Question about Old Fashioned"Ditch Lilies" Hemerocallus fulva

Discussion in 'Daylily' started by Cayuga Morning, Aug 16, 2019.

  1. Cayuga Morning

    Cayuga Morning Strong Ash Plants Contributor

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    I have two kinds in my yard. Will the true Ditch Lily (Hemerocallus fulva?) please step forward?
    IMG_20190816_144511.jpg

    IMG_20190816_144742.jpg

    Thanks folks.
     
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  3. toni

    toni Mistress of Garden Junque Staff Member Moderator Plants Contributor

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    Going by comparing the Stamens of the two I am guessing that #1 is the Ditch Lily. The stamens are short, the stamens on the other one are a lot longer than photos of Hemerocallus fulva
     
  4. Cayuga Morning

    Cayuga Morning Strong Ash Plants Contributor

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    Thanks Toni. I have been wondering about this. I plan to start checking out the other road side daylilies about town to see which kind they are, which kind are more prevalent. The second daylily has a frillier flower petal.

    Maybe @Jerry Sullivan will weigh in on this one. I bet he knows something.
     
  5. Jerry Sullivan

    Jerry Sullivan Garden Experimenter Plants Contributor

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    Without getting too complicated, Hemerocallis fulva is a triploid and therefore sterile….most of the time. In some cases a tetraploid was produced. H. fulva introduced to the U.S in the late 1700’s quickly spread vegetatively throughout the country in many earth moving scenarios, especially the expansion of roadways and as farmland was repurposed. As for the tetraploid hybrids created, they were free to cross with other tetraploids and produce viable seeds. No seeds, it is probably a triploid. Seeds? it is probably a hybrid tetraploid. Please be mindful that there are now almost registered 90,000 varieties. My yard alone has several hundred hybrids that at some point can and probably will contribute to the ever increasing gene pool. I have forgotten the names of the two most popular hybrids of H. fulva but I will try to locate them. More later.....

    Jerry
     
    Last edited: Aug 18, 2019
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  6. Cayuga Morning

    Cayuga Morning Strong Ash Plants Contributor

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    So I have looked more carefully at the two daylilies. The first has six petals, the second has 12. Hemerocallis fulva is a triploid? And the main distinguishing creature between triploid and tetraploids is whether they produce seeds or not?
     
  7. Jerry Sullivan

    Jerry Sullivan Garden Experimenter Plants Contributor

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    About 40 years ago I had a triploid that produce a pod but the seeds never matured, only one pod in hundreds of stalks. Mutated DNA can do strange things. Back then I had lots of H. fulva. To make room for others varieties I planted them in the woods.

    Jerry
     
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  8. Sherry8

    Sherry8 I Love Birds!

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    July 8, 2016 005 (2).jpg Here is the one that we dug from an empty field many years ago and have had them at every house...we call it a ditch lily. I live in Wisconsin and I don't think they look like the same kind...
     
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  9. Cayuga Morning

    Cayuga Morning Strong Ash Plants Contributor

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    @Sherry8 thanks for posting that photo! Yours looks most like my # 1 photo. It looks as though it has 6 petals. In the #2 photo, the flower has 12 petals..(.although I realize that is hard to tell from the pic.)
    The coloration looks slightly different between yours & my #1. But that could just be The photos themselves. My camera tends to make things look brighter.
     
  10. Sherry8

    Sherry8 I Love Birds!

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    It all depends on what time I take pictures...the flowers get faded when I take them later in the day after the hot sun has been beating down on them. I try to take them early for that reason but if I don't have time I get lighter colors in the afternoon...:like:
     
  11. Cayuga Morning

    Cayuga Morning Strong Ash Plants Contributor

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    Makes sense Sherry
     

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