1) Belle Cook - It has a challenge this year for best looking pink in the garden from Fairest of Them and Time Drifter but as a truly northern daylily it gets the nod. Belle of Ashwood and Taos round up the top 5 pinks.

2) Joan Derifield - It has not bloomed in my garden yet but I have seen it in a few local gardens and it is the full package when it comes to a northern daylily and it has a huge red bloom.

3 & 4) Two Unusual forms that I would not be without are Heavenly Angel Ice and North Wind Dancer. I haven't gotten a picture of Heavenly Angel Ice yet but I will bbe posting some later in the season.

5) I am a new hybridizer and I think that no hybridizing garden is complete without J T Davis.

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I'm not sure what information you were trying to get with this topic. If I had to move and take only 5 daylilies, they wouldn't necessarily be my best performers or my prettiest. I would take those that could not easily be replaced - either because they're expensive or very rare. Many of my best performers could be replaced easily and cheaply. These could not.

LAST SNOWFLAKE, a hard to replace best performer
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ASIAN FAIRY BLUEBIRD didn't even bloom this year because I wore it out attempting to set pods last year. But there's no way I'd leave it behaind.
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BLACK FALCON RITUAL - only one commercial source for this beauty
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SLIPPED MY DISCO - Scarce, still expensive but wonderful!
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HENRY LORRAIN, rare Munson with pinched throat and pleated petals
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Debra

Debra,
Black Falcon Ritual is gorgeous!

Mike

Hi! I am Ingmarie and I am from Sweden. I have been a member here at GardenWeb a long time ago, mostly visiting the clematis forum, perennial forum etc. Have been lurking here for a while, studying your beautiful daylilies and stunning photos.

My favourite daylilies are the near white ones and I hope to have more of them in the future.
Joan Senior and Arctic Snow.

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This is Asian Pearl.

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I also like Barbara Mitchell and Beautiful Edgings.

Here are my five favorites...and by that I mean ... they are classics and will always be in my garden.

BIG KISS - my best all around performer
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BELA LUGOSI - my favorite purple
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SPIDER MIRACLE - my favorite yellow
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RED VOLUNTEER - my favorite red, but with time, SPIDER MAN may eventually replace it on this list
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SILOAM DOUBLE CLASSIC - my favorite short DL
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Kathy

NIce pics, thanks!

kaylynnlily - what's the one blooming on the right of Bela Lugosi?

nj, that is CHARLIE PIERCE MEMORIAL. It has been a very good performer here. But I split the clump this spring and moved it. It has pouted and sulked this entire season. I hope that next year it will be back to normal.
Kathy

I would always want to have in my garden Forsyth Vivacious, IF, Metaphor, San Ignacio & Whistlers Sister. I have at least 20 I wouldn't do without, but TODAY these would be my picks, tomorrow is a different story. : ).

These DLs are all work horses, they are tall enough, prolific bloomers, and I believe most like a shower, and hold their color in the hot sunshine.

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Jane

PS:I have to post this quickly, China Bride, Siloam Double Classic, Country Charmer, Indy Charmer, and Summer Wind are saying don't forget me.

1st time thru, I had 8. So I went thru it again and this time came up with 11. I'll stop there. No sense in trying to get it to 5.

Tom

This is a hard question to answer because I love so many of my plants. Everyone will probably have plants that do better for them than for other gardeners. That being said, these are great performers in my garden:

Destined to See
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Heavenly Angel Ice
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Blueberry Breakfast
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Indian Giver
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China Veil
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Linda

Thanks Mike! Black Falcon Ritual is a striking presence in the garden.

Jane - San Ignacio is one of my favorite pinks too.

NJmomma - The other folks are playing the game better than I did. I suspected you really wanted five that I thought should be in every daylily garden. So I'm going to list five that are inexpensive, readily available, and topnotch performers. They would be Moonlit Masquerade, Autumn Wood, Court Magician, Breakfast At Tiffany's and Scarlet Orbit. All of them have beautiful blooms, multiply well and rebloom.

