Solaris FarmsTM 2012 Hardy Hemerocallis, Paeonia and Lilium

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The 2011 growing season was a busy one and a good one.  The climate 'gods' decided to be extremely kind with excellent rainfall and temperatures, which assisted greatly with daylily bloom and all plant growth on the farm.  Sales were good, but it was quite obvious that the economy made people more conscious about the amount they were willing to spend for a single daylily cultivar.  Our new selections sold well, but other hybridizer's newer selections did not fair as well.  Thus many fine 'Solaris' originations made their way into gardens this past summer.

Many gardeners have discovered Bill Seidl's Peonies over the past couple of years and demand is difficult to keep up with.  More and more gardeners are finding that the new generations of tree peonies have outstanding qualities not to be found in the F1,F2,F3,F4 generations.  Some of our newest Peony seedlings that bloomed are far superior to everything else we grow and we are quickly propagating them for distribution.  The best are producing more flowers with better stem hardiness and flower size has begun to increase.

Daylilies that made major impressions this past summer (2011):

Accidental Tourist has certainly landed on this list in past years and here it is again.  The plants are good growers and flowers are very unique.  Climate somewhat dictates the color of the day with this cultivar, but they are always a beautiful purple to plum with a frosted look.  Very unique and a superior plant.

Adorned With Joy was new to our garden this past summer.  Phil Korth, another Wisconsin hybridizer produced this clear colored cultivar.  The base color is a soft cream with a pink eye and edge of such clear color that one wonders how this cultivar could be better.

Angelique Fringes, a Roy Klehm cultivar was exquisite.  A typical Reckamp polychrome, AF has very precise fringed edges and the flowers are carried on excellent scapes.  Foliage is a wonderful blue-green color that looks good all season long. 

Angel's Realm was a stunner as usual.  Strong well branched scapes carried 30 plus buds on a couple of our well established clumps.  This Reckamp cultivar is a polychrome that looks good in the morning and better at the end of day.  Superior shape, carriage and color make it a long time favorite.

Beaucoup Bouquet with it's multitudes of red flowers that are not harmed by the sun stopped just about everyone coming into the garden.  Even though the price was high, people seemed willing to pay for it.  We have quite a few more plants in the sales garden for this coming summer and the price reflects this.  Awesome bouquet bloomer.

Big Kiss, a Joiner diploid double sold out completely this last season.  The soft pink flowers with a darker splash of pink at the center were a real hit and the weather helped by making the blooms an enormous size.  This plant has always looked good, but I now know what a good water supply can do for this cultivar.

In our display garden, Bombay Silk bloomed like there would be no tomorrow.  It's coral red violet blended flowers with lighter watermark was stunning.  Seems like I never have much of this plant and it often gets sold out well before one gets the chance for a season of enjoyment.  We won't have this for sale this coming summer, but if you can find it-buy it!

Two crested doubles were especially good this last summer, Bremer Family Crest and Southport.  BFC is a short plant that carries gorgeous deep yellow flowers that are very consistent.  Southport often blooms single for us, but last season we saw the most gigantic disgustingly double flesh tone flowers.

Cafe Tacuba is a rich orange red with lighter petal edges.  Vic Santa Lucia has always been a favorite hybridizer and 'Cafe' did not disappoint.  Flowers are flat, open well and have that color clarity that shows across the garden.

Career Politician and National Secret are sibs, 2012 Bremer introductions and are two of the most unique things in the gardens.  Both have the an odd elongated eye, or is the pattern a wide light edge?  However it's pattern is interpreted, it is unique and the flowers are carried on tall sturdy stem.  Everyday, these were the first two plants to get pollinated.

Seems like every year Carnival in Mexico (another Santa Lucia cultivar) makes this list.  The huge semi open flowers have a brilliant rose red eyezone that appears to have been painted on.  Flowers face to the side and bud counts keep this one blooming for quite a while.  A stunner that gets lots of looks.

Catastrophic Events was spectacular in it's front row assignment to the sales field.  The plant produces large luscious pastel flowers with a splashed eyezone.  Scapes are fairly tall and well branched.  I wonder if there is anything more beautiful in a large clump.

