Palace Garden Beauty is one of Carpenter's best ever. Definitely get that one. It remains one of my favorite blue-eyed daylilies, despite all the newer ones I've acquired. Orchid Elegance is pretty, but has not performed all that well for me.

Other Carpenters I heartily recommend are Transcendent Love and Freedom's Triumph. Both are terrific performers.

Debra

ELOQUENTLY EDGED has been hardy here, and a top performer. Long bloom time, and quite spectacular.

I adore Palace Garden Beauty as well as Lavender Cascades - which may be a little hard to find. I live an hour from The Lily Farm and go every year - it is a sight to behold!! Moments Rich in Blessings is another favorite. His seedlings are as good as many named varieties.

What a great forum. Everyone is being greatly helpful. Alemda, I HOPE to try to make a trip there during their open house time this year. Ed. I appreciate the tip on the dorm's. Good advice.

Mark Carpenter, new owner of the Lily Farm, will be at Lone Star Daylily Society meeting in Alvin, Texas in March. Bringing lots of plants to auction off after the presentation. We meet the third Sunday of each month. Bookmark our site below for complete information. Everyone's welcome. Ed

Here is a link that might be useful: Lone Star Daylily Society

Hey there--I'm a zone 7a/6b (USDA isn't too decisive on it) but I grow a number of the Carpenter dls. Palace Garden Beauty does incredibly well with lots of blooms in June & July despite our muggy heat, normally with rebloom in Aug/Sept. Also a "go to" pod parent (if you're breeding). Increase from 2 fans to about 16-20 fans in 3 years. Absolutely color fast for me. If I could only have one flower in this color class, this is the one. How Beautiful Heaven Must Be has been slow to increase, but reliably blooms picture perfect blooms. Haven't seen rebloom on it, but beautiful enough to always have a home here even though blooms look a bit bedraggled by 7PM. Increase from 4 fans to 7/8 fans over 3 years. Reluctant pod parent for me, but very fertile pollen. Orchid elegance has also been a slow increaser but elegant, elegant, elegant blooms. 3 fans to 5 fans over 3 years. Both pod and pollen fertile with good color fastness. Eloquently Edged joined the garden last summer and didn't bloom (expected) but did double from 2 fans to 4 fans and I'm expecting it to bloom this year.

An oldie, but truly great performer: Flamboyant Eyes is one of my "no worries" plants. Reliable bloom, good increase, very fertile with lots of pods/seeds and just all round lovely plant with blooms presented high above the foliage. Evelyn Koeris is ravishingly beautiful, but a shy increaser and very difficult pod parent for me. Definitely worth a try though--I like its flower form better than that of HBHMB. Georgia Bright Eyes is another great performer although rather short. The blooms scream for attention and it's a reliable parent both ways. Texas Kaleidoscope has been a bit of a disappointment and I'm not sure if it's because of my growing conditions (heavy clay, hot, dry summers, etc) but a true eye popper. Along with Orchid Elegance, I have just about everything Carpenter has bred out of Lavender Blue Baby and its Tet conversion and they uniformly do well in this zone.

Hope that helps.
-eric

Wow, Eric, THAT's exactly what I needed. I'm encouraged to get my order together now. I have Evelyn Kloeris and glad to know that she doesn't increase for you either. I do like the bloom. Yes, I do hybridize and your info is greatly appreciated.
Weldon

This year I am buying quite a few of the Carpenter daylilies. I've been spending time viewing Mark's website selecting and rethinking and then selecting to finally come up with the ones I want to try out here. I got the order down to 8. LOL. I already have WORTH IT ALL and TILL THE END OF TIME. I'm not limiting myself to just dormants but want to try out more of their SEV's and EV's. I'll have to put MAUI SUNRISE AND GREEN EYED ILLUSION on my wish list for next time. So many great daylilies to choose from. I did try to get PALACE GARDEN BEAUTY but sold out as many others were too. But I'm still happy with what I've choosen and already am thinking of which daylilies I have already I can use their pollen on (that is, if they bloom here this coming summer). I'm sure some of my Hanson daylilies I got last year will make great matches!

Still waiting for Hanson site to update and then I'm done for the season. Or at least I think so ;-).

