloom season started a bit later in 2011, visitors may still have a chance to see flowers on July 23 during the AHS Region One Summer Regional tour.

We are excited to have hybridizer David Kirchhoff as our 2011 Summer Regional guest speaker and special Garden Judges Instructor.

We have scapes! We have buds! We have blooms! See you soon!

Kathy

Fourth of July 2011

2011-07-05T12:03:00.000-07:00

Future intro, Seedling D3030:

A small twisted crispate Unusual Form diploid.

I hope all Americans enjoyed a Happy Fourth of July holiday! We took advantage of the weather and spent our days in the garden, preparing for the AHS Region One Summer Regional tour on July 23. In the wee hours last night, tremendous bolts of lightning lit up the sky, with booming thunder shaking the house. I might have heard hail, but luckily, when I checked this morning, I saw no significant damage, just a few storm-beaten blooms here and there.

One of my future intros has its FFO (first flower open) today: D3030, a small diploid twisted crispate Unusual Form (see photo above). This is the season of observing FFOs, i.e., first flowers open. It is much simpler to track now before the explosion of FFOs we will see in a week or two.

The rain was welcome after several days of extreme heat. The daylily foliage seems to have toughened up during the last month. After our first bout of 100°F temps in June, the tender new leaves were a bit burned, but for this round, the foliage didn't miss a beat. On the plus side, the heat will help the bloom season catch up. So far, we are about ten days behind our usual bloom schedule. Daylilies love sunshine and water, and they look very happy today.

In bloom today (not all FFO today, but close): 'Chippewa Bride' (one of the earliest here), 'Stella's Ruffled Fingers' (another early), 'Lynn's Delight', 'Omaha Sunshine', 'Piper Mitchell', 'First Bird', 'Stone Beacon', 'Schnickel Fritz', 'Tooth', 'Waiting in the Wings', 'Star of India', 'Skyhooks', and 'Cameroon Night'.

My 2010 intro 'Grape Kiss' has lots of scapes and buds with several instant rebloom scapes emerging. In the north, we get more bloom for the buck with a higher bud count and good scape production, which are two of my breeding goals. Rebloom can be unreliable in cold climates, but it is a nice bonus when we can get it. I am pleased to see that 'Grape Kiss' reblooms consistently for me.

'Grape Kiss' (Lamb-K. 2010), showing lots of scapes, buds,

plus instant rebloom scapes.

We have been enjoying spectacular clematis blooms this season. Nature brings other delights, including pileated woodpeckers, herons, cardinals, and noisy wrens. We spotted a red-headed turkey vulture last weekend. Actually, it seemed to have spotted us, but then changed its mind about its dinner plans as it swooped closer. During evenings we hear owls hooting, foxes barking, and loons calling.

A couple weeks ago, we discovered a huge, old snapping turtle that had dropped by for a visit. Mike's sister Gréthe was helping here and thought at first that we had added a new garden decor item! June is the month when turtles travel from their watery homes to look for a spot to lay eggs, so maybe that's why it was here for those few days. If it was looking for sand, I'm afraid it was disappointed by the heavy clay it found. We are close to water, but it's a long uphill hike—especially for turtle legs. Such amazing creatures!

A surprise at Loon Song Gardens—

one enormous snapping turtle!

We are looking forward to further "adventures" plus a great bloom season! Hope to see many of you this July.

Best regards,

Kathy

Website update for June 2011

2011-06-18T09:54:00.000-07:00

Today I repaired broken links in my Loon Song Gardens Price List for 2011. The web server was also down for maintenance this weekend. If you recently visited and ran into problems, please give it another try.

Thanks to those who helped by letting me know the links did not work!

Kathy

Early summer bloom

2011-06-05T22:54:00.000-07:00

Sunday, June 5, 2011, was a perfectly beautiful day in the garden. Lilacs still perfume the air as bloom continues with Korean and 'Miss Kim' varieties. The photo above shows lilacs in bloom on June 5, 2011, sharing a border with Lady's Mantle (Achemilla mollis) and 'Obsidian' Heuchera.

Historic Hemerocallis 'Apricot' has been in bloom for several days now. Even though the scapes are top-budded with a small number of buds on each scape, 'Apricot' is still a cheerful sight because it is one of the earliest daylilies to bloom in our garden:

In addition to a handful of daylilies, a feast of other bloom greeted me today:

Dictamnus alba 'Purpureus' is known as Gas Plant due to the volatility of its oils. I once saw a demonstration of how the vapor can ignite when lit with a match!

