Location, Location, Location or It May Be Your Fault

So ... what did I learn this year? I learned that it's all about Location, Location, Location. And that for some daylilies (DLs), being in a raised bed in all day sun is anathema.  

Take 'Mary Ethel Anderson' that I bought about 6 years ago at a fire sale. For five of those six years, she never had more than 10 leaves, never bloomed, never increased. But she never died, either! She was a parent of 20 other registered cultivars according to The Database. Several people had given me rave reviews about their 'Mary Ethel Anderson'. So 2 autumns ago, I decided to plop her into a small space between the house and huge clumps of ever-increasing 'Mage's Memories' and 'All American Chief'. Maybe Mage and Chief would encourage Mary to grow up and to enjoy her 5 hours of sun and expand her roots into amended clay. 

'Mary Ethel Anderson' stopped me in my tracks in May 2024! She was sending up scapes where no scape had gone before! Bless her heart! Not only that, she rebloomed from late July to mid-September! (Pardon my exclamation points, I know I'm not supposed to use them so much but ...) In other words, she excelled ... finally!  

May 2024

September 2024

AHS/ADS Photo

Notice the buds on her scape in the first image, the slight picotee edge, and the red eye that's so intense it's difficult to notice the green throat. What's especially unique about this beauty is it's a strong miniature in the right place but a weakling weed in the wrong place. She's an ugly duckling that turned into a gorgeous little swan with a 2.5" bloom.
Mary Ethel Anderson (Salter-E.H., 1995)
height 18 inches (46 cm), bloom 2.5 inches (6 cm), season MLa, Rebloom, Semi-Evergreen, Diploid,  Cream with red eye above green throat. Awards: AM 2002; HM 1999; DFM 2000; FS 1997

In all fairness to Mary Ethel, her grower should've understood that raised bed environment sooner. Raised beds can never be watered enough. And summer weather in northwest metro Atlanta can typically stay in the 90's for weeks and drought-like months are becoming the norm. 
 
Oh! Get this! Six weeks ago, I moved 'Baby Jessie' next to 'Mary Ethel Anderson' because Jessie has been a non-performer for me for 4 years. Guess the parentage of 'Baby Jessie'. Go on, guess! Yep! Mary Ethel is the pod parent! I swear I did NOT know that until 90 seconds ago when I looked up Jessie in The AHS/ADS Database.
Baby Jessie (Eller-N., 2005) - height 18 inches (46 cm), bloom 2.75 inches (7 cm), season M, Rebloom, Semi-Evergreen, Diploid, 15 buds, 2 branches, Double 80%,  Cream with cherry red eye above red throat. (You Angel You × Mary Ethel Anderson)

By the way, when I was gifted 'Mayor of Munchkinland', I was told to keep it out of all-day sun. The Mayor is three feet from Mary and Jessie and thriving.
Mayor of Munchkinland (Herrington-T., 2010) - height 24 inches (61 cm), bloom 2.9 inches (7 cm), season EM, Rebloom, Dormant, Diploid, Fragrant, 50 buds, 7 branches,  Canary yellow, red eye above a green throat. (Impish Eyes × Everybody Loves Earnest) Awards: Stout 2021; AM 2019; HM 2016; JC 2010; DFM 2015; DCS 2017; FS 2015

Q: What do they all have in common?  A: All three are Diploid Miniatures and need kindly treatment. For a great tutorial regarding Diploids vs Tetraploids, I'm going to refer you to this Cottage-in-the-Meadows website ... as I've gone on long enough. 
https://cottageinthemeadow.plantfans.com/BlogPosts/THE_DIFFERENCE_BETWEEN_DIPLOIDS_AND_TETRAPOIDS

​Well, one last word - if you have an underperformer, it may be your fault.

'H. Baby Jessie' on the left

'H. Mayor of Munchkinland on the right