Julia

I was excited to read about the carpenter daylilies. I bought a 1000 variety collection last year and have moved 600 and did not see all of them bloom since it was over an hour away and it was august when we started moving them. Palace garden beauty and worth it all are in this collection and if they survive their first winter after the move I will get to see them bloom. Can't wait for spring! thanks for all the interesting and helpful info

Flowergirl929

You ordered a collection of 1000 varieties? Please explain!

No, what happened was I heard about a man that was selling his late wife's daylilies for $10.00 for a double fan. Oh please drive faster I said to my husband. The first year I bought 25 different ones but had told myself before I got there that I would limit myself to 20. They were like nothing I had ever seen. The next year (2010) I bought 20 more but had a very difficult time deciding. The man told me that he could not care for them very well and that he would sell me the entire collection. Ok, I liked that idea. So we spent many hours digging and moving them and so far we have moved over 600. This spring we will get the rest. sorry if this story was too long!

Okay, That makes sense now. Hope you get the rest moved and hope you have lots of nice cultivars including the Carpenter ones. Sounds like allot of work. Your husband must be a sweetie!

I have several Carpenter daylilies, most older. Early Fragrance (oddly enough, not fragrant here) is one I bought because its bright color is noticeable from a distance. I bought it from a farm in NC in May last year, and it had several dozen blooms even after having been transplanted. A favorite, very sweet daylily, is Scottish Cream Treat; it multiplied quite a lot in 2 years, not quite sure how much, because I don't remember how many fans I started with. My favorite for actual looks, is Texas Moon Magic; it is absolutely gorgeous! It doesn't, unfortunately, multiply very well so far, but I've only had it for 2 1/2 years. I have just ordered How Beautiful Heaven Must Be, Humbled Before You, Delightful Little Treasure, and Morning Breaks Eternal.
I met Mark Carpenter at the AHS Region 10 mid-winter symposium in Nashville, and he's a really great guy.

Every time we went to dig more lilies it was like Christmas! The daylily owner saved all of his late wife's information and it seemed that she liked to order any daylilies that were featured on the front of the hybridizers new catalogs. Each year she ordered many of the new introductions. It doesn't seem like work to me but most people think it would be. My husband is very encouraging and that is lucky for me. If you ever get near IL you should come and see them.

I will add to the positive votes for Palace Garden Beauty. It bloomed really well for me this year, although it took a couple of years to get strted, I am very happy with it. From my garden:
{{gwi:656741}}
kay

Well I removed Garden Palace Beauty because it was a rust bucket down here. Loved it, but it had to go. Now I have Luddy's Cerulean Warbler that I absolutely love. Very little rust and it can be controlled.

I also have successfully grown HBHMB and Something to Remember. They have performed beautifully! Something is a dip and it has huge, 7.5" blooms that are absolutely flat. I will get a couple more next month. Mark is the guest speaker at the Central DL Society and a good friend is hosting him in his home. That friend invited me to have dinner with Mark. My husband and I will, because that friend is treasured!

I really appreciate the beautiful pictures of palace garden beauty. Will eagerly await the blooms to start in my garden. Can't wait

How great everyone has been to share info on the Carpenters!
I am disappointed that Palace Garden Beauty is sold out. BUT your given me some great alternatives. Thanks

weldontx: it IS a shame that PGB is sold out, it's such a wonderful variety. But I'd suggest you check with Gold Coast daylilies (Stan & Bonnie Holley). They send wonderful plants and are marvelous people. PGB is $15 from them and you can pretty much plan on receiving the biggest clump you've ever seen. I've NEVER been dissatisfied with their plants.

Than having been said, I'd suggest an oddball as an alternative (or, more daylily-realistically "as an addition"): Hanson's Soul on Ice. I bought it several years ago based on Hanson's online picture and planted it alongside my clump of PGB. It's a very similar flower with slightly richer color and a bit heavier substance than PGB although it clumps more slowly than PGB does.

ozzysboy, Thanks for the tips on Gold Coast and about Hanson's Soul on Ice. I will check these out. I am looking for fast increasers and 20+ buds. I play with hybridizing and need some varieties with those characteristics.

