Best Lavenders of the Season 2018
Post your best three lavenders and any runners up here.
Lavender Stardust was my best lavender last year. It was the best budded and bloomed for a long time.
Carolina Cool Down was my best lavender pod setter.
My Mama Thinks I'm a Star was my best lavender rebloomer.
Debra
Comments (52)
samhain10 - 5a
5 years agoRelated Discussions
March 2018, Week 1, Time to Plant Cool-Season Plants
Comments (100)The only thing I am afraid of on the general forums is when people pop in and say something even I know is totally not true, and they usually pronounce it dogmatically, as if it is gospel. Sirens go off in my head and I think, "Oh MY. How many people are going to glom onto this bit of gospel and run with it?" The phrase "First, do no harm" always comes to mind. That, and what Amy said. And what Dawn said. I bet you can predict what's coming, Bruce! Totally believe that. And what Jen said. Brr today. Since it will be cool for the next few days, I'm in no hurry to run and get raised bed soil. But am looking forward to the present forecast of really warmer temperature in 4-5 days. I shall be prepared. HJ, I had that happen, only cardinals up in Minneapolis (I'd like to think ONE cardinal, and it very likely WAS the same one as they were extremely territorial up there.) The first time I was standing outside after it had snowed, marveling at the beauty, and thinking of Russ while shoveling the driveway. Glanced up when I got out there, and there was a cardinal,stark red against a white background, on the light pole across the street, directly opposite me on our narrow street. My first thought was how beautiful the scene was. As my mind was occupied with thinking of Russ, how goofy he was and how I wished I could be visiting with him, I'd glance up. There he sat, just watching me. This continued until I was through, and then he softly flew away. Then I actually keyed into him when I'd be out in the winter, or spring or summer that year, and he often would be sitting fairly nearby, oh, say 15-20 feet, and just watching me. And so I came to associate him with Russ, after that first time. I never though it WAS Russ, but I didn't discount the possibility that it might be a messenger carrying messages about Russ or from Russ. Or maybe he just found me interesting. haha As we know, birds are no different than humans. Each one an individual, with THEIR own little quirks. Now down here, the cardinals don't appear to be quite as territorial, and further, none of them has shown the slightest interest in me, nor have any of the other birds. :) The ticks and chiggers, on the other hand, they think I'm magic. I suspect you had a riveting movie to watch last night, Dawn. That was OUR deal at sleepovers. Big batch of popcorn snuggled up together on top of the quilt, not under, with our OJ, watching one of the marvelous movies. Beautiful memories. It is proving to be an extra special day here today, full of thankfulness and love for gardening, nature, and people, and the source for it all. The only gardening I'll do today is potting up, no small thing in itself. Hope you all are doing well!...See MoreSuggestions to "organizing" threads for the growing season of 2018?
Comments (19)I guess for me, the priority is not so much information as the fact that I regard you all as forum mates. Info can be had anywhere - friendship, however distant and attenuated, is much harder to find. But surely we are free to post what we like, when the fancy takes us, so at any moment, someone may feel inspired to ramble on about agastache or heuchera or whatever, then information is there. Not really sure what you mean by organising, to be honest. I know other forums often do a plant alphabet or seasonal categories while some forums are much stricter about appropriate subjects for discussion - going OT is verboten but I rather like the freeform. trajectories as posts go wildly askew while the original thread subject has vanished in a mish-mash of personal (and for me, more interesting) speculations and confessions. I see no reason why we don't carry on much as we have always done, and if anyone wants to talk about specific subjects, then we generally join in. I suppose we could have some formal categories beloved of bloggers...such as Wordless Wednesday or a particular colour or style....See MoreBest Yellow Daylilies of the 2018 Season