Debra

I am new to this, and have only bought daylilies under
approx. $12.00. But, in my garden, only 3 years old, the prettiest ones to me are Jan Johnson, Ruffled Perfection, Almond Puff, Vanilla Fluff, Rebecca Marie. I am going to move a few this fall, hoping they will do better. I am still learning what they need. I have about 150 so far.

This was a tough decision and subject to this years performance only. My top five for now would be....

VICTORIAN GARDEN'S OH HAPPY DAY
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LINDA SIERRA (this one sets pods to just about everything and I love the clear lavender color)
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SANFORD INTERMEZZO (In my gardent the petals are nearly white and the pastel pink eye and edge are amazing)

PURPLE MAZE (One of the most amazing eyezones I have seen)
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WARRIOR VICTORIOUS
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shive - you got my number.

I'm happy to have one on your list (S. Orbit) and Autumn Wood has been at the top of my wish list.

OOPPS!!! I get to add one more....that's good. wouldn't want to leave behind....

TO GOD BE THE GLORY (you have to see the size of this flower to truly appreciate it)
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I just couldn't do it! Only 5????
Guess I can never move.....

Linda

Sorry but I can't do it either. There's no way I could get down to 5 favs...Ellie

I 'll try...
Celebrations of Angels
Blue Pink Beauty
Beyond the Blue
Bela Lugosi
Earth Music
or
True Blue Heart
Francis of Assisi
Abba
Joan Derifield
Lavender Blue Baby
or...
nope, can't do it, either!
LOL marea

This will likely change by next year and hopefully Santa will hook me up with a better camera...

But the bed I started at my new (100yr. old) house contains six daylilies and a couple of asiatics, hosta, and iris that are all soon to be transplanted since some of my daylily clumps already need division and I'm replacing the soil (thought I went deep enough but those 100 year old weeds that had been mowed over came right through).

But in order:
1.Red Ribbons
2.Spiderman
3.Spider Miracle
4.Chicago Apache
5.So Lovely

1,3, and 4 put on the best show this year, next year? Spiderman is really coming into it's own. Didn't get any decent pics of 3,4, and 5 but Chicago Apache was really impresive in it's second year...didn't really like it last year but she showed me! Lol. Tried a few new ones that might find their way into my fav's: Queen's Gift, Kwanso, Baja, Ruby Stella (thought I preferred a similar type, Pardon Me, but the re-bloom on my oldest RS is quite impressive), and I think Salieri has alot of potential. Thinking BIG for next year so Mico and Thin Man will likely get the far corner of my backyard.

My favorite pic of this years fav:

Wes

We do this every year, and I always agonize over my choices (and that's with listing 10 favorites). Only five?

Can I have a runner-up or two? Probably Claudine's Charm and Victorian Lace.

This is really really hard to just pick 5, but here goes.

Dot

Special Candy

Last Snowflake
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Sherry Candy
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Goldenzelle
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J T Davis

5 huh? Hmmm...

For bloom power alone, Going Bananas

For # of blooms and beauty, Hollywood Lights:

For clearness of color and beauty, Create Your Dream
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For Texture and beauty, Ellis Powell
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For all around great plant, Eagle Nest

Ok, well... I can't do it!!

Most unusual beauty, Party Pinafore
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Great white edge, Unvanquished
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Best blue eye, Blue Elf
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Ok, ok... I'll stop now. Who can pick 5????

And more go on my list.

Okay, I finally got it down to 8, by limiting myself to those daylilies that can be bought for $10 or under.

Autumn Wood - Almost perfect blooms everytime

Beautiful Edgings  Fast increaser, blooms itÂs head off

China Bride  Love this one. Seems to bloom forever
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El Desparado - One pictures worth a thousand words
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Spider Miracle - Love the green on this one.