I'm glad to see so many folks posting comments about PALACE GARDEN BEAUTY. It will stay on my list. I've stopped checking The Lily Farm website. Too many to be tempted.

BUT, does anyone grow LAVENDER BLUE BABY? DIP or TET version?

Julia

juliany: i grow both the dip and tet versions of LBB and both do well here in 6b/7a. i bought the dip LBB from Goldcoast and received a giant clump which I promptly divided into two nice clumps. one clump is grown in my clay and the other is grown in a large planter with some roses. the clump in clay went from 4 fans to 10 fans in 3 years and generally reblooms once each summer. The clump in the planter has been dug up and divided (extras to my folks' house) a couple of times to keep it at about 8 fans. It usually throws up 2 reblooms. Both clumps set seeds easily with the clay-clump a bit easier (possibly from the 2/3 hours of shade it gets at noontime. Pollen is also very fertile.

i bought the tet version from a seller on the LA (can't recall her real name, but i believe her moniker was "mother"--very nice single fan was sent which settled into my clay with no setback) tet LBB is still growing in clay and has slowly become 2 fans over 2 years. relaible bloom but i haven't seen rebloom on it. it's fertile both ways (which surprised me) and produces big fat seeds.

it's interesting to see the subtle differences between the dip & tet when they're grown next to each other. what i'd be interested in seeing is LBB and all of its progeny dip and tet grown as a display garden.

Thanks Ozzyboy for the info.
I have 2 seed crosses that I started a couple of weeks ago that LBB is the Pod parent. LBB X Fancy Face 12 seeds and LBB x RF Kennedy 14 seeds. All seeds germinated within a week and all are already several inches high. Fantastic germination rate when comparing to other seeds I've purchased and started at the same time.
Thinking I might get both types of LBB and start using it for hybridizing here.
BTW, I've purchased from the Holley's before and yes, they do send quality plants.

Julia

Certainly welcome Julia! eh, get 'em both--isn't that the daylily grower way? :-D I think the number of registered varieties claiming bloodlines from either the dip or tet version of LBB speaks highly of using either one for breeding purposes. Besides, we're in the middle of winter and you deserve to spoil yourself a little (at least, that's my own rationale--hope you can get some mileage out of it).

To be honest, I don't think I've ever really evaluated germination rates on seeds from LBB versus seeds from other varieties, but I do know I have a whole mess of seedlings from both versions. Maybe I ought to pay better attention this year as a side project. hmmm.

-eric

This has turned into a great discussion folks. I never imagined the interest that it would stir up. Probably should post this in the exchange forum, but seems to be very little traffic there.....does any one have Palace Garden Beauty OR
Lavender Blue Baby Dip or Tet that they would trade or sell?
Carpenters are out. E-msil me.

I have both but can't remember how much of each there is. Would be happy to sell or trade.

flowergirl, please e-mail me. I have some DL's that I could trade and might be interested in others that you might have that are 2006 or later.
Weldon

Weldon, is there some reason you're not considering Patsy Carpenter? She's simply voluptuous. Others not mentioned that do particularly well in our part of the world are Rosalee Bright and Free, a large round pink, and Imperial Elegance, a bold-eyed lavender whopper (I like 'em big).

Alameda is right about Carpenter seedlings. If you possibly can, make the trip to the Lily Farm this summer and pick out some for yourself.

Random, I will definitely look these up. I'm trying to stay under $50. and take advantage of their first time buyer offer. Where in DFW are you?

I really like PALACE GARDEN BEAUTY (and several older cultivars of Carpenter's). It has done well for me, and we are north of Houston. I purchased HBHMB when is was a lot pricier, and it bloomed a few times the first year and then promptly died.

I went on a field trip to Jack Carpenter's a couple of years ago and purchased ROSALIE BRIGHT AND FREE and won another one on the bus trip back home. To my chagrin, the one that I won was full of rust.

I also have TEXAS BLUE EYES, and it hasn't done very much for me. Neither have the two I purchased. I am hesitant to buy any more.

At their daylily farm, those available for sale to us were growing lined out under seven or eight "quonset-like" shade covers. Here in Texas, it gets so hot in the summer, as you know, that I think that added protection helps to create sensational blooms that may not occur when the daylilys are planted outdoors in full sun.