While I love the wide variety of newer Heucheras with their fascinating foliage, I still enjoy the bright red flowers and crisp green foliage of traditional Coral Bells, which looks especially lovely with a vigorous daylily clump as a backdrop:

Columbines are another favorite. We always called the native yellow and orange columbine 'Honeysuckle', and they are plentiful throughout the garden. I remember the pink and white double variety I purchased having the name 'Granny's Bonnet'. The original plant is gone, but luckily seedlings continue to sprout up here and there, so we always have a few 'Granny's Bonnet' columbines to enjoy. Here is the 2011 version:

A couple years ago I added several Spirea betulifolia 'Tor', also called Birchleaf Spirea. It is beautifully in bloom right now, and the foliage is attractive throughout the season. Here is a photo of 'Tor' as it looked in full bloom on June 5, 2011:

And yet another favorite is the native Geranium maculatum or Spotted Geranium (because of the mottled coloring of the foliage). The soft lavender blooms brighten up a partial-shade garden.

*****

All this and birdsong, too! It was truly a lovely morning to enjoy the sights, the sounds, and the smells that mean the garden season is in full swing!

Loon Song Gardens Daylily Seedling

2011-06-02T14:25:00.000-07:00

Loon Song Gardens Seedling D2145, a large diploid

Unusual Form out of 'Lemonfellow'.

2011 Daylily Update

2011-06-02T13:14:00.000-07:00

Greetings from our Minnesota daylily garden

Winter seems to have finally given up for 2011 and temps are heading up. Spring rains mean daylily foliage is incredibly lush. Lucky for us, the worst of the severe storms bypassed Loon Song Gardens—hope it stays that way! A pair of fox kits—a smaller litter than other years—have been scampering through the woods, and warblers have been serenading us for the past couple of weeks.

Website Update

Our shipping season has begun! Please visit our newly updated website with 2011 Price List at LoonSongGardens. New introductions are on hold, but we should have several soon.

I always appreciate hearing if you have any problems or concerns regarding the website. (You know—those pesky links that don't work, etc!) If you have recently visited, you may need to refresh your windows to see the new pages.

2011 AHS Region One Summer Regional

"Daylily Heaven in 2011"—July 22-24

Mark your calendars! Loon Song Gardens is on tour for the AHS Region One Summer Regional—"Daylily Heaven in 2011"—hosted by the Daylily Society of Minnesota. Early registration deadline for best price is June 15, and the final registration deadline is July 15. Headquarters is the Sheraton Bloomington Hotel, Bloomington MN.

David Kirchhoff of Daylily World fame is our special guest speaker and will also be a Garden Judge Workshop 2 Instructor. If you are working toward your Garden Judge appointment, renewing, or want to learn about what to look for in a great daylily, plan to attend the workshop on Sunday morning at Karol Emmerich's Springwood Gardens in Jordan. Go to the AHS Region One website for more details and the registration form: AHS Region One.

It's begun! First Flower Open (FFO)…

'Bitsy' (Warner 1963) was FFO on 5/31/11 in the Historic Garden, our first FFO of the season!

Yesterday, 6/1/11, was FFO for the noted historic daylily 'Apricot' (Yeld 1893).

Two species, Hemerocallis middendorfi and on H. minor, are showing scapes and buds.

It is always fun to watch bloom progression, and the early bloomers get a lot of extra attention!

I hope your 2011 season is off to a great start!

Daylily bloom season begins!

2010-05-06T16:51:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, May 5, I saw my first flower open (FFO) for the 2010 daylily season. No photo because of rain, so I have to wait for another photo op. The FFO is on Arlow B. Stout's 'Elfin' (1949), always the first of all my daylilies to bloom each season. It's a cheerful, low-growing plant—top-budded, but with numerous scapes for a lovely extra-early season display of small yellow flowers.

'Elfin' is 10-14 days ahead of schedule. Many daylily gardeners are wondering if the whole season will be early, and I am guessing it will be. It could be a longer bloom season than usual if temps aren't too hot. Let's hope! We must wait to see what nature has in store.

Next in line for its FFO will be 'Apricot', a very special historic daylily. It is considered to be the oldest registered hybrid with a date of 1893. Its breeder, English plantsman George Yeld, began working with daylilies in 1877, starting with only a half-dozen varieties.

