Where were you going to order it from? I'm sure all daylilies are hardy in zone 2 or 3. Could be wrong, but i'm in 3 and have had no trouble with them.

Hi Weeper! I'm sure glad someone from our "unhardy cold zone" is back this early in the year.

I don't know anything about Wild Horses Daylily, but I looked up a picture of Moonlit Masquerade and it's beautiful. Where did you order it from? It doesn't say it's for our zone though. Did you plant it close to the house foundation in a sheltered spot?

BTW I thought last year you said you were relatively new at this (?) You seem quite "adventuresome" for someone just starting. Did you do a lot of gardening before this? How did you find reputable places to order from? I ordered a Vesey's catalogue quite a while ago, but it still hasn't come =:( It's the first catalogue I've ever ordered. I usually go to the local greenhouses but I'm growing weary of the same old thing. I would like to "branch out".

marcia - I will have to look around next fall at which places in Canada have Wild Horses available (if I decide to take the chance). This year I ordered from Joe Hawkins in Ontario (Hawkvalley Hemerocallis Haven) and Coral Kincaid in Nova Scotia(Nova Scotia Daylilies). Both of them had awesome selection, and have gotten really good reviews from some other gardeners in the daylily forum. Unfortunately, NOT all daylilies are hardy here. There are quite a few that are zone 5 and thereabouts. Tons of hybridizers are from the deep southern states...and they are not always worried about toughness. Some people say if you start them as seedlings, they should be hardy in whatever zone you are. But of course, if you are starting from seedlings, you aren't starting with named varieties! Stuff you find in local greenhouses should be hardy (though it may be tissue cultured), but since I'm ordering from Ontario and Nova Scotia - quite different climates than Saskatchewan - I need to be careful.

nutsaboutflowers - hey! I've been around. Lurking mainly. I pop my head in more at the daylily forum. I've sort of been waiting for this forum to wake up a little more, but I guess it is too early for most people! (I obsess all winter long ;) )

I ordered Moonlit Masquerade from Coral in Nova Scotia. It is supposed to be hardy to zone 4, and so far every zone 4 plant I've wintered has come back strong. I AM quite new at this!! I've only been seriously gardening for 2 years. But I have a weirdly obsessive, researchy personality when I get hooked on something. So I've read lots online about the plants that I'm really interested in: lilies, irises, daylilies, hostas, and roses. I'm sure I'll be making mistakes here and there. I'll probably knock off a plant or two with my ignorance! But so far so good. I ask around a lot in the forums here about anything I'm not sure of. And I love google. :D There is just so much to know! I used to mainly be "oo! Pretty flower!" but now I'm more careful to look at bud count, hardiness, nice foliage, stuff like that. I'm still wooed by pretty faces of course, but I try to make less impulse buys.

Right now the only flower bed I've got is a great big one that wraps around the house. It blows in with snow really well every winter, so my plants are protected. Plus, anything I'm worried about I bury in straw.

As for reputable places...just ask around. Most people around here are great for telling you who is reputable. From my own experience, I can tell you that Chuck Chapman from Ontario sells WONDERFUL irises, if you like them.(all these people have websites, BTW. I like looking at stuff online) The Lily Nook, in Manitoba, sent me great, healthy iris bulbs last fall. I was very pleased. 10 times better than the ones you can buy in those baggies from greenhouses. And I've heard only great things about those two daylily growers I mentioned.

I do still go to greenhouses for "filler" plants, or for stuff that I don't care if it is tissue cultured or not. But I agree - I'm totally tired of seeing the same old thing. Plus, they really hose you for plants sometimes. I mean, I paid less for the iris fans from Chuck last fall then what you would pay in a greenhouse, and you get healthier fans that I bet will take off this spring...not to mention huge selection.

About Veseys: they are who I've been buying my seeds from for annuals and stuff, and so far I'm happy. But I don't like buying plants from them...they tissue culture plants, and I've noticed that they mislabel zones sometimes. For example, I've got stuff that is labeled zone 2/3 and found out later it is really zone 5. *sigh* Oh well.

Oh, one more thing, and then I'll stop blabbing. (apparently I'm starved for fellow cold-weather gardener chit-chat!!) The one thing that sucks about ordering from growers is that often they have minimum purchases, and often the shipping really jacks up your final price. So this past fall for instance, I made fairly large purchases for lilies and irises, and this winter I've made "large" (for me) orders for daylilies. But I probably won't do that again for a few years, because alas, I don't have an unlimited budget for plants!(unlike some lucky people seem to on here!!) So that is one thing to think about. Nicer plants, decently priced, but the final price will be more from shipping/or minimum order restrictions.