Among the 2012 intros is a cultivar named Chicken Feathers that is unlike the multitudes of other highly edged cultivars on the market today.  The ruffles are precise and large, don't need any particular weather conditions to be expressed and are carried on tall enough stems to be noticed.  Simply gorgeous, extremely hardy and a true northern plant.

Cornflakes in a Can, another 2012 is an orange beer colored flower (not brown) with a wide light edge.  Scapes carry large numbers of flowers. The plant is difficult to miss and produces so many flowers it begs to be placed on center stage.

Contented Heart is a hot number with coral pink  and a hot red feathered eyezone.  The flower appears to have a fire burning at it's center.  An old cultivar that for some reason has not gotten on popularity lists, even though it is one of our best selling flowers.

In our propagation field, Roy Klehm's Desert Charm really put on a show with it's earth toned flowers.  Scapes are tremendous and the bouquet blooming habit created a real display in row of mixed hybridizer plants.

Dragon Pinata, Foolish Dragon and Poker Player's Ruse, all red eyed cultivars were spectacular.  All have Fooled Me and Tet Dragons Eye in there heritage.  Certainly these children and grandchildren are a step up.

The scapes and autumnal colors of Fallen Leaves were peerless.  Our medium sized clump bloomed toward the end of the season and went on for better than a month.  The scapes are thin, well branched and exceptionally strong and easily carry the gorgeous flowers.

Welding the Titanic blew a number of customers out of the water.  Our display plant had fans wider than my arm and the scapes went six feet.  The hot orange red star shaped flowers were easy to see at that height.

Reddy Freddy, a big spidery clear red UF from Judy Davisson's outstanding lines bloomed for what seemed to be the entire summer (I believe it rebloomed).  The strong scapes open many flowers each day and the wild way in which they were displayed was a real attracter.

The polychrome with a greenish cast, Incredible Bulk, put on a show as usual.  The rather short plant with highly ornate flowers with diamond dusting was a looker every day it bloomed.  No surprise to us, but customers where especially interested in its debut.

Curt Hanson's strong and stiffly scaped Inquire Within produced a multitude of lavender flowers with a slate purple eyezone.  This plant is so consistent from year to year, I find it difficult believe that it doesn't get more fanfare.

Jaded, one of our new ones, has the strangest coloration of any lavender we grow.  The flowers are a honey lavender (not dirty if you can believe it) and have small areas of clear dark lavender near the center of the petal edges.  Scapes carry many buds and are well branched.  We set lots of pods on the clumps this year and have high hopes for the seedlings. This one lacks much ruffling, which is surprisingly refreshing in a day and age when so many do.

Painted Desert Dinosaur produced it's typically heavy scapes topped off with gorgeous coral flowers with an eye and edge.  Flowers are unique for their heavy substance.  A real winner with customers.  PDD is slated for heavy hybridizing this summer.

Another perennial favorite, Musical Medley, did not disappoint.  Flowers are large, ruffled, ornate and wide.  The color is the lightest lavender with watermark.  Simply gorgeous and always performs.

Noble Surfer is a plant that always seems to get overlooked, but should get attention.  The coral red flowers are a very unusual color and plants never disappoint.

If you like deep clear purple, Paul Voth is the flower for you.  This is probably our favorite purple.  It has a sheen that is to die for.  Plants are husky and put on a great display.

Penny's Worth, the smallest daylily I know of blooms all summer.  The plants look like grass clumps adorned with small yellow flowers.  Perfect rock garden plants!

Saracenia (Bremer 2012) was probably the most stood over plant in the gardens.  The clear deep true lavender flowers have no piers.  I think this is a rather oddly colored flower, but it's clarity is consistent and is affected little by weather conditions.  OO LA LA.

Sear Tower with it's six foot scapes and yellow flowers always gets attention.  It got so much attention, it sold out in a week after beginning its bloom this past summer.  Now I have to wait another couple years to offer it again.

