Bada Bing, Bada Boom!

Yep that's right. H. 'Ruby Moon' and 'First Bird' both had their first flower open yesterday. That means the daylily bloom season is really here!

I've had lots of pre-bloom this year, which as I understand it, is when a scape didn't fully develop last season, so it rests over the winter and emerges from the side of the fan, rather than the middle. It seems that pre-bloom takes place about a month before the regular bloom. So as a result of our prolonged spring, I've been enjoying daylily blooms since the last week of May - UNHEARD of in Minnesota.

The lovely yellow daylily pictured above is Ted Petit's 'Heavy Metal.' I got this one last year so these are the first blooms I've seen. Boy, do I love that metallic band in the eyezone. Other daylilies I've been enjoying in this early, early season are Mom's Pink Divinity and Red Zeppelin from Region One's own Bob Wilson, plus Bela Lugosi (Hanson-C), Crystalline Entity (Reed-M), Grape Twizzler (George-T), Earlybird Orangeade (Skinner-M), Count It All Joy and Battle of Jericho from Karol Emmerich, Lava Flow (Smith-F), Crimson Edgings (Stamile), Stencilled Impressions (Stamile), and Sky Over Schuyler (Reed-M).

Now that bloom season has begun - it's time to remind you to get your registration in for the regional meeting in Bismarck/Mandan. You don't really want to pay 25% more by registering late, now do you?

There's still time to send your RP vote

Greetings from zone 5a, Omaha, Nebraska, where it's in the 90s and the heat index is 103 per this evening's weather professionals.

AHS Region One members, there's still time to send me your RP election ballot. The postmark deadline is this Friday, June 25.

Mary Baker
RP election tabulator

Region One RP vote reminder-this 'n that

Greetings from zone 5a, Omaha, Nebraska, where I managed the third SedgeHammer treatment for nutsedge before the June 21 summer solstice deadline and also applied the third RoundUp/Triclopyr treatment for wild trandescantia (spiderwort). My neighbors watered their lawn, spilling into my yard about one hour after the second SedgeHammer treatment, which in that area negated the effects. This time it had adequate time to dry off (minimal is three hours, optimal is four hours) and I'm hoping for great success. I discovered newly sprouted nutsedge, so the third treatment was warranted anyway. Much of the previously treated nutsedge has died - hurray! Based on the encouraging results, I think nutsedge is easier to control than trandescantia, which I've attempted to chemically control during the past couple of years (this is the first year I've done anything other than pull/dig the nutsedge).

Region One members - please send me your ballots for the RP election. The postmark deadline is Friday, June 25, which is just a few days away. Your vote counts!

I am enjoying many daylily blooms. Among them are the gorgeous VELVET RIBBONS and BALI WATERCOLOR, two fabulous red tet seedling guest plants from David Kirchhoff in addition to David's outstanding COYOTE MOON, and tet seedling 30102 from Karol Emmerich in addition to Karol's NO MORE TEARS. Kathy Lamb's outstanding well-branched diamond-dusted MINNESOTA SUNSHINE was FFO yesterday and is showing off multiple blooms today, and gary Schaben's elegant METABELLE BETH is FFO today. What fun!

I'm also evaluating the last of my selected seedlings - had to stop hybridizing in 2006 due to space limitations. It's fun to see how beautiful some of them are. Nonetheless, I am ruthlessly eliminating many of them as to be keepers they must have good branching and high bud count.

Mary Baker

Region One Reminders

Just a quick note to remind those of you who have not voted for RP yet. Please get your ballots to Mary Baker, postmark date is June 25. Remember you must be a paid members of AHS to vote.

Also, be sure you get your registration in to Karen Schock for the Summer Regional Tour in North Dakota, sounds like it will be a "rip, roarin' good time," so y'all round up yer friends and head north!! Registrations need to be postmarked by July 1. See y'all there!!!
Vicky

Congratulations - Region One RP vote!

Good evening from zone 5a, Omaha, Nebraska where today I applied a second application of triclopyr on the trandescantia and the second of this year's three lawn treatments. I still need to apply the second Preen treatment for summer-germinating weeds in the paths and flower beds as well as the second SedgeHammer treatment for nutsedge. I'm starting to think nutsedge is easier to control than trandescantia (if someone had suggested that even a few weeks ago, I would have thought that unbelievable).

Congratulations to Karen Schock for winning the AHS 2010 Region One Service Award, to Karol Emmerich for winning four HMs, and to Kyle Billadeau for winning three AHS newsletter awards. All of these awards are well-deserved!

AHS Region One members, please don't forget to send me your ballots for the RP election. The postmark deadline is June 25.

Enjoy a wonderful weekend!

Mary Baker

Valdosta Again National Convention

Back from the south with new plants and ideas. Georgia was interesting to visit with beautiful gardens to tour. As part of the business meeting we found Region One standing up with the rest of the winners. I am so proud to be part of Region One along with our convention winners. All the award winners names begin with "K" Karol, Karen and Kyle. Congratulations to our Region One winners. We met many of our "old" daylily friends and made new friends. Our National President is a wonderful lady from Boston. I loved hearing of her background and many of the new challenges she faces with this office. She conducted her first national convention with ease and grace. We now look forward to our Region One meeting in North Dakota and then on to next year's national. The gardens were lovely with many daylilies and of course companion plants. The weather actually cooperated and was fairly decent with less humidity than I expected. I now have the babies I bought planted in their new northern home. We will see how they perform here in South Dakota.

More news from Valdosta

Back again with some more news out of Valdosta. On Friday night the AHS business meeting was held and run by our new AHS president Mary Collier Fisher. After having the privilege of spending some time with her and getting to know her, she is a very lovely lady and a very approachable lady. She will listen to any concerns or answer any questions that one my have concerning AHS. She did a wonderful job of conducting the business meeting and I am sure that all will agree that she will be a great president for AHS. I am so glad to have gotten to know her a little better.
Also on Friday night North Dakota member Karen Schock won the Region One Sevice Award. Our most sincere congratulations go out to Karen. It was even more special as she had no idea it was coming. It's good when a plan like this comes together and the winner is really surprised.
Vicky