Floral and Hardy has it. No mention of hardiness zones there, though.

Here is a link that might be useful: Floral and Hardy

Hey guys, I am awake, I think anyway.

The daylilys that are the most hardy are the ones that go dormant in the winter. When ordering daylilys watch for dormant in the descriptions. I have a small collection of Siloams and they are doing well for me. I also have some Candys that are doing well...but have heard they don't do well for everyone. Rosy returns did well, happy returns did well. Sweet Hot Chocolate came through last year. I also have a few other dormant types.

The daylilies that are for the higher zones tend to be semi-evergreen or evergreen. Our cold winters take a tole on these poor plants....and they either struggle or don't make it through.

Marcia, do you have any semi-evergreens or evergreen daylilies? I did plant blueberry sundae not last summer but the year before...I don't know if it came thought last year or not....if it did, it didn't bloom. I will watch a bit closer this year. It was a semi-evergreen.

Sierra

Sierra - I think most hybridizers would say that there can be the full range of hardy through to tender whether the daylilies be dormant, evergreen, and semi-evergreen. I have a few semi-evergreens, and they've all come through fine (Gentle Shepherd, Bela Lugosi). But I DO agree with you...even though hybridizers say that, I always lean towards dormant. I think if you can't find any info about whether it'll be hardy or not, your safest bet is dormant, like you said.

I guess I would just say don't buy a daylily assuming it'll be hardy because it says "dormant." Cause there are plenty out there that people assure me are not hardy at all.

I have Wild Horses. It would be tender for you because it is an evergreen. I would not recommend it for your zone. Try to stick with Dormants. You will be happier with the plant in the long run.

As a general rule look at where the daylily was hybridized. If the plant is from the south i would question it's hardiness.

Oops, I said the Lily Nook sent me great "iris bulbs" last fall - ha! You guys know what I meant. Must have had iris on the brain...(or I left my brain in the other room. Equally likely)

Thanks for checking in, Joe. I figured I might be out of luck. I think I remember hearing that somebody from Alberta or Saskatchewan had overwintered it successfully, but I wouldn't be at all suprised if it got weaker every year. I'd probably be wasting a lot of energy on a plant that would never perform like it should.

Ah well, I'll just have to be happy with MM then. Maybe I can try some crosses with MM to get myself a similar color with Wild Horses petal shape. There is a thread about just that in the daylily forum, so I'll stick my head in over there.

Hi Weeper,

I too have been lurking around for some company on this site. So glad you chimed in!
I had Wild Horses for one season but couldn't revive it last spring. Unless you can microclimate it, it probably would be more worth you money to purchase dormants. I have a few evergreens around here but again, they are usually very well protected by their site.
The best day lilies I ever purchased came from Mother and Daughter's Daylilies. They are super to do business with, resonable and send huge cultivars. Plus they have good prices and a great selection. Always good for questions too! Couldn't hurt to check out their website @ www.motheranddaughtersdaylilies.com

Let me know what you think. I am still doing the iris thing this year and a few more peonies. Maybe I will even plant more vegies.

Later

Ginny Garden

Well ya, I use the trial and error method in my garden. So far I haven't lost any dormant type daylilies.

Ginny, I am in an iris phase right now too. I am now wondering where I can fit more iris in the garden. lol. My new iris bed last year was supposed to take um 3 years to fill. It was filled very quickly. Hmmm

Sierra

Hi Sierra,

I have been on line all morning with Bob from Trails End Iris going over my reserve list from 2009. And of course they have their 2010 cultivars up now. I added some more and now will be expecting 55 new babies! I filled the new temp. beds I dug last year so will now start cutting out sod. I'm planning a whole reno. of the yard so most of my plants are in temp. spots anyway. A few more can't hurt. :) Good thing I have a big yard.

Ginny

Hmmm - i'd forgotten about evergreen and semi-evergreen daylilies. To tell the truth, i don't think i have any un-hardy ones. :) So much for my advice, eh? LOL As far as i can remember, most of the daylilies i've had over the years have come back, except one that i can think of. It was called 'Children's Festival', and i have no idea whether it was evergreen or not. Maybe it was, and that's why it didn't come back. Dunno.

Marcia- Children's Festival is a dormant variety of day lily that I have had growing for about five years. It is very tough but that doesn't mean it is for everyone. Just the way it is.

Ginny

I haven't tried that daylily. So don't know if that one would go here or not.

Yes, I have been looking at Trails End too.

Sierra

Yes, it's funny how stuff like drainage, reliable snow cover and how close it is to a building can make such a difference in hardiness. I'm putting anything that is semi-evergreen in my bed that wraps around the house. Once I expand into the rest of my yard, I might not get away with zone 4 stuff.