We did use Jack's soil formula (published in our regional daylily magazine) for some of our daylily beds, and had spectacular results compared to those we had installed previously.

Nancy

Julia, I have LBB tet conversion and am sorely disappoinded with her growth habits here. Stingy w/ blooms and slow to increase for me.

Weldontx. I love PGB & HBHMB. PGB is a good pollen parent for me but HBHMB has never set a pod. I have set pods on EK though. Still waiting for the babies to show their faces! Both do well for me here in N. Al. . Good increaser and perfect flower form. What a honey!

I am also a zone 7 they say but 6b or 7a is more like it. I'm thinking, we won't have much rust problems this year since it has been so cold and we've had so much ice and snow. I can accept that!! Ellie

Ellie, I also have Evelyn Kloeris and like her very much.
I got a few pollen crosses this last summer, but it was so hot so early that none of my DL's performed as I had hoped.
Since Carpenter is out or PGB, I have found another possible source. However if any others of you have her and are open to a trade (sale?) e-mail me. Would also like to fine Patsy Carpenter and/or Imperial Elegance, Rosalee Bright and Free -- Carpenter is out of these also.

Try Sunsett Meadow Daylily Farm. They have it listed for $9.00. You will probably have to wait for spring delivery. They are good people.

Nancy

Ellie: Was just rereading this thread and saw your post. Surprised to hear that Tet LBB was a disappointment in its growth and lack of blooms. How long have you had it?

Julia

Najoba,do you have a link to the soil formula that made your daylilies grow so well? I'm curious now! :)

PATSY CARPENTER is very pretty, but pretty rusty. I would recommend having good rust spraying program in place before getting it if you are zones 7 and higher. I grow LAVENDER BLUE BABY, dip and tet version. I would only recommend the tet version for hybridizers. If you want garden show, get one of its kids.
Ed

Ed: How does Tet LBB grow for you? Why do you suggest not using LBB (non Tet version) for hybridizing?

Julia

Julia,
LBB diploid is a nice plant, and even though a dormant, grows well here. Puts on a decent show in the garden and I also use it for hybridizing.
LBB tetraploid is a puny tet, slow growing and low bud count. I would not choose it for a garden plant, but it has very powerful pollen and is a proven parent.
I hope this explains my position on the two plants.
Ed

Thanks Ed. Seems like TET LBB is a slow grower.

crackingtheconcrete: Did you get an answer to your question about the soil? I have it from Mark if your interested.

Julia

Hi, Julia :) I would LOVE the soil formula...I don't have it yet (was hoping I didn't have to have a secret daylily password that only special growers knew to get it..knock 3 times on a plant pot and whisper "Superscapes?" ) JK.

LOL, that is too funny.I needed a good laugh today.
Mark Carpenter is one special person and always does what he can to help his customers and share his knowledge.Since you plant in pots I'm not sure this will work for you but here goes:

To our sandy soil we add-

3 to 6 inches of pinebark(the 6 inches is better than the three) regrind or potting mix
To the above we add (per 250 sq. ft. surface area)
50 lbs. of cottonseed meal
50 lbs. of alfalfa pellets or meal
25 lbs. of ground corn or cornmeal

To all of the above we add Nutricote 9 month 13-13-13 time release fertilizer or a Nutricote of approximate 17-6-10 blend at the medium dosage as indicated on the label on sacks. This is about one 50 lb sack per 250 sq. ft.

VERY, VERY, IMPORTANT(HAVE THE Ph OF THE MULCH CHECKED TO DETERMINE THE Ph and in turn how much lime may be needed -
Lime may need to be added to bring the ph of the regrind to about a 6.5 level. Testing of your soil/pine bark regrind is necessary first for this step -to find where its pH is presently. Our re-grind mulch of pinebark is generall a pH of about 4 which is far too low and causes a yellowing of the seedlings and plants. This pH must be corrected in order for the plant to turn green and start growing.

