[Image: daylily]News You Can Use Distributed 04/14/08
The 2008 All-American Daylily winner is Sweet Summer Valentine, chosen by the All-American Daylily Selection Council. The plant has light, buff-pink flowers with a vivid burgundy maroon eyezone and a matching edge.
Sweet Summer Valentine is a semi-evergreen and an exhibition-type daylily, according to LSU AgCenter horticulturist Dr. Allen Owings.
Daylilies are relative newcomers to the All-American Selections of bedding plants, flowers and vegetables, whose most well-known members are the All-American roses.
Owings explains that for the last several years the All-American Daylily Selection Council (AADSC) has been evaluating more than 50 performance characteristics of daylily varieties across the nation at a number of sites.
The 2007 winner was Lavender Vista. This variety has clear lavender blooms that reach 5 to 6 inches across with evergreen foliage. Bloom period for Lavender Vista is about 80 to 90 days.
2006 AADSC winners were Buttered Popcorn and Persian Market. Other previous winners include Miss Mary Mary, Red Volunteer, Chorus Line, Lady Lucille, Plum Perfect, Frankly Scarlet, Bitsy, Black-eyed Stella, Judith, Leebea Orange Crush, Lullaby Baby and Starstruck.
The most popular daylilies are King Kahuna, Lavender Blue Baby, Christine Tuminello LeGrande, Siloam Jean Hogan and Sabine Baur, according to the region 13 (Louisiana and Arkansas) members of the American Hemerocallis Society.
More than 48,000 varieties of daylilies are registered. Many other daylily varieties are recommended for Louisiana, and most garden centers have a nice selection of daylilies in April and May each year.
Information on the daylily program is available at www.daylilyresearch.org. Much of the effort with this program is coordinated by personnel at Oakes Daylilies in Tennessee (www.oakesdaylilies.com).
For related gardening and landscape information, click on the Lawn and Garden link at the LSU AgCenter Web site, www.lsuagcenter.com. Also, contact the county agent in your local parish LSU AgCenter office.
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On the Internet: LSU AgCenter: www.lsuagcenter.com
Contact: Allen D. Owings (985) 543-4125 or aowings@agcenter.lsu.edu
Editor: Mark Claesgens (225) 578-2939 or mclaesgens@agcenter.lsu.edu