The American Hemerocallis Society book, Daylilies—A Fifty-Year Affair, includes a short but fascinating article about Mr. Yeld. I love the photo of his ivy-covered home in York, England, called Clifton Cottage. It is fun to imagine our beloved daylily starting on its journey from such a charming place.

Two different plants arrived here with the name 'Apricot'. One of these looks more like photos I have seen of 'Apricot', so I had assumed the other was mislabeled. But then I read in A. B. Stout's book Daylilies that in 1932, the Royal Horticultural Society trial gardens had four clones with the name 'Apricot'. Both of my plants are scaping and forming buds right now. I wonder if it's possible that I have two different 'Apricot' clones in my garden?

Rain is on the horizon as I write this evening and—with temps dropping—we may have frosts and even a little snow. I expect the daylilies to be fine, but I'm not sure how hostas, roses, lilacs (in glorious full bloom today!) and apple trees will fare.

Weather like this is a good reminder of why we love daylilies. They are a perfect perennial for the ups and downs of spring weather in the North.

Growing Daylilies in Pots

2010-04-29T12:32:00.000-07:00

Are you in "avid daylily collection mode" and do not always have a piece of ground ready for your new acquisitions? Or is it a little too early to plant in the ground in your area? Or did you end up with a few extra plants and don't know exactly where they will go?

Growing daylilies in pots may help you extend your season or give you that little bit of extra time to convince your significant other that you need to dig up yet another section of lawn for more daylily garden.

While it is challenging and risky to overwinter potted daylilies in our USDA hardiness zone 4 garden, I have had good success with growing new acquisitions in pots before planting them in the ground.

I have even set pods on containerized daylilies. I set the pod for my daylily 'Love and Dazzle' on a pot of 'Desperado Love' (with frozen pollen—but that is another story), and that pod parent still grows in my garden today. I remember when the summer turned excessively hot that year, I brought 'Desperado Love' into air-conditioned comfort inside my house. That probably saved those pods from aborting, which happens all too often as a result of a heat wave. I waited until I had harvested the pods before transferring the daylily into the garden.

H. 'Desperado Love' (top) is the pod parent of 'Love and Dazzle' (bottom)

In general, if a daylily arrives in poor condition, potting might help, but it will take probably take six to eight weeks to see results. Do not count on a plant recovering in just two to three weeks.

I once received a new daylily as a partial fan with a small piece of crown and a bit of root. The hybridizer was not selling this daylily at the time, but he parted with this starter fan as a gift for me, so I was quite thrilled to get a piece. I potted it up so I could give it extra care. It spent most of the summer in the pot before it really took off. I planted it in the ground at the end of that summer, and in a couple of years, it grew into a beautiful clump. It was 'Judy's Penthouse Double', which won the Georgia Doubles Award at our AHS National Convention in 2007.

Potting tips

I use a commercial variety of soilless extra coarse potting mix made with a blend of pine bark, peat moss, and soil conditioners. Last year, I used a bulk nursery blend delivered by dump truck from a local supplier. The specific brand doesn't seem to matter as long as the mix is fairly loose. I always add my own fertilizer. Potting mix does not keep well from year to year because some components break down, so fresh is best.

I size my pots according to plant size. I try to keep the pot fairly close to the root size. That way, the roots will fill the pot and produce strong growth. I have a collection of pots in the one-quart size and larger so I can choose accordingly. I never put a tiny plant in a large pot--it will sit there forever. I might even trim the roots slightly to avoid using a larger pot (such as when a plant has one or two really long roots and not much else).

I wet the mix before filling the pot, but just until it's somewhat moist, not sopping wet--it should still be a little loose. I usually do a bunch of plants at one time, so I dump the potting mix into a garden cart (the one-piece plastic type), add water to to the whole batch at once, and let it sit for several hours or overnight before using. You could also use a wheelbarrow for this step.

I dip the pot in the mix and fill it to the brim. It will settle a bit after the final watering. Try to avoid layers in the pot (especially a moist/dry layer), but keep the mix uniform throughout the pot.

Do not press on the mix to tamp it down. Keep it loose. If using time-release fertilizer, add as you plant.

When I plant, I use a planting tray to catch spills. I remove as much of the mix from the container as needed to make room for the plant. I make a hole with a trowel and just let the roots hang down. I add potting mix around the roots, gently working it in with my fingers.

Avoid planting the daylily too deep--you want to keep the crown close to the surface. In my experience, too high is better than too deep.

After you plant, tap and shake the pot on a hard surface to settle the mix instead of pressing on it.