All of the above is roto tilled as deep as possible or around 6 inches deep which picks up some of the sandy loam and incorporates with the added things. Plants are set into the soil mix after two or three weeks. There is some heat oxidation process in the mix with the alfalfa pellets and generally we wait two or three weeks before planting into the medium and after it has been tilled two or three times with a week or so between tillings. You can check the soil temperature before planting.
Water abundantly in the spring after the plants have become well established, but be sure soil is well drained and does not become water-logged.

Julia

Julia, Thanks for the soil formula!! I use alfalfa pellets and corn gluten meal on my roses and they love it! I'm glad you recommend the soil ph check. Too often we don't want to do the things that will help us the most.

Thanks. In my containers I use a mix already incorporating pine bark fines and I use this organic "yum yum" mix LOL that has alfalfa.so I'm hoping I'm covered in that area. I know it's supposed to take a year for the acidity levels to be a bit more balanced.

I may try to add corn meal proportionately to some containers just to see what would happen (I'm always curious)
This may be a totally stupid question, but are we talking I can walk into a grocery store and get corn meal, or is this something different one would find at an agricultural store?

weldontx: the formula and mulch advice is from Mark Carpenter which they use at The Lily Farm.

Here is some info on cornmeal:
Cornmeal vs. Horticultural Cornmeal vs. Corn Gluten
Any type of cornmeal can be used as a fungicide.

* Food grade cornmeal, found in grocery stores, will work just fine, but it is more expensive and comes in smaller quantities than horticultural cornmeal.

* Horticultural cornmeal has not been stored under the stricter guidelines required for food grade cornmeal. Hort cornmeal is general used for livestock feed. It too will work just fine as a fungicide and it comes in bulk.

***Corn Gluten should not be used as a fungicide. Corn Gluten is cornmeal that has been processed to have a higher protein content. Iowa State researchers discovered that cornmeal gluten can inhibit seed germination. It is now used as a pre-emergent weed killer. That�s a great tip, but don�t confuse corn gluten with the fungicidal properties of corn meal.
A final bonus, cornmeal also appears to be a source of nutrients for the soil.

We use alfalfa pellets here too as a top dressing in the springtime and let rain break it down. It doesn't look too pretty when first wetted down but for me, it works okay. No other fertilizers here for us.
I use an alfalfa tea for new plantings, ie seedlings or new daylilies to the garden.
Here is a link for the formula of alfalfa tea if anyone is interested. It not only works for roses but other plants too. Just don't burn the roots of your plants.

Julia

Here is a link that might be useful: Alfalfa Tea

Great points, Julia. I too sprinkle my alfalfa pellets on the ground. Be careful tho if you have rabbits... they won't share!! and the plants will go wanting. Glad you posted about alfalfa tea. Great stinky stuff!!
Weldon

I've been sick for several months, so haven't been able to answer your questions about Jack's formula. I do want to mention that I am a firm believer in Nutri-Cote fertilizer. It is a coated, slow-release formula. It is quite pricey compared to other fertilizers, but well worth the extra expense.

Additional info on the formula:

JACK CARPENTER'S SOIL FORMULA

This is for a 5' by 50' bed:

three inches of twice ground pine bark
50# alfalfa
50# cottonseed meal
25# corn meal
50# Nutricote (360 day time release fertilizer)

You can buy the cottonseed meal and corn meal at the feed stores. Our local supplier called it "corn chops." Heh heh, we did have an occasional cotton or corn plant sprout up. It wasn't a problem, though.

I'm still trying to get well from what I believe is an adverse reaction to the antibiotic LEVAQUIN. I sure hope it is soon.

Nancy

My first daylily order arrived and its from the Lily Farm :-).
What a fantastic shipment of plants. Huge root systems, CLEAN as a whistle, very well packaged and extra to boot. Now the best part, they sent me a double fan of MAUI SUNRISE. A new hottie for my garden YIPPEE. Several of the daylilies have scapes but alas, I will snip them off when planted. Right now they are soaking till I can dig in the garden. Hopefully over the weekend I can get them all in the ground if the rain holds off.

Julia

I just looked up Maui Sunrise....wow it's beautiful!

sunnyjay: I know and I'm definitely excited to see what it will look like here when it blooms and its a Dormant to boot :-).

Julia

Well, Kay's picture of Palace Garden Beauty got me. Just placed my order!