hi I have grown both of them for quite a while and I prefer Beautiful Edgings over Big Smile. BE seems to preform better than BS for me in zone 5. They are both great plants. BE is a diploid by Copenhauer, 1989 and BS is a tetraploid by Apps, 1999. If my info above is correct I would doubt that they are related. Hope this is helpful.

I grew both at one time and eventually got rid of Big Smile because Beautiful Edgings was a better performer.

Well, looks like I need to locate Beautiful Edgings somewhere. Thanks for the info, especially on the ploidy. Funny how plants with such different genetics produced such similar flowers!

H. BIG SMILE is registered (1999) as a DIPLOID with The American Hemerocallis Society (AHS)... Also, Dr. Apps's own current 2011 website gives it as a diploid ... It is the progeny of two diploids.

Wherever the info comes from re H. Big Smile being a tetraploid should be checked and corrected.

wildbirds is right: BIG SMILE is a dip. I don't think it's possible to know whether they're related, because a parent of BE is listed as a seedling. But if related, it probably would have to be some generations back (because BE was registered 10 years before BIG SMILE).

KCC, to find out that kind of stuff (ancestry, ploidy, etc.), go to the AHS database and search on the cultivars' names. Then, for ancestry, for example, search on each parent's name, each of the parent's parent's names, and so on as far back as you can go. In the case of BIG SMILE and BE, you can't go back very far, so that's why you can say only that it's possible they're related. I don't know enough to suggest other steps one could take to find out anything more.

I've seen BE in gardens, and I think it's very pretty. I may have seen BIG SMILE at the nearby AHS display garden, as it's listed in the 1000+ inventory of daylilies for sale (!). But I must confess, if I saw it, it did not leave an impression one way or the other. That's not a criticism, since it may not have been in bloom on my visit days. Regardless, it looks as if the consensus here is definitely in favor of BE.

Thanks, Lynxe. To be honest, I went to Tinker's first and didn't even notice the ploidy (I've since double checked and Tinker's does indeed list BS as a DIP). I admit to not being into the breeding end of things and it wasn't the first thing I thought of. I'm very glad to know the AHS site has that info, though! Someday, when I get my garden back under control, I'd like to try breeding some of my own.

Hi, I grow both Beautiful Edgings and Big SMile. This year Beautiful Edgings is outperforming Big SMile. But when its on its game I prefer Big SMile as it is a tet. Now the original Apps Big SMile[registered] is a dip. But A Dutch Breeder, (Klunkhamer], crossed Vera Biaglow with Bowl of Cherries and named the seedling Big SMile but didn't register is as the name was already taken. But Big SMile is a great plant big and sturdy with a 7" bloom. I like them here both. I've never grown Apps' Big Smile though. It did take awhile for both Big Smile and Beautiful Edgings to really show their stuff.here but they really show-off in clumps. cheers, lloyd

Thx for the clarification re 'diploid vs. tetraploid' daylily BIG SMILE Lloyd. I am one who is (was!) not aware of the unregistered European tet intro. Unfortunately, modern marketing strategies by some distributors & retailers have created confusion and problems with several daylily names ... and I expect it will continue.

Another example - in this case the renaming of an existing AHS registered cultivar ...

I purchased a pot of 'RUBY STELLA D'ORO' (several young new scapes showing) knowing it was not AHS registered, but expecting it to be a reblooming red small flowered diploid and was curious to see how it might develop and compare against other EE-E reblooming red dips available in commerce. It's 2nd season here clearly reveals that it is a re-labelled (renamed) EENIE FANFARE (Aden 1981).

Yes, it can get confusing. I did pick up Ruby Stella and it is a blooming machine. Took it a couple of years to really take off. . I would recommend it if you can find it in bloom so you know you"re getting Ruby Stella. It had bloomed at the nursery where I got it so it was the correct plant. It is loaded with blossoms. cheers, lloyd

Lloyd: I do have the correct Ruby Stella De Oro here which was introduced to both European & North American markets by a breeder in Holland as far as I am able to determine. I focus on Early & Extra-early and Rebloom diploids here and can comfortable say that this unregistered cultivar - Ruby Stella de Oro - is by far my most reliable rebloomer in my beds. I have 3-4 plants of it 'out there'- bought from different sources to determine if they were in fact, similar, or even the same. (Thus the discovery of the improperly labelled EENIE FANFARE) ... RSDO very closely resembles PARDON ME in bloom characteristics - colour & bloom size - but is in almost constant bloom or bud here for July & August.

I planted both this year because I couldn't decide which I liked better flower-wise...no blooms though (one of my BE fans is trying to send up a scape though, how exciting).

Soule's Garden has both and I took photos of both during their July open-house.

Unfortunately they aren't planted next to each other in their garden (BS is next to Susan Weber though and WOW are they grand together) and I'm not poetic enough to tell you what difference there is between the 2, so hopefully my photos help.

Beautiful Edgings on left...Big Smile on right.

~Anika (gothiclibrarian)