Comments (41)Thank you for liking my seedling! It is still too new to judge its merits but it certainly has potential. Wow, looking back at this thread again, I see some gorgeous garden shots! I am drooling over all this loveliness. Sherry, though Stella D'oro flowers maybe plain, your placement of it among the hostas and heucheras is perfection! It elevates this daylily to first class and showcases its flowers and foliage beautifully! Julia, I love that combo of Enter Laughing with the purple coneflowers in the foreground and the purple flowers in the background. Wow! Too lovely for words. Celeste, Cheddar Cheese is just marvelous in that group shot! I also love your combo of Living in Amsterdam with the blue clematis next to it and the coral daylily in the background. Wow! Nancy, LOVE the gold shade on Tidewater Elf and the beautiful poly It's Miller Time. Kate, your NOID is just spectacular! I love the pic with it blooming in the foreground and the other daylilies with their blooms popping in the background. It is like a sea of blooms!...See MoreBest Coral Daylilies of the 2018 Season
Comments (17)I don't seem to have many in this color range. The first two below are some of my very best daylilies..... TREASURE OF THE SOUTHWEST This one is one of my absolute favorites of my daylilies and I seem to take it's photo the most....it and Jerry Hyatt. (I found at least a dozen shots I took this summer). There are all the colors of a sunset in this one. It makes a tremendous clump that blooms endlessly with multiple scapes and buds, is super-robust and healthy and the substance holds up in the heat and the cold. In the heat it has more coral tones..... in cool weather it takes on more pink tones..... either way, it's gorgeous! SOUTH SEAS This golden oldie can not be beat for both brilliant color, reliable performance, hardiness and vigor. I will never be without this one. VT BETSY Not well known or widely grown, this Olallie late-bloomer will keep pumping out blooms dozens at a time well into September. Narrow grass-like foliage and dainty stems with fluttering blooms that remind me of butterflies in the breeze. RUNNER UPS..... This one could potentially be a favorite in future years. It's relatively new so it hasn't proven itself but the color has the 'wow factor'..... SMOKY MOUNTAIN AUTUMN BITTERSWEET DESTINY This is a daylily I tucked away in an obscure part of the garden and I always mean to move it where it can shine because the color is wonderful....See More
mantis__oh
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoI had apricot and peach ready to go, since I thought that was announced as the next color.
Druid's Chant and Swallowtail Kite are appreciated daylilies here.
Many lavenders did not equal the previous year's performance, plagued by somewhat shorter scapes, lower bud count, and faded color. But Carolina Cool Down was especially nice and deserves another picture. It was taller than in previous years.
Dawn of Aquarius, with a lower bud count, still had some nice flowers:
And Linda Sierra performed well:
Inca Puzzle threw some beautiful flowers, so gets mention despite its faults. Registered as "purple," but seems quite lavender/pink to me.
Orchid Elegance was the nicest it has been.
Grace Like Rain was, like many others, not matching last year, but still looked good on slightly shorter scapes.
And I will sneak in Aerial Applique, because it looked quite good this year, though not a very strong grower here. Chateau Belair does not get a picture this year because, while it had some nice blooms, scapes were quite a bit shorter. Lavender Stardust had an off year, blooming less freely in stultifying heat.
Palace Garden Beauty had a good year here, but I am not permitted more pictures.
Angels' Wish looked promising, but too soon to tell. Oh, I have to put in Spiritual Corridor because, while it too didn't like the heat, it again had some beautes.
shive
5 years agoshive
5 years agosamhain10 - 5a
5 years agomantis__oh
5 years agoIts bags were packed and ready for exit, but then Palace Garden Beauty looked very good this year:
Best lavenders at other gardens:
Christopher Hitchens floored me.
Crystal Castles also had lots of buds.
At Ashwood, Bryan's Song:
KarenPA_6b
5 years ago
Brad KY 6b
5 years agoMmmm..what eye candy! I really NEED Spirit of the Dove!!!! Its been on my list for years. Carolina Cool Down is very nice. I better stop naming or I'll do the whole post. How about "beautiful everyone".
Carmen Renee, of course. Had its usual wonderful year.
Spiritual Corridor had an amazing first year, lots of scapes, buds, great season.
Flutterbye had its usual great year with a great show daily.
This uploading is so slow. Will do runners up separately later.
sherrygirl zone5 N il
5 years agoLee’s Loss did well this year, it took a couple of seasons to hit its stride, probably not the most robust but the color is unlike any other Lavender I’ve seen. A bonus for me, it rebloomed this season, a rarity here.