Sierra and Ginny - how do you guys choose for who you order iris from? Just personal preference, or familiarity?

I had Children's Festival and Strawberry Candy that i got at the same time. Strawberry Candy is still around, and that was years ago. They were both in the same place, but i've since moved SC.

Weeper, most of the places i've ordered from have come from recommendations of people here at this forum. :)

Weeper- I have been collecting irises for about 5 years now and started with Vesey's. Then I was hooked on their beauty and started looking for iris growers/breeders in Canada for fresh stock. I heard about Chuck Chapman via the vet. grapevine in Guelph and took a chance. His stock is fresh and healthy and he knows EVERYTHING about irises. Last year I spent an exorbitant amount of money on his site! And not one iris out of place! Same when I linked into Bob and Ann at Trail's End; they were so friendly and helpful and sent my first order rather late in the season since it was a last minute order. I have since been doing business with them and find them excellent. My 2010 order has been on reserve since last May and they are about to get my 2011 reserve order. I will still order from Vesey's occasionally or Botanus if either of them have a cultivar I am after. The ladies at Botanis are absolutely wonderful to work with as well. Another site you may like to check out for healthy iris and daylilies is Walnut Garden's. My only reserve has been with Spring Garden or Breck's. Hopefully they are changing their tune and stepping up their game.

Enjoy! And welcome ahead of time to the addiction of flower collecting! The one with the most cultivars to give away , wins! LOL

Ginny

Oh I see...I was mainly wondering how you decided on Bob rather than Chuck...but it sounds like you guys order enough to order from both!! Tee hee...I hopefully will someday (hmm...maybe not until retirement!) have the money and/or hubby-negotiation-skills available to do that. It is practically physically painful making those kinds of decisions!

I ordered from Chuck last year, and was very happy with him. So I'll probably keep ordering from him, as I love his selection. I do like how Bob organises his irises different ways online though..by color! That is really handy when you are looking for a "look" and not a specific cultivar.

LOL, my flower collecting addiction is already out of hand! My big wrap-around bed was supposed to take "years" to fill up. I finished it last year. This spring when my daylily orders come, it'll be full already. How the HECK did that happen? Oops. :D

Weeper- you are so much fun to read.

About the husband- You must teach him that the woman is always right and to keep her happy is his sole purpose in life. Then when he sees how delighted you are with him, he will say yes to anything!

About the flowers- There is no such thing as too many flowers, just too little land! And far too much lawn!

Enjoy! And keep on writing. You have a great sense of humour!

Ginny

Marcia, I bought 2 strawberry candy daylilies years ago and they both do well for me too. One of my favorites. I can't remember if you have any iris?

weeper, I have been ordering from Chapman for several years.

I haven't ordered from Trails End, so I might order this year....still deciding here.

I think like Marcia said, someone on here ordered from several different places and reported back how the orders and customer service was on several places they had ordered from.

Ginny, LOL on your last post.
I never heard of Walnut Gardens.....will have to have a look see.

Sierra

Sierra, i have a few iris (not enough, of course). I do have the usual Rhein Nixe and another all purple one, and some Siberians that i got from Veseys a few years ago and one just bloomed last summer. I do need an iris bed, though, because the bearded ones keep getting lost in other foliage. Hopefully this year i'll do the bed i planned (did i say i wasn't going to make any more beds???) - around my crabapple tree. I'm hoping to get 'Shirley Pope' this year to go into my Shirley memorial garden, made in memory of a friend who died last year at this time.

I too have said no more beds. I put in an apple and a crab apple tree last year.....and plan to put bearded iris around them this year too. I don't have 'Shirley Pope' iris. Sorry to hear about your friend.

I had my iris in mixed beds for years. But last year I made a bed specifically for them. I am wondering if there will be enough interest with just iris through out the season though. My iris start blooming in June and finish end of July early Aug. So I guess I will have to wait and see.

Sierra

I like to put iris in with daylilies . They have similar foliage and the iris blend right in. If they bloom again in the fall, it makes for a nice display. And some of my daylilies bloom late. Heuchera with very colorful foliage looks really nice in front of TB's. I have SDB iris with dianthus, summer snow and annuals like allysum.(sp?)

Ginny

That's what i was thinking, Ginny, iris and daylilies. The bed would have to be a little deeper, then, than i originally thought. Heuchera would be nice too - good idea. And i have a lot of dianthus that is like a weed ('Arctic Fire', for instance). Another thought.

Sierra, Shirl died almost exactly a year ago. Betty at Floral and Hardy named a daylily 'Chocolatelady' for her and i have one for me and sent one to Shirl's husband. :)

The weather outside makes me want to hibernate and I was starting to think everyone else was.I've been wandering about other forums all the while missing the energy I get from this site.