Prairie Smiles is probably one of Bob Ellison's best performing tetraploids for us.  The flowers are ornate and are carried on tall scapes that carry the large flowers so all can see.  Excellent.

Spirit Fox will be available in 2013.  This deep orange flower has it all.  Lots of visitors inquired and I had to tell them that Brian Culver would gladly fill their orders.  Good stuff.

For the hybridizer I'd recommend Surfing the Styx.  The little plants produce tremendous scapes with purplish-maroon colored flowers and an often hidden eye pattern.  Our seedlings from this plant are beginning to show it's potential for layered eyezones.

Trojan Bride with it's large polychrome flowers is an excellent show plant.  Flowers are large and look good no matter what the conditions.  Gorgeous.

Wedding in the Snow, the light cream flower with large gold edge was nothing short of stunning.  It sold out in its introduction year and we've been trying to propagate enough to sell again-just one more year should do it.

A more old fashioned form, What the Hale, is a real ham.  The plants are excellent growers and producers of huge numbers of wild yellow orange flowers with a darker eye.  It behaves like my father, its namesake.

World Class a Carter hybrid is perhaps the widest most brilliant red I've grown or seen.  The puffy recurved flowers are large and simply gorgeous.  Appropriately named.

Other standouts:  A Bloom With A View, Addis Ababa, Adorable Tiger, Aint She Nice, Alaskan Vows, All American Chief, Anatomically Precise, Angus Maximus, Apple Strudel, Arizona Sun, Armed Azerbaijanies, Artificially Enhanced, B.J. McMillen, Bang Bang, Bruised Ego, Bubbleheaded Bleach Blonde, Canyon Lullaby, Carrots Forever, Cherokee Pass, Colossus and Butterfly, Custard Candy, Desert Flame, Distress Call, Down the Aisle, Dweebix, Earmarked, Edna Selman, Face of Emily, Fiesta Latina, Fliver, Forest God, Francis Joiner, Forty Fourth Parallel, Fujita Scale, Garnet Slippers, Glamourwear,  Greywoods Roseberry Sorbet, Hale Bremer, Heal Thy Spirit, Hosanna, I Lava You, Juicy Bubble Butt, Key West, Last Butterfly, Lavender Fantasia, Lunker, Mary Drake, Mystery Being Written, New Covenant, No Boys Allowed, Orchid Elegance, Pacific Rainbow, Pego, Pat Neumann, Pork Barrel Spending, Point of Divergence, Power of Love, Purify My Heart, Purple Nurple, Robert Johnson, Shelby's Song, Ticket to Myanmar, Tropicana Treat, Veronica's Vanity, Where Eagles Soar and there were many more...

 

Unfortunately, there were some really bad ones,  they are on the compost heap.

Peony Recommendations...

Carnation Bouquet...A herbaceous hybrid that is a blooming fool with outstanding fully double pink flowers.  The plant has excellent foliage and should be widely grown.  A Bill Seidl introduction.

Red Charm...Herbaceous.  If you don't grow this one, you should.  Huge deep red double blooms that are difficult to match for beauty and performance.

Pastelegance...Herbaceous.  Champagne colored full double.  Very unique and sure to be popular for a very, very long time.

Little Corporal...Herbaceous.  Short brilliant red flowers that are carried on sturdy stems.  A very well behaved flower that is consistent and highly fertile.

Lemon Chiffon...Herbaceous.  A famous light yellow.  Beautiful flowers and consistent.

Bill's Best Yellow...Stunning vigorous plants.  Light yellow double of high fertility.

Viking Full Moon...A Bill Seidl intersectional of creamy yellow with light pink highlights.  The plant has excellent foliage and produces a multitude of large single blooms.  We love this plant for the exceptional plant habit throughout the growing season (it makes a handsome shrub out of bloom).

Bartzella...Roger Anderson's timeless intersectional offering is still the best double yellow peony available anywhere.  The plants are excellent growers and produce tremendous quantities of lemon yellow blooms.  The flowers are unmistakably yellow!