I had a hard time deciding what category to put Soft Hearted Mother in. I decided this one works best, I dont think we see many blooms with a lavender eye. This is truly a lovely flower with a triple colored edge. I moved it after it bloomed to a better spot, I hope it does ok next season.
Magic Lake has turned out to be a good plant here, not growing in a great location. Nice soft colors with a good habit, blooms always open well.
i have two runner ups, Flutterbye and Orchid Corsage. Both do great here. I LOVE Flutterbye!
Look at all of the buds on Orchid Corsage, I always get lots of clump blooming.
Sherry
Maryl (Okla. Zone 7a)
5 years agoAll of my lavenders here are a mauve blend. I have found that if the color is officially described as Orchid it may show a bit more lavender, but still you all will have to determine what color this is to your eyes. I can not match the beautiful shades of lavender I see in Celeste's blooms nor Mantis's. The color that shows up in my garden is one of my new favorites regardless of what one may call it.
I grow these for their "face". The yellow ruffles against the base color is nirvana for me:
Orchid Gilded Ruffles: Short, blooms well, later blooming, has been hardy although I lost it in it's pot last year during our unusually cold winter. On my replacement list:
I adore this one, and have replaced it once due to winter kill in it's pot. If anyone grows this in ground I'd love to know what zone you are in.
Orchids and Gold:
Maryl
samhain10 - 5a
5 years agoshive
5 years agomantis__oh
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoForgot one of the most impressive: Ocean Spirit. A vigorous grower.
Ring the Bells of Heaven. Last year almost every bloom was splotchy; this year virtually none. Should have been among my top lavenders.
KarenPA_6b
5 years agoSome of my nice lavenders:
Spirit of Hope
Westbourne Whipperwill's Nest
Ring the Bells of Heaven
Brad KY 6b
5 years agoshive
5 years agoKarenPA_6b
5 years agolast modified: 5 years ago
hoosier_nan (IN z5b/6a)
5 years agoLavender is my least favorite color in daylilies so I don't have many to post.
Belle Curve is a very good grower with a large, but plain, flower.
The Colorado Kid has done well for a southern.
Lambertson's daylilies often do not do well for us (though they are beautiful), but Dreamy Drawing is doing very well.
No runners up this time.Nancy
celeste/NH
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoIf ALEX wants MORE lavenders then I have someone's permission to post some more favorites of mine....and it's not cheating.....:)
FRANK'S STAR OF BETHLEHEM
Doesn't love my long, cold winters but it always comes back. Because of this delay in getting growing in the spring it blooms in the late season when lavender is a rarity. One of the few I grow that has elaborate edges and it actually opens.
ORCHID FOREST (more purple than orchid but ravishing and is a big bloom)
LAVENDER HEARTTHROB (great bloomer, lots of scapes)
SKY OVER SCHUYLER (didn't do as well this year as previously but we did have a drought....love the form)
IRVING SHULMAN (a wonderful daylily, which in my opinion should be more widely grown)
DREAM SEQUENCE (tall and elegant, the color is remarkable)
ORCHID CORSAGEAlways reliable and always-appreciated in the late season
FLUTTERBYE (tends to be darker for me than what others post)
There are so many more worthy lavenders but I will stop myself.Btw, Mantis......those Hansons (I assume taken at Crintonic?) also knocked my socks off. Christopher Hitchens and Crystal Castles....oh my! That color and all those buds! Amazing.
daylilybedmaker
5 years agoHere are my top three lavenders:
FRIEDA ALLEN JERRELL: Love the appliquéd throat and the grey lavender watermark. Pod and pollen fertile. I hope to see some babies this year.
CAROLINA BOUND: not the best picture, but performed very well last year. I love the bicolor and bitone look.
LINDA SIERRA is probably my favorite out of this category. In person, it has an overall "blue" effect in the garden. It is an outstanding plant!
Runners up to follow.
David (Zone 5)daylilybedmaker
5 years agoHere are the runners ups:
MAGIC AMETHYST: Fantastic this past year. Great improvement since my neighbors topped several of their trees.
TOTAL SILENCE: Raspberry Lavender with a white edge. Every bloom is perfection. It will throw proliferations. Clumps up quickly.
AAL THINGS TO ALL MEN: Much better this past year than in years past. Rarely splotchy this year.
That's it for me.
