Wow, I never really thought about it, but then I have lots of room to plant. I am anxious to see some replies.

Sharon

I think this depends upon the form to some extent. A large UF or spider is naturally going to have a much lower bud count than a miniature, for example. I gave away MALACHITE PRISM last year because, although it had a very distinctive face, it consistently had a very low bud count averaging about 8. The fact that it was a small clump did not make up for the abominable bud count. I love KING'S GOLDEN TREASURE which is a huge distinctive UF with a bud count of about 12-14, but each bloom is breathtaking and in a clump, it blooms over a long time.

The lowest bud count I will tolerate is 8.

Eight is my magic number too. But I will give a cultivar a minimum of 2 and usually 3 years to see what it will do. And it has to be an impressive (beautiful) specimen for that.

What a timely question! I have had this Wayside King Royal for about 4 years. I absolutely love the flower, but this year, the clump only put up one scape and there were only 5-6 buds on it.

I have limited sunny area and really don't want to send it to the DL graveyard, but it just hasn't performed!

Click on pic to enlarge....

{{gwi:896296}}

Linda

Weird year in Central FL, or at least in my area. Relatively cold winter, but goodly amount of rain. Bloom season was a month late and many previously well-budded DL had no branching and low bud count. I'm not going to count, but I'm guessing that more than 60% of my cultivars only bloomed on the top V--no branches. Usually my minimum is 10 and I'm working to get it to 15, but tosses this year will be based on blooms in foliage, failure to open blooms, boring colors and the like. Bud count is so far off, I wonder why I have some of them. Golden Child (Nicole Harry) had 7 bud count (probably my favorite pretty face) and Sherry Candy (Stamile) had 7 buds also. They get a pass for one more year. But then, of course, there are the gangbusters. My garden is small and plants are going to have to provide good bang for the buck, or they are out of here.

I agree with 8 and waiting 3 years to see what it can do.

I don't judge budcount until it is at least a 6 fan clump. At that time all must have at least a 10 budcount, most must have at least a 15 budcount and half must have at least a 20 budcount.

When I buy a daylily the goal is at least a 20 budcount in my garden. I will accept lower for large blooms and/or SPUFs.

Edward

Hey Chris, Are your oldies mature clumps? And are the new intro's under 10 fans? I've noticed this with my seedlings - the first year they bloom it is rare for any of mine to have a bud count higher than 8. But I have seedlings now that are 4 years old, and some have gone from a bud count of 8 or less ... to over 20.

Something else I've noticed - the more sun, the higher the bud count, the more reluctant they are to set pods and the uglier the flower by days end. Most of my daylilies are grown in filtered shade and they have a lower bud count than the ones I grow in full sun. But I love being able to enjoy the garden in the evening after dinner. The daylilies I grow in full sun look plumb tuckered out by 6 pm...while the DL's grown in shady areas are still pretty in the later part of the day and are much more fertile. So...I will tolerate a low bud count of 8, if the bloom stays fresh all day and it isn't prone to rust.

Kathy (caught between a rock and a hard place)

Thanks, Edward. I remembered the priority you place on bud count, so I was glad to hear your response.

Kathy, the oldies I'm referring to haven't been in the garden any longer than the newer intros. Specifically, I'm comparing daylilies planted in the same shade-filtered area. The older daylilies have increased much faster and have a much higher bud count than those introduced in the last 8 years or so. I know this is very unscientific, but it is noticeable just because of the difference in the clumps.

I've also noticed a difference in the bud count by hybridizer, which makes sense if some hybridizers have a goal that includes bud count. In my yard, the Carpenters have very low bud count which I tolerate because I love the flowers. I have a few Shooter intros that also underperform, and I'll be getting rid of those.

I was going to say 10 as a minimum in general, but if it has more than one scape per fan or reblooms I think 7 or 8 is high enough. I try to note when a daylily starts blooming and when it finishes. If it's bloomed out in under 3 weeks it's history, but I may have to make an exception this year since everything is blooming fast.
Val

I found an excellent scape in the garden today. It is on Gudrid (Mahieu). It has about 35 buds and the first of them should open tomorrow. There are three main branches with those branching near the end. Brian Mahieu has many fine daylilies with high budcounts.

Edward

Yes, I noticed that about Mahieu too, Edward. Good to hear they are performing according to stats. He uses alot of species, particulary citrina to achieve not only the bud counts, but the height as well as extended blooms. I've been wanting to try a few of his.

I'm not even to the stage of discarding according to bud count yet as I'm extremely anal about foliage 1st & foremost. We have to stare at it from leaf out in spring til 1st frost in fall, & dl season is only a fraction of that. Alot of them are new as I keep rotating in with the new & out with crappy wimpy foliage! Amazing how many cultivars are far from impressive! That's the 1st stage for me, even if I hadn't seen it bloom, it's ugly in my mind if it's got spindly wimpy foliage! Once I get on my feet in that arena, I hope to have bud counts of at least 10. Who knows, once I get to that level, I may become much more anal there too, LOL!