With experience, the buyer can know how to buy plants. I bought 3 new plants from Floyd Cove...Born To Run, Some Sweet Day, Precious Candy, and Princess Of Wales as a bonus. They are always HUGE from the Stamiles. Huge plants multiply almost every time. I now have 6 fans of BTR with probably 3 scapes coming, 2 fans of SSD with 2 scapes up, 2 fans of POW with 2 scapes up, and 3 fans with a scape of PC. I expect much more increase by fall.

My Princess Diana is now 3 fans with a scape. William Shakespeare is 3 fans with 2 scapes. All but BTR were either single fans or multiples singles. BTR was a quad fan. PC and PD were one single each.

I got Wonder Of It All from the Mannings and it was a huge single fan which is now 5 fans. I got it last week.

Generally speaking, with no knowledge to go by, it is better to buy doubles. With experience you have a better chance to bge lucky.

I too recieved huge fans from the Stamiles - one other key is to give them ROOM TO GROW -- all of these are potted in big pots.. and I am seeing additional growth already.
shelly

I agree with Simplton. Usually when you know the grower is going to send humongous SF, you can bet it will split into multiple fans. However, on the LA and Ebay, you will normally not get those kinds of fans. Phil Reilly (Oldfool) sometimes sells SFs on there and you can bet it will be a fan that will split. Stamiles are another one. But those individuals that are selling a SF off of their plants they just received you cannot ensure you will get what you paid for. It is a process of experience when buying.

I usually won't buy single fans.

Thank you for this most informative thread! It's tidbits like this that help us newbies know the ropes!

One more observation on the single fan issue -

Some sellers list a single fan for sale, but send more than one fan PLUS a bonus. Other sellers list a single fan and that is exactly what you get - 1 and only 1 - and no bonus. I have found quite a disparity among sellers. How do you know what to expect before you buy? Check their feedback - "generous seller" or "loved the bonus" are desirable. Check the description - "lined out last fall" or "single fan but will include any increase" at least indicate the possibility of more than one. Also, it pays to watch for recommended sellers on this forum...afterall, they are recommended for a reason.
Kathy

Just think about this ---- instead of buying a single fan of a new intro, wait a couple of years and buy it for a fraction of that intro cost. If it takes two years to bloom from that original single fan (and I realize that isn't always the case) you could have a blooming double fan at a great savings. It took me years to learn that simple lesson!

Also, by waiting, you can find out if the cultivar stands the test of time in your zone.

I can't even imagine how many times I have not bid on a item because there was oly one fan offered. I have purchased 5 single fans. TET LAVENDER BLUE BABY, BELLA SERA, TET TRAHLYTA 1 each of 2 different conversions, and HURRICANE SWIRLS which was back in the mail in less than a hour because the "BLOOMING SIZE" single fan was a tiny little increase that would have taken 3 years to bloom here.

I have no problem buying single fans of something that I want, but I have found that down here I get a lot of growth and increase. If I were up north, Id probably not buy singles.

I bought three single fans on the Lily Auction last spring. They were all small. Two did not increase during the year, and I lost them over the winter. One increased to two fans and survived. In the future I won't buy single fans on the Lily Auction.

But I would buy singles from some hybridizers. Art Gallery Gardens has started offering single fans only on its new intros. But I ordered ASIAN FAIRY BLUEBIRD anyway this spring because I really wanted to hybridize with it. It arrived last week as a gigantic single fan with two more smaller fans starting to grow off the sides of the crown. I am very pleased with that "single fan" purchase. It will quickly become three fans.

Shive

I think the statement "Never say never" will rule when it comes to me. This is the first year I have purposely bought a few single fans and I'll have an opinion on them later in the year regarding increase in my garden. My hope is that it has more to do with the cultivar and the growing conditions than whether it is a single fan or a double fan. What I mean is that I bought a double fan of Great White last year and it is still a double fan (Well, it has this tiny little set of leaves next to the main fans that may be a real fan by the end of the year). I've heard since then that Great White is a slow increaser. I agree. At the same time and from the same grower I bought double fans of a couple others and all of them have increased anywhere from one to three additional fans. I also got a couple of single fan bonus plants from various last year. Some are still single, but some have doubled or tripled. All were treated the same way. I'm just too impatient (and maybe too cheap!) to wait for some of the ones I want to be available in double fans.

Larry

I purchase single fans recluctantly, but I've never lost one. I usually pot them up (or put them in box if there is room). Recovery time and growth depends largely on the amount of roots on the fan. Big roots means quick recovery and robust reactions. Some cultivars make small fans, but their roots can still be substantial.

To add my own experience here, I have purchased auctions of single fans, and received little more than a seedling- occassionally you see this type of thing taped to the end of a pen in the bank so no one steals their pens.
I am slowly, but surely learning the lesson of:

-Shop at your local DL farm.
-Shop at reputable and recommended dot-coms.
-Shop the hybridizers' websites.
-Take the recommendations of LA/eBay sellers as good advice.
-Shopping in or near your zone is also a good thing.
-Expect that more often than not, 'you get what you pay for.'
-Shopping at 'good starter retailers' (like GHW) is not necessarily a bad thing, but understand that you will receive smaller plants, but they are good, and not 'paper shreds.'