Hidden Treasure...Not often available and certainly an uncommon plant.  Flowers are semi-double yellow and expose wonderful light red flares.  The carpels are bright pink tipped.  The plants are very short and sometimes the flowers are hidden, but are excellent for cutting.  A can't miss variety for color and uniqueness.

Pink Luau...I love this little cactus flowered herbaceous plant.  It never fails to produce an abundance of dainty white flowers streaked in pink.

Anna Marie...Perhaps no other tree peony grows so quickly and produces such fine foliage.  The flowers are large lavender singles and the plant makes an excellent shrub.  Very hardy as well.

Angel Choir...A Roger Anderson hybrid that was bred the same year that 'Angel Emily' was and has the same parents.  This one is white with dark basal flares.  Being a rockii hybrid it is very hardy and like 'Angel Emily' it is extremely floriferous. 

Angel Emily...Not yet registered by Bill Seidl, this rockii hybrid is the heaviest bloomer of any peony we have ever seen.  Our small, five year old plant (which we liberally take scions from every year) had 35 blooms on it this past year.  The stems are very cold hardy and we have not seen any die back on this plant.  Outsanding bright pink flowers with dark maroon/black flares.  Superior in every way.

Age of Gold/Ice Age...An oldie, but a goodie.   Very double, vigorous and always puts on a show.  This one grows fast and is one of the few tree peonies that can be divided! 

Iphegenia...A really great red flower.  Petals are large and wavy.  Flowers cover the shrubby plants and present themselves better than any other tree peony.  Good growers and plants remain short and rounded.

Hana Kisoi...Large ruffled double bright pink flowers.  The shrubs are typically covered in gorgeous flowers and are well presented.  Leaves have much red in them and the plants are sturdy growers.  Excellent.

Godaishu or Renkaku...Large white flowers are set on a dark blue-green background of foliage.  Plants are strong growers and very reliable.  Superior in every way.

rockii 'Rock's Variety'...We have the original 'American Form' that we carefully graft each year.  These are not seedlings which are most often marketed as rockii, thus you we get the wonderful round white flower with deep blackish flares on a sturdy growing plants.  This has been an exceptional plant for us both in flower production and overall growth habit.  Plants display flowers well and are stunners.

Brassy Lady...A gorgeous blend of yellow, pink and orange, which gives the semi-double flowers a sunset tone affect.  Flowers are displayed above the foliage and are much admired by visitors.

Autumn Harvest...A Seidl double yellow.  Flowers are full and voluptuous.  Nothing like it and one of our favorites on a number of levels.

Sunrise...A Reath hybrid of creamy white color.  Flowers can be quite double and highly ruffled.  Plants are relatively short and carry the flowers just above the foliage.  Gorgeous!

Yin Zhuang sug uo...A double white Chinese rockii hybrid.  Flowers are ball shaped and plants are extremely hardy.  Always puts on a great show.  I love the foliage as well.

There are many other tree peonies that are stunners, so I could go on and on. 

Lilium Recommendations...

The true lilies are have a wide range of shapes and sizes.  Most are of easy culture, but their greatest enemies are deer, rabbits and mice.  Unfortunately, these plants have a very attractive taste to these animals and they can quickly destroy a plant.  If you have trouble with these creatures we recommend protecting the plants with wire or repellent sprays or grow daylilies instead (daylilies aren't as appetizing).

Holland Beauty...Huge fragrant cream flowers flushed with red.  The presentation is excellent and the foliage is a deep blue green.  Biggest flowers of any of the Lilium we grow.  An Orienpet.

Pink Perfection...A trumpet that grows very tall here in Wisconsin and always puts on a great show.  The large lavender pink flowers are held at the top of plants that can attain heights of 8 feet.  The fragrance fills the garden in the evening.

Olina...An asiatic Tango variety.  Deep red with a black central mass that spreads outward.  Strong growers that always are stunning.  A conversation piece for striking color.

Black Beauty...One of first Orienpet varieties developed still a great plant.  Nice purple-red flowers with spots.  Flowers are reflexed and are held high on plants that grow to around 5 feet.