Spiderman  Love the red color on this one
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Sweet Summer Heat  Red, orange, and yellow.
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Winton

Hope this helps you in your quest.

Tom

OH MY GOODNESS!! I have never seen so many beautiful DL's in one post.My heart is skipping a beat with every one I see. Well,I only have about 35,so no way I would leave any of them behind if I had to move.I would take every one of them,,but, my VICTORIAN LACE that a lovely lady here sent to me would be the first one I would grab,even if I have not seen a bloom on it this year,I know its going to be beautiful.Sorry,i can not pick just 5.

Jean

tjhemmer - thanks for finally playing!

I'm psyched b/c I have Spider Man and El Desperado and just ordered Autumn Wood. I want Beautiful Edgings but they were out of it. That's an unusual Beautiful Edgings you have!

Thanks to you, I have to call tomorrow and add on Spider Miracle to my order.

ewwww... this is fun, hard, but fun. Lets see,
Not for performance, but because I think it's pretty, Way out Yonder

Here is another picture of Belle Cook and I finally got a picture of Heavenly Angel Ice.

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Since I only have 18 that have bloomed for me, this wasn't too hard.

First, definitely INDIAN GIVER

Then, ROCKET CITY, which I didn't get a picture of.

Next, BORDERS ON PINK, for it's stunning pink color

Then, STRUTTER'S BALL. I love that even after a full day of hot sun, it holds its color

And finally, ALLEY CAT BLUES

I'd keep Classic Delight and Chance Encounter, for sure.

For the other 3, I have a bunch of new ones that I want to see in bloom before I have to choose.

Even when I had my smallish collection growing in very-less-than-ideal conditions (pots, shade ranging from some to deep, etc. etc. etc.), I'd have had difficulty limiting the number to five. So much difficulty in fact that, with the exception of a few I left behind by mistake, I took my entire collection when we moved. Now that so many of them are growing as they should be grown, choosing just five?....fuggedaboutit, as they say.:)

But if you're looking for a short list of "classic" or "should be grown" daylilies, think about adding RUBY SPIDER to the list. I had a couple of mingy fans in the shade, which did absolutely zippo at the old place. Here, in the veg garden, with its amazing soil, it exploded into a clump within a year. Fabulous brilliant red, really really eye-catching.

I don't have it, but I definitely second BELLE COOK. I was so impressed with it in the nearby AHS display garden that I marked it down twice on my list, once per visit, and without realizing it. I probably will get it this year. Same with HEAVENLY ANGEL ICE -- this one is gorgeous here in zone 6. You should think about getting that one, too.

Here are a few more in my collection that I love and would recommend: JOLLY GOOD FELLOW, a now-somewhat older (2004) Don Herr intro with interesting color that just blooms and blooms and blooms, and on such a nice scape, too; ISLAND GLAMOROUS GUEST, from George Rasmussen, very quietly elegant blooms (a diploid....don't know whether that matters to you or not); and RUFFLED STRAWBERRY PARFAIT, late and toothy and lovely...

Those are just off the top of my head. Oh, and I think I'll second STRUTTER'S BALL, for its color. Last year, at our club's spring luncheon, Curt Hanson said he thought there was nothing better out there in purple daylilies. I can't say I've liked the way mine melted in afternoon hot sun (so it's now sited where it gets some afternoon shade), but when the color's good, it's great. There! A rather arbitrary list of five of my daylilies after all, and, with the exception of JOLLY GOOD FELLOW, all easily obtained and fairly inexpensive I think. The list'd be quite different if I were basing on rarity, as Debra did, but if I were to move again, I'd take 'em all with me. Again. And since I can't seem to stop collecting, I'd have rather more than five to move. Again. :)

Hello opjmprs,
I have thought about getting Purple Maze and was concerned about it not making it in my zone because it is a E. You are in 5-6, and it has been doing Ok for you? If it is hardy enough for my zone, I am going to buy it.
Kim