I find that plants from the south can have difficulty acclimating in the fall. Rust continues to be a problem with plants shipped from the south in the spring (fall too, but less time to wreak havoc). Both northern and southern plants that have been pumped up with fertilizer can languish for a while. I know one grower whose plants always seem to shrink after they arrive here. But I certainly don't want small, shriveled fans, as I have gotten from some Auction sellers.

For northern rebloom and heathy beautiful plants:
Paul Owen - A Slightly Different Nursery
Judy Davison- Picture Trail Davijk should get you there
Mike Derrow- Adena Hems- Not zone 7 but you won't regret it
These are the daylily places whose plants are spectacular performers in my zone five garden. Judy and Paul are zone 7 now but both started hybridizing in zone 5.

My main issue is Rust. Zone 7a (and sometimes zone 7b) can be pretty safe in spring if they've had a hard winter as most of them did in zone 7 last year. Of course you always need to check if a nursery's daylilies are field grown or greenhouse grown. If greenhouse grown they can be from Alaska and still have rust issues because of the protected environment they are grown in. Also the further south you go the more evergreens and semi-evergreens you will encounter. I would think in zone 5 most evergreens would not be as long lived as dormants or even some semi-evergreens...........Maryl

I forgot to mention the main part of posting above that I've ordered from many southern growers and have had poor success with their plants. Have had no problems with those above. Mr. Derrow would not I guess be considered a southern grower. From northern Illinois Virginia seems southern too me.

Thanks for the info! I was guessing that it might not be a good idea. Plenty of northern growers to purchase from. Just didnt want to buy and be disappointed after a few seasons.

Sherry

I'm really new to growing too. If you invested time and dollars into your garden, you sure don't want disease (rust) or pests ( thrips) to deal with. I stick to northern growers as well. Some of the plants from the south are mighty tempting, though!

I've had good luck with both northern and southern growers. Several years ago I purchased two sevs from a Florida grower on the Lily Auction. They were the size of leeks when they arrived and have been some of my best growers since then (fast increase and great bloomers).

If I'm not purchasing on the Lily Auction, I tend to go to Curt Hanson and Paul Owen, who send terrific plants and are great people, too.

The majority of my daylilies came in from the South, though I do have some I purchased from Jamie Gossard. A lot of mine have come from Floyd Cove, Pat Guidry, James Hall (lily auction), Ted Petit, Frank Smith, Linda Agin, and Henry Boykin. The biggest problem I have when getting plants from southern growers is rust. I do end up spraying for rust when I bring plants in from the south . If I don't bring in southern grown plants rust never shows up. I've been happy with the performance of most of my southern plants, but I don't encourage people to buy plants from the south if they live in areas that are colder than mine. I understand that cost, the fear of winter loss or underperforming during the bloom season are major considerations for most northern buyers.

Linda

I have purchased from just about everywhere in order to feed my addiction....lol. When I first started out I gave no consideration to anything but a pretty face and ordered whatever from wherever. Now that I have hundreds of daylilies I've kept note of which ones are my best and worst performers and where I got them from. With the exception of Blue Ridge (whose plants were huge when I received them and still the biggest and most vigorous)...bigger isn't necessarily better when it comes to daylily fans. Most of the ones from southern growers were huge and have dwindled down not only in size but vigor. Northern grown plants came smaller in size but have bulked up. Of course there are always exceptions and I have some that came from the south or California and are great plants.....but the majority from warmer climates just aren't the stars in my garden. I don't have to worry about rust here (zone 4) but hardiness is the biggest concern and which ones will bloom the most in my shortened season. If they barely survive my winters I end up losing fans or the entire plant and those that struggle end up composted. I used to mail-order exclusively but now I visit local daylily farms (New England in general) and see what does well and base my purchases on performance and vigor mostly.

Celeste

Thanks everybody for letting me know about your experiences with plants grown in warmer climates. I guess It looks like I had the right idea. Plants from the warmer zones can be somewhat of a risk for the cold climates.

Sherry

I buy most of my daylilies from Maryotts gardens in California. He sends amazing plants, and lots of bonus plants, and over the last few years I haven't lost a single one. I've also planted fairly late in the fall, and haven't had a problem with them surviving our winters (Colorado). Never ordered from the south, but just wanted to give my two cents about ordering from warmer climates.

Tell us more, crittermom. What's your definition of "fairly late," and how late have you planted? Do you get reliable snow cover? And the Maryotts....do you buy or do you avoid the evergreens?

I'm interested because I've not ordered from Maryotts, yet so many people highly praise the plants.

I usually order at the end of the season (when maryotts has the best deals), and plant in September (I think last year it was late September). We get fairly reliable snow cover, though it definitely doesn't stay all winter. The biggest problem we have is we do get lots of freeze/thaw in the spring, and I have a couple daylilies that keep trying to rot on me in the spring. So far, they have bounced back fine and grow and bloom nicely. I usually do not cut off any of the leaves until spring, which maybe gives them some extra protection. I have lots of evergreens, and they have been doing fine for me. I was really cautious to start with, but now I just buy what I like (unless I read something specifically about not being cold-hardy). I do realize that I may lose a few that are not hardy, or get a few that don't bloom too well, but for the most part this is not a problem and it's worth the risk! Maryotts has some killer deals right now, lots of plants for $7 and lots bogo. Definitely recommend.

I purchased from Maryotts for the first time this summer. I got nice healthy plants that took off fast and right now look about as good as some of my established dayliles. He also stuffed my package with extra plants. I was really pleased and will definitely be buying from him again.

Linda

A registered cv (cultivar) is the same no matter where it was propagated and grown. It's the same if grown in Alaska as grown in the tropics.
Only issue is selection of appropriate types/cv's for your zone and ordering them at a zone appropriate planting time.

Thanks again for taking the time to add your 2 cents. I have some new places to look for new beauties!

Sherry

With hearing the good comments about Maryotts, I placed an order today. Took advantage of the $7 sales he was offering. I'm looking forward to seeing what my bonus plants will be!