If it's a rare Munson you bet your sweet bippie that I'll buy a SF! Better to have a SF that has the potential for increase than to not have a rare plant at all. They don't come by that often!

I only purchased one single fan from the Lily Auction last year and I realize now I should have returned it immediately. It was very puny and the seller didn't send a bonus plant (which is always appreciated). That purchase is still a single, tiny fan.

I did purchase a few singles this year, but not from the same seller. I've decided not to send any more business that way.

Wow, another IFFY issue here on the forum! I do not mind buying a single fan and guess I have been lucky over the years with them. Mine have always done well and increased normally, maybe it could be a zone issue? I do have one fan KARLA KITAMURA I bought as a single fan four years ago, it is STILL a single fan? Hmmmmm.
Nancy

I quit buying on the Auction because of small fan size. On the other hand, last year I purchased a single fan for $55 from a local hybridizer's sale. They gave me two very small fans but assured me the plant grew well. This year its still two fans, bigger and hopeful ...... Another hybridizer gifted me with a pencil fan from a 2006 intro that is now two good sized healthy fans. It will bloom. I was also gifted with a tiny fan of one plant I really wanted and its growing nicely. I would not consider keeping tiny fans unless I receive them immedately after digging so that I have the best change of getting good results. Not everyone is so lucky!

I ordered Amber nichole from marietta gardens the 2 fans were small to me but I dont know if that is the norm with that one. I am used to getting alot bigger ones, the other ones from them were bigger, so thats why I thought it was just that one that is supposed to be small. My exp. from last year was the small ones [swirling waters]did not do nothing last year so maybe something this year it has not produced that many fans yet either. But mine from art gallery are monsters this year about 14 fans already from just 2 last year.

Jill

Some daylily cultivars are slow increasers and for some it is normal to have smaller sized fans. I rarely purchase single fans as in my northern zone 4 climate it seems to take them a long time to start increasing but we have a shorter growing season than more southern states and mother nature does her best. I have recieved a couple of very large single fans in the past that were on the verge of splitting so they were a plus. I totally agree with Roberta about waiting to purchase newer cultivars plus by the time I can afford them I can find out if they are hardy here instead of wasting time, garden space and most of all money.

Simplton, when I ordered from the Stamiles they were out of Precious Candy. Would you email me to discuss a trade or something. I got several new intro's from them also. They were huge and I, like Shelly, potted them up in huge pots. They have recovered now and settled in and are growing like gangbusters. Some are splitting already and some have bloomstalks. I will definitly be ordering from them again next year. They are the healthiest plants I have ever seen. I was speechless when I opened my box.

Dot

As a buyer, I would never buy a single fan of anything. There is no guarantee it would be a large single fan and I just wouldn't take a chance. I also wouldn't buy a group of tiny fans that I knew were tissue cultured for the very same reason ---- it might take years before I would see a bloom.

As a seller, I always sell double (2) fans of anything and if I have lots of that cultivar, the customer will get more than two fans. If I have a brand new seedling, I simply won't sell divisions of it until I can sell 2 fans to a customer. Yes, here in the north, that means I might be nurturing a seedling for four years before I can sell any of the increase. But, it is still special and the customer won't be disappointed.

Dot, I ordered very early and felt fortunate to get Precious Candy, and it was only one fan. It has split into 3 and has a scape, but I doubt I will be dividing it before spring. Maybe we should wait and see, because if it puts out a baby I can probably cut it off.

Roberta, if I were in your zone I am sure I would feel the same way you do. Nothing worse than a poor growing plant.

Dot, I will get an email to you soon. One thing about my walls, they are almost as addictive as daylilies. If you see them you will want them. I have come close to perfected the wall sculpting and finishing since I have now done 6 rooms. I am using a very thick coarse texture with lots of high spots, and in one room I "scratched" with the corner of the tool after I applied the mud. After a gray basecoat and one light gray glaze, I then went back with a tiny brush and randomly painted in the scratches with copper, gold, and dark gray. So far, everyone has flipped over that wall the most.

Bloom season has started early. Along with the Florida arrivals that put up scapes immediately, some of my regulars have started. I will get back on the computer this afternoon.

I see lots of things on the Lily Auction that I would have bid on were it not for the fact that they were single fans. For me, I pass unless I can get at least a double.

I'm new to daylilies and appreciate the time everyone who is more experienced took to discuss this - I've learned a lot. Thank you.

Suzanne

I have sold a few single fans on the auctions, mosting ones like when I go to Stamiles and get a pot of something. When I take it out of the pot and in the ground, I usually divide it up, or pot a double fan so I can set pods on it in the shade. Occassionally I have enough that I can offer a single fan on the auction. When I do I like to include a picture of the actual fan so anyone who wants to buy it can see exactly what they are getting. I have no problem buying single fans like I said earlier, but I do think I have an advantage living in Florida.

I still have been avoiding buying any single fans. I did however earlier this spring receive single fans as a bonus from Marietta Gardens and those single fans all bloomed for me already.