Label the container! You can write on the outside of a DRY pot with a paint marker. This is the most secure method, especially if you have garden visitors. You can also create a garden marker and stick it in the pot so it is ready for the garden when the time comes. I often do both.

After potting, water gently but thoroughly to eliminate air pockets. Air pockets can mean death to roots.

After the final watering, the top of the potting mix in the pot should be about 3/4 inch to 1 inch from the top of the container. This allows good air circulation but keeps water from running over the sides of the pot. If the top of the potting soil is too deep in the pot, fungus can develop.

If I receive a plant with a lot of foliage, I usually cut it back. My general approach is to keep the length of foliage similar to the length of the roots. When a daylily is dug and divided, the daylily does better if it is not trying to support a lot of foliage while growing new roots at the same time.

Because you are planting in a soilless mix, you should use a balanced fertilizer. I add about 2 tablespoons of a pelleted 13-13-13 time release fertilizer per one-gallon pot. I prefer a time release fertilizer, but if you fertilize regularly, other types of fertilizer are just as good.

I mix in about half the fertilizer throughout the mix before adding the daylily, then I add the other half just under the surface of the top layer of mix. I stir it in with a chopstick or wooden garden stake.

Check the label to see how to handle your fertilizer. The fertilizer I use needs to be protected from sunlight, so I make sure the mix covers it. It is also activated by warm temps, so in cool weather, it doesn't do much. You can give early potted plants a boost with a liquid fertilizer. Once things warm up, I rely on the time release fertilizer and do not add any more.

Place the pots in full sun. Water every day—and twice a day if it's really hot. In a northern climate, you rarely need to worry about overwatering if the mix is coarse enough.

If you are growing your newly potted plants outdoors, pests should not be a problem. Indoor potted daylilies might have more pests, such as aphids. Keep them under control by giving them a hard spray of water periodically until you can move the plants outdoors.

During the growing season, remember to check for weeds. The ideal growing conditions you create for your newly potted daylilies are perfect for weeds, too! It is amazing how fast weeds—including trees—can grow in a pot!

When it is time to plant your potted daylily in the garden, loosen the roots thoroughly and spread them out all around the plant. Remove some of the potting mix so the daylily will settle well into your garden soil. You may even need to do a little root pruning, which does not hurt the daylily and will stimulate new root growth.

Your newly planted daylily may need a little extra water during the first couple weeks while it adjusts to its new home.

Plant it in time to give it at least six weeks before the first hard frost.

I have not had a problem with winter survival of daylilies grown this way.

Have fun with your potted daylilies!

Excitement Builds

2010-04-20T22:59:00.000-07:00

Spring excitement builds at Loon Song Gardens. These photos are from April 18, 2010. I estimate that we are about three weeks ahead of the typical spring.

The serviceberry near the front terrace is in full bloom.

The clumps of Feather Reed (Calamagrostisx acutiflora 'Karl Foerster') ornamental grass along the front walk are shooting up.

Picea abies 'Acrocona', a dwarf form of Norway spruce, develops highly ornamental rose-red cones on the tips of its branches each spring. The tree looks like it is decked out for Christmas. You can see a mature cone in the same photo.

This is a close-up of the newly-forming pine cone.

In a shady area, the soft green fuzzy leaves of wild ginger (Asarum canadense) beg to be touched!

Surprise! Beneath the leaves, rosy cup-shaped flowers hug the ground.

Nearby are the multi-colored blooms of self-seeded lungwort (Pulmonaria).

Fothergilla 'Mount Airy' is a shrub that displays small greenish white blooms before leafing out.

In the close-up of this Fothergilla bloom, you can see how the fringy flower looks like a bottlebrush.

And a promise of what's ahead: 'Elfin' (Stout 1949) shows scapes and buds already. It will have its first flower open soon, marking the official start of daylily bloom season at Loon Song Gardens.

The fun will soon begin!

Dormant Daylily Foliage Shines in Spring

2010-04-19T21:57:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, in between weeding, I took a few photos to show the season’s progress. Spring is galloping way ahead of the usual schedule. It looks more like mid-May in Minnesota that mid-April.

Our garden is in USDA hardiness zone 4, meaning winter temperatures can reach minus 20°F to minus 30°F. We haven’t had extremely low temperatures in recent years, but in 2009-2010, we did reach minus 22°F. Luckily, we had snow cover.