David Zone 5KarenPA_6b
5 years agosamhain10 - 5a
5 years agoBrad KY 6b
5 years ago
More great lavenders. David, I really like Magic Amethyst and Frieda Allen Jerrell. Celeste, I like Lavender Heartthrob, and Karen I forgot to mention Spirit of Hope.
Here's my Runners Up, for the 4th time. Will it work? I shrunk the pictures...
Prairie Blue Eyes did as well as my top 3 so really it was top 4. Here it is as a poly.
Just one...more in next postBrad KY 6b
5 years ago
Jack Sprat, also as a poly-did it get fat? It too had a wonderful season.
Orchid Corsage had its best season in many many years: plenty of buds, good height, good season.
Braddaylilybedmaker
5 years agosamhain10 - 5a
5 years ago
organic_kitten
5 years agoJazz After Five. I love this bloom and it should do well where I have it now
Creulean Warbler:
Purple Honey Creeper:
Palace Garden BeautyBlueberry Breakfast
kay
signet_gw(6b)
5 years ago
Impossible for me to choose which I like more from the above images . Berma Abacrobmie is calling me though as is . Westbourne Whipperwill's Nest and Carmen Renee. Oh heck I like them all . Lavender flowers are my favourite color of all I think .
Look into My Eyes
Tet . Lavender Blue Baby
Regency HeightsThe first two are new plants blooming for the first time here this year.
KarenPA_6b
5 years agoYour polys are wonderful, Brad! I normally don't get polys. But with this year's amount of rainfall, I have seen more polys in all the years I grow daylilies combined! Water sure makes a huge difference!
Creulean Warbler's soft lavender and blue colors are so pretty! I like all the pics of it.
Wow, what a great green throat on REgency Heights! And the dark lavender brightens the green throat even more!
A lot of my seedlings bloomed this summer. Here are a few nice lavender seedlings for runner ups:
Lost tag of parents
Curt's Gift X Tet RFK seedling
Sib to the above
celeste/NH
5 years agosherrygirl zone5 N il
5 years agosamhain10 - 5a
5 years agoshive
5 years agoKarenPA_6b
5 years agoBrad KY 6b
5 years agoshive
5 years ago
growgirl
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoLove this thread and I have only read 5 comments so far lol. Here are my 3 favorite lavender shades.
My crazy bloomer award goes to Druids Chant. I think I will always have this one in my yard
My Favorite colored lavender is by far Linda Sierra. Always a head-turner. Nothing quite like it.
And my favorite newer lavender is Barbara Garren. Love the height and beautiful color. I wish the bud spacing was a tad better, although in this pic it is not an issue:)
sherrygirl zone5 N il
5 years agosamhain10 - 5a
5 years agogrowgirl
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoThere are so many beauties on here! Thanks to all of you for enabling me to form a lavender wish list for next year. I am drooling as I write this lol.
Alex- I agree with you on Barbara Garren. A nice soft color is a good way of describing it. And it is a later bloomer too so a win-win.
Sherry- Linda Sierra is a good grower for me and an all around lovely daylily IMO. Maybe soil could be a factor in color variation? Not mauve for me thankfully. Definitely a lavender shade to my eye. In fact, I believe this pic was on a cooler day so the colors are darker. Usually the color is lighter with more ‘blue’ in it on a warm day. This was the only pic I had of it this year. Let me see if I can find other pics from past years to give you a good representation of how the color can look in my garden.The bottom flower in this one (taken later in the day) is what I would say it mostly looks like for me. More of a ’blue’ lavender (to my eyes anyway).
And another on a cooler day for good measure:) For me, it will always have a place in my garden because the color is so unique and I have nothing else that is quite like it.
mantis__oh
5 years agogrowgirl
5 years agomantis__oh
5 years agoGod Save the Queen looked very good here this past year and deserves mention somewhere. Registered as "amethyst."
KarenPA_6b
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agosamhain10 - 5a
5 years agomantis__oh
5 years agoKaren, I would say that the base color of Orchid Elegance is orchid. A daylily I like very much is Mexicali Blues. Actually performed quite well this summer in abominable weather. Bud count is not great, but color is rapturous,
shiveOriginal Author