Just out of curiosity Debra, what is your soil like? Is it acidic?....As usual, all of yours look gorgeous. I must have missed it before, but your other seedling, The Thing, really is showing off in that clump shot....Didn't have much rebloom this season myself. Usually don't really, but Happy Returns did (and still is), and Leslie Renee sent up some instant rebloom scapes, as she usually does every year..........Almost forgot. Pink Aloha has sent up a rebloom scape. It's still budded, so I will see how that does in a week or so. I knocked off all the buds on the original scape when moving it during a storm and thought, well that's that for this year. But no, up pops this thing. Amazing on a one fan plant that arrived only 2 months ago..........Maryl

The ones that I've noticed of mine that have rebloom or two scapes on a couple of fans are: Early Shirley, Jamie Dockery, some Emmerichs that are listed as rebloomers... and I noticed the other day that at least one fan of Concrete Blonde that has two scapes. There likely are others too. Beautiful pictures, Debra, and your clump shot of The Thing is very impressive!

Maryl - How wonderful that you are going to get some blooms on Pink Aloha. I know how much you love that one. My ground soil is slightly acidic heavy clay. The soil in the raised beds is now depleted of nutrients and didn't get fertilized this year. It needs compost and fertilizer added in the fall to revive it.

Laura - For living so far north, you have quite a bit of rebloom. Thanks for the comment about The Thing.

Debra

"The Thing That Ate The Seedling Bed"; very funny! I like it. I might steal it for my next bed hog.

For depleted beds, it looks like you've had a nice bloom season. Every post you have made is filled with extremely nice flowers. Bet your place was beautiful to see.

Seems like every time I look up one of your posted flowers, your picture is better than the hybridizer's. Maybe another business for you? Anyway, your pictures are great. Must look into 'Fighting Fire'.

Ed - Most of the hybridizers, and everyone else for that matter, are using newer digital cameras that blue everything up and don't produce real red anymore. My older Nikon still gets truer color, especially on the red. As for my depleted beds, there was very little lateral branching there or rebloom. Usually the raised beds produce the most rebloomers. El Desperado and its offspring were the exception.

Debra

Ed - I think Carribbean Sunrise looks more pink than red. Did you mean it looks similar to my seedling? A lot of the newer phones do have good cameras. I'm glad your works for you.

Debra

Just a quick question Debra/Ed. When you renew a bed that's depleted do you dig up all the plants, mix in the fresh ingredients and replant? Or do you just sift the compost et al over the top of the existing plants?.........Maryl

I meant FIGHTING FIRE Debra, but your seedling also. I think CARIBBEAN SUNRISE is/will be more of a solid color after getting established. Hope so, anyway.

Maryl,

Over the course of a season, I would take all the plants out of an old bed and plant somewhere else. Then add garden soil, mushroom compost, brown organic material, alfalfa pellets, milorganite and minors fertilizer. Till well, water in well and then plant.

I love that clump of the thing that ate the seedling bed.

Maryl - It depends on how compacted the soil is. For my oldest raised bed, I will take the plant out, add compost, more soil and other amendments, and then replant. For my other two raised beds, I'll probably just add compost and fertilizer on top.

Debra

Thank you both for the sound advice. I don't think removing the plants is going to work out too well without a lot of expense and bother. This is not a daylily bed, but rather my front border and I was hoping for an easy fix to an old established mixed planting. Oh well, there's always bark mulch-lol....Maryl

Fighting Fire is absolutely gorgeous! Love this pic!

I am in the process of counting buds, but finding rebloom was much faster ;) I only have Instant Rebloom, and mostly it's only 1 scape. Here are mine: Battle of Jericho, Christopher Moody (last year too), Filled to Overflowing, Forty Days (& last year), Fountain of Life, Guilded Appeal (surprise), Incendiary, Intelligent Design, Moon Over Monteray (often reblooms but this year it's in the foliage - all IR scapes are shorter), Stranger in a strange land (it's more like double scaping though, but on several fans; wish it opened well), Strawberry Candy (surprise), Tower of Babel, Willow Dean Smith (pleasant surprise :)), and my DH's seedling (last year too)

I expected to get lots of rebloom this year with all the rain we've had, but I don't think I got as much as usual. Maybe because I moved & divided a lot last fall. John Kirkland was definitely my best rebloomer, with Annabelle's Blush a close 2nd-considering size of the plant. Although I did notice today rebloom scapes here & there, but just one scape on each. My seedlings have rebloomed better than my named plants.

Nancy - In past years Annabelle's Blush was one of my top rebloomers. Maybe mine gets too much shade now. My seedlings have rebloomed better than named plants because I fertilized them and watered the seedling beds during the three dry weeks in May.