Believe it or not, snow cover is unreliable during many Minnesota winters. I dread open winters. Many perennials and hardwoods—even native varieties—experience damage with frigid temperatures and no snow. I look forward to a great gardening season in 2010 because of the favorable winter conditions we had.

In springtime, I truly appreciate the lovely foliage of dormant daylilies. When the new shoots of dormant daylilies emerge from the earth, they look fresh and bright. The foliage speaks to me of renewal and reawakening—a beautiful new beginning. It's what spring is all about. This photo of a dormant seedling was taken 4/24/08.

The next photo, taken last Sunday, 4/18/10, shows how the dormant foliage of 'Minnesota Sunshine' comes through the vagaries of early spring weather. The photo also shows how much further along our spring season is compared to 2008.

The next photo, also taken on Sunday, 4/18/10, shows another dormant daylily with early spring appeal, 'Grape Kiss', my 2010 introduction. This cultivar produces numerous fans quickly and forms a nice clump without being overly aggressive.

In comparison, as the snows melt, evergreen foliage reveals itself standing limply above the ground, all tattered and sometimes even mushy. It grows intermittently when days are warm enough, struggles through frosts and sleet, and then starts to grow again. Here is an example of evergreen foliage from 4/24/08.

So when all else says, “Spring is here!”, an evergreen like this says, “Wait. I’m not quite ready!” And so, we wait.

In a few weeks’ time—as I now know—most of the evergreen foliage will recover, and I won’t be able to tell one from the other. But I am impatient in the beginning. This looks like a good spring for the impatient gardener, because it is apparent that those differences will disappear very soon.

The next photo (from Sunday, 4/18/10) is of a clump of the evergreen daylily 'Tooth' (Hansen-D. 2000). This southern-bred evergreen is hardy and vigorous here. Already, it has almost grown out of the early spring tatters.

I can’t help but feel a little anxious about an evergreen’s actual survival when I first see its sad-looking foliage. I’ve had some tender varieties that would start to grow in the spring, only to turn to complete mush a couple weeks later and be gone for good.

I suspect the crowns were too damaged by winter to be able to withstand insects and pathogens that become active as soil warms in the spring. By now, most of those tender weaklings have eliminated themselves from Loon Song Gardens. I try to avoid daylilies that need pampering here, especially for hybridizing.

Welcome, new visitors! I appreciate your comments—thanks for your interest.

P.S. A third type of foliage used in daylily registrations is semi-evergreen. The next photo (from 04/24/08) shows a daylily that is registered as a semi-evergreen, considered intermediate between dormant and evergreen.

If you are reading this and are new to daylilies, you might want to see the page on my website about foliage: More About Daylilies - Foliage

Welcome to Loon Song Gardens!

2010-04-16T22:31:00.000-07:00

A new gardening season begins, and with it my new blog. I am excited to share what is happening at Loon Song Gardens.

For those who have not yet visited, we are a state licensed and inspected home-based nursery located just 30 minutes northwest of downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. Tall Scots pine trees surround our 4 1/2 acres, and we have filled just about every sunny spot with display beds of daylilies, conifers, ornamental grasses, and a variety of shrubs.

During peak bloom in July, visitors can meander along grassy paths and let the daylilies bedazzle them--we grow over 1,000 named varieties--or they can relax in a shady spot and enjoy the view.

We are open by appointment, so drop us an email and let us know when you would like to visit.

Spring is sending us into our gardens early this year, and it's grand! Sunny skies and cool breezes invigorate after weeks of working indoors. We are already hearing the loons from nearby Elm Creek Park Reserve. We could not believe our ears the first time we heard their calls, and it is always a thrill to know they have returned each spring. We enjoy a fox family each year, too, and I spotted one trotting across the yard in the early morning last week. Soon a new litter of fox kits will be romping through the garden.

Other beautiful signs of spring: the big white flowers of the 'Royal Star' magnolia are open, the buds on the eastern redbud look rosy, and delicate flowers cover our young serviceberry. Oh--and bird song! It is all simply gorgeous right now.

The daylilies seem eager as well. Their foliage is beautiful in the spring, especially the dormant varieties. Pristine, fresh green shoots proclaim the excitement has begun. I expect to see scapes any day now on some. With such an early start, bloom season should be spectacular.

I recently finished updating our website. Please take a look! I especially hope you enjoy the new photo gallery. Let me know if you have any questions or run across something that needs fixing. I really do appreciate your comments.

We look forward to a great season and hope yours is wonderful, too.