I already have more Westbourne Intros in my garden than from any other hybrider, at least 40 already here. And I know I will never stop. Next largest amount of intros from one hybridizer are my Korth intros, of which I have about 36.

In case your interested, look for seller name of Bubbles.

It just seems to me that the Lily Auction has been very, very slow this fall. I see so many things listed that close with no bids at all. I mean from lots of sellers, not necessarily Mary Jane. Still, I can't believe more people have not discoved how wonderfully beautiful the Westbournes are. I try to show off the ones growing in my garden by posting lots of pictures and did do that last summer.

There are still lots of Westbourne listings on the LA now, as ones close, others are listed.

The LA has always had its highs and lows. The holidays are upon us, economy is still on the iffy side and job losses are still happening and probably will continue into next year. Many gardeners just can't spend the high $$'s anymore and are looking at the more established, lower priced daylilies which, I have to say, do stand the test of time.

I see that there is a bidder on the Westbournes now that has just discovered her daylilies (Celosia) who is located up in Maine. There are others from zone 5 and down that I know grow her daylilies, they are just not on this forum.

I know there are lots of hybridizers out there with great daylilies. I just tend to get very enthusiastic about the ones that are my favorites.

AMEN.

New "intros" definitely are a crap shoot.... 99%+ of which are just clones of the faces that now cost $8-$15.

This current daylily mania.. buying faces sight unseen minus any real info on their characteristics.. looks to be winding down some if one guages current LA pricing. Is the supply of new starry eyed newbies prime for the plucking running low... or.. is this crowd getting smarter?

Time will tell.

There are exceptions to my mind. For instance, using a common color combo of cream and eyed purple. There must be tons of that color combo around. I have lots of them in my garden myself. But I would buy a new one if it was more hardy than those I have or had signifigantly better branching and budcount. In that case I would be thrilled.

Rita: I would agree that many(not most) of the daylilies are starting to look alike (even here in the north) and paying attention to bud count, scaping, rebloom, hardiness is where the differences are. But then again I can't count on what happens in one persons garden to be what will show in mine and vice versa. Sometimes I take a risk on a daylily but alot depends on the possible $$ loss I might take a hit for and definitely won't do it for a single fan.

WHERE.. is this feedback in any detail.. other than.. mostly the wailing of fanatics per their favorite grower friends?

SELDOM.. does one see.. details per 1. culture used 2. face characters.. per opening all weather conditions and sunfastness.. that latter definition is so stretched by the many 3. plant habits.. foliage type, growth rate vs flowering ability.

SPECIFICS.. per daylily characters is still hard to come by.. and few can be really trusted to relay FACTS. That one good day a plant flower has means so little compared to the WHOLE flowering cycle.

FACTS.. especially when they do not compliment a favorite growers weeds.. are not welcomed. The lion's share of all daylily forum traffic is not reality based. Some amount to nothing more than toosh kissing contests.

YES.. the economic landscape is making people look harder at their purchases. Yet the buyers are also more wary of phony internet pics and claims. \

BLUNT I can be.. why not. The world is full of people games.. why can't flowers just be about actual performance and appearance.. and how to create SUPERIOR ones.

She is a single woman operation and she works darn hard to operate a business doing what she loves to support herself. She has lots of very moderately priced daylilies for those that can't afford much and she almost always gives more than one fan even if that is what you bought. Her generosity, honesty and kind heart speaks volumes about her integrity. I highly reccomend buying just one of her daylilies and giving it a try.

That is kind of how we all start and decide we just love any hybridizers plant...isn't it??????

You stated that some of her intros have done well up into zone 4. Which ones didn't?

Got pics?

Hope I didn't overwhelm you with the questions, but these are things that are important (at least for me) in deciding whether to spend the $$'s or not.

As an fyi, I applaud her for what she has achieved but I don't use that as a factor to determine whether to purchase or not. Hope that doesn't sound mean but there are alot of hybridizers struggling to make ends meet and use their sales to support themselves and family. If I won the lottery I'd be more than willing to spread the wealth but that isn't going to happen anytime soon. :-(.

I do not keep track of bud count, branching and such. I do not hybridize so I just read what the information available. So not much help for you there. But Mary Jane is in Tennessee so they have to be pretty hardy. I do try to buy plants that have at least 15-20 bud count from anybody!

What I have right now -Gifts
Westbourne Bigg & Redd All Over - bloomed this and multiplied well very quickly to 3 fans.
Westbourne Curtain Ruffles
Westbourne Fireside Chat
1 Westbourne unknown...they forgot to mark which one it is. Will have to wait until next year.

Bought
Westbourne Oranges For Christmas
Westbourne Harvest Moon - is a stunning polychrome!

I hate posting pics here but...

Bigg and Redd All Over

Oranges For Christmas

Harvest Moon

My real point is that until you yourself grow it in your garden you really don't have any idea how ANY plant will do. ANd accept that some of us just want to grow pretty flowers to enjoy. We have no intentions of breeding plants. Not everyone wants to hybridize but I certainly respect those of you that do.

I would need to check on Dave's ....but there is at least 1 member that grows Westbournes in MN. I believe Trick or Treat was one because I got some seeds off the LA from her. Her name is cataddict on the LA. Sadly I had to decide I don't have room to do seedlings.

Anyway...I hope you decide to try at least 1 Westbourne daylily! Sorry if I came across to strong....