Oops...

So I've written before about Mable Matthew's daylily collection.  We acquired it from another Daylily Club member because they wanted to space to increase the number if miniature daylilies they had.

We were very careful when we moved it.  Mostly because we didn't want to mess up the labels (probably didn't need to be too worried about that), but also because they came from a bed infested with nut sedge and we wanted to try and not spread more of it around our garden.  Each clump went into it's own nursery pot with its labels and when we got it home, the fans were separated and replanted all together.  It was a process, but we wanted to try our best not to mix anything up.

In the two seasons we've had the collection, we have noticed that the labels are not correct.  In fact a lot of them seem to be wrong.  So how are we going to fix this mess.  Typically you can't just figure out what a taggless daylily is.  Currently there are 89,581 registered cultivars.  Since we keep a list of the daylilies we have purchased, we typically have a fighting chance.  That brings the numbers down to the 100's.  In this case, we have even better odds.  Mable only hybridized and registered 63 total plants.  We also have some of her old pictures and catalogs, but she didn't have a picture of each of her introductions either.  We're hoping that over the next two years we can sort out the labels on these plants. 

This year we started the process of making sure the labels we have are correct.  Here is the first one that opened.  It's labeled as 'Hurst Rose Treasure'.  It is described in the Daylily Society's Database as a deep rose pink with darker rose eye above chartreuse throat. Upon a quick look of her list we thought it might be 'Hurst Dawn Prelude' (Peach with a cherry eyezone and yellow green throat), but after looking through her pictures, we think it could also be 'Hurst Radiant Sunrise' (Cream yellow with rose eyezone and olive throat).  We are watching the other scapes as they open to see if it becomes clearer.

Who Am I??

This half opened "beauty" never opened all the way....like any of the flowers so far.  Interestingly, it is actually labeled two different ways.  The first is 'Jolyene Nichole', and that is correct.  It isn't a Mable cultivar and it's unclear why it's in the collection.  With a 6 inch bloom that is only 14-20 inches tall, she isn't really our jam.  Especially since this flowers seems to have a hard time opening in the humidity.  Guess what, it's humid in Texas in the spring all the time.  We are planning on digging this plant up and dividing it for the club's plant sale in the fall.  The second label is 'Hurst Kay's Choice'.  That flower is described as a 3 inch flowers that is cream with a black eyezone above a chartresuse throat.  I think we can all agree this is NOT "Hurst Kay's Choice'.

Here's another example.  This plant came labeled as 'Hurst Dreamy Wow'.  It is described as a near white self above green throat in the Daylily society's Database.  Clearly, this is not "Hurst Dreamy Wow'.

Not 'Hurst Dreamy Wow'

So, it looks like we have a lot of work ahead of us if the first few blooms are any indication.  Wish us luck!