I envy all of you being able to be thinking of the plants you will be ordering and planting this spring. Moving(house sold where to go next ??? till we build again) and NO GARDENS started yet other than "holding beds".

Marcia - What a tribute to your friend to be blessed as such. I have had "Childrens Festival at most of my places and it has done very well. Happy returns was also another keeper along with" Pardon Me"-great deep rich red with a Green throat blooms midseason.

Ginny- I can't think that far ahead to have a reserve list for the next year. Are you organizted or what?

Sierra- I've also had excellant results with Siloam

H.Hyperion-lemon-yellow scented midseason amd Joan Senoir off white pinkish flush is a vigorous mid late bloomer These have both been hardy no fail ones.

All this talk is waking me up-oh Lord love a duck I guess it is time to come out of hibernation so I can envy all of you and pickup more ideas for the next place-- maybe a garden here....oh to dream again

Take care Lois

Lois, I had a couple little birdies' tweeping in my ears to hurry up and wake up...time to order seed and get going. I haven't got that far yet...but I did pick up a couple packets of nasturtiums and a pack of poppy seeds. I am looking and looking and drooling over iris, daylilies and a few other things....but haven't moved an inch yet. lol.

You get to start over and build a new garden. What fun...think of all the new possibilities.

Sierra

Lois - It is realy everything I can do to keep from ordering "something" this year. I am not moving or at least I hope not but Dad is not well and I don't know what is up for the coming year. Many changes I suspect. I am only getting my reserves and some annuals. I doubt that I will have even tomatoes this year unless I grow them on the deck. We are hoping to buy this old house from the rest of my sibs as we are all part owners. I have been here taking care of Dad for 5 years and the flowers are mine! We would like to rebuild and design my new yard/gardens. As it is I will have to move a lot of my Peonies and Irises in order to build or I will be sending a lot of you people some very expensive plants if we don't stay here! Maybe I will rent a field or two. :) Till then, all my babies are in holding beds. :D

Ginny

P.S. Anyone know where crazygardener has been?

Sierra- I'm excited and not at the idea of starting all over again( this will be the 5th time in 20 years).Sometimes I think I'd like a small city lot with neigbours that would tell me to stay on my own side of the fence. We always have places with acres( this next one included), and I seem to think that they all need to be tweeked.

I'm afraid I've started to plan gardens not a house and I've got to stop smelling the roses and get a house plan designed so I can build it.
O well I'll be back to the greenhouses working and inspiring others to grow plants-- still
Take care Lois

Lois, we have 10 acres, but fortunately most of them are bush and i can't get into them! LOL I just have the gardens around the house, but they're getting to be enough. Too much weeding, and i'm getting too old for that!

As for the memorial garden, it was the best thing i could think of for her and i know she'd love it too. In it, so far, there's a Shirley Temple peony, the daylilies, Shirley tulips and Shirley lilies. This year i'm hoping for the iris and will also plant Shirley poppies. I tried to get a hosta called "Remember Me" last summer, but the place i ordered it from couldn't supply. It was that place - FLoral and Hardy - who named the daylily for her. A friend of mine picked up "Remember Me" somewhere in her travels but she kept forgetting to bring it over, and then the slugs got at it. Anyway, i'll post some pictures this summer.

Ginny just saw a post on the seed box thread from crazygardener. I guess the spring tug is awakeding more of us Lois

Hi girls/guys!

I don't know people well here but........

There was mention above about crazy gardener.

The crazy gardener I think people referred to was crazy_gardener ( Sharon) not crazy_gardner (Theresa)

Sharon has gotten sucked into the black hole of Facebook. :)

I was thinking about Sharon when I asked. So you say she is in the blackhole. Oh no! That is a dangerous place.......
I hope she hasn't abandoned us completely. She is such an inspiration. Sharon.....phone home!

Ginny

Hi, I have had Wild Horses for 4 summers and this is it's 4th winter. It bloomed very well for me last summer. I wonder what it would have been like had we actually had some heat.

I am kind of nervous about what spring brings me this year. We had no snow cover until a couple days before X-mas and some very wicked temperatures. Lack of snow is something I am not used too.

Thanks for the Wild Horses info! When I have the money to spend on a plant that might not make it, I'll probably try it, just because I love it's form so much. I might have good luck, like you.

Yep, I'm concerned about that as well. I think some of my borderline zone plants might have kicked it.

I'm also worried about the TON of rain we had last fall. I had planted a bunch of lily bulbs and iris last fall, and until I see them up this year, I'm going to be worrying that they rotted out before it froze. *sigh* Stupid weather.