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When a botanical artist meet enthusiast plantsmen
This project has come out of a friendship between Marina Virdis, botanical artist and Italo Vacca and Leo Minnito , who run a little, highly specialized Hemerocallis nursery in Sardinia, Italy , working both as a managers for six months a year at The Fields Nursery, one of a major commercial grower of Hemerocallis, near Chicago.
Italo's and Leo's enthusiasm for modern Hemerocallis it proved contagious and before long Marina began planning a summer trip to visit her friends in Illinois, which did it in 2001
With so many Daylilies to choose from, they set out to tell the story of modern Hemerocallis through Marina’ paintings.
It was decided for her to capture the flowers that were considered a milestone in the evolution of the genus as well as the work of significant hybridizers in a specific period. The flowers portrayed cover the three most recent waves of hybridation: the early years , 1900-1950 , the middle years 1950-1976 , and the present.
Her Hemerocallis portraits - representing not only a variety of colours, but also form and size, as well both diploid and tetraploid daylilies - have been widely exhibited in Italy , England and, in October 2004, they will be shown in United States.
American’s passion for Daylilies
At the hands of modern breeders, few plants have undergone as profound a tranformation as that of the daylily or Hemerocallis. Beginning only in the late 19th century, several waves of hybridization have created over 40.000 new cultivars from the approximately 20 original species.
Many great plants-men and botanist have certainly done their part, but the modern daylily is mainly the work of dedicated amateur breeders.
Early years in England
Absolute beginners, towards the end of the19th century , were George Yeld and Amos Perry, both breeders and friends. They started to create stunning cultivars and they did so for nearly 40 years with dedication, achieving, separately, great results.
G. Yeld won several Royal Horticultural Society medals in his long career , among them the Certificate of Merit , in 1892, for what is considered the first Hemerocallis cultivar , 'Apricot' , described by Dr Stout " a variety of charm and beauty". Yeld was also awarded the Victoria Medal of Honor, bestowed on gardeners by the Royal Horticultural Society.
At the same time Amos Perry, a hardworking nursery-man, was at work on his first crosses, finally introducing a named cultivar in 1900 . His work has also been recognized by prestigious awards.
Yeld died in 1938 and Perry took over till his own death, in in 1953. Beloved by a generation of students and friends , he left us beautiful new varieties of daylilies and a touching Journal which contains a detailed record of the plants that he raised and introduced. Perry's Journal includes extended sections on Iris and Hemerocallis.
His well-known nursery still exists and is lead by Frances Perry.
United States is still playing the main role
After the significant work of these two English plantsmen it was the United States to play the main role in breeding Hemerocallis.
The pioneer was Dr Arlow Stout from the New York Botanical Garden . In the early 1920 ‘s Dr Stout dedicated his entire life to study the genus Hemerocallis, paving the way for other enthusiasts. His work began by taking some of the botanical species from China and Japan, a group of trumpet shaped yellow, orange and russet flowers and transforming them into a dazzling array of colours and forms.
The foundation of the American Hemerocallis Society, in 1955, was an important step in the development of Hemerocallis. Thanks to the foresight of a few dedicated early breeders like Orville Fay, Bill Munson, Virginia Peck, Pauline Henry and Brother Charles Reckamp , the Hemerocallis has reached its current state.
By mixing genes and doubling chromosomes, many time choosing their crosses by complete unscientific methods such as "pretty on pretty", these enthusiasts have changed what we think about Daylilies.
We now have bold eyes zones, colour combinations, spectaculars petals with braided edges, rounded and flat shapes, miniature and ever bloomers to name just a few.
The United State currently leads the trend in hybridization and the new flowers have created such a rage that collecting is rabid. Countless Newsletters, web-sites and catalogue are fueling the trend, and the result is what many have compared to “tulipomania.”
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Bibliography
Sidney Eddison, A passion for daylilies
New York, Harper Collins Publishers 1992
Walter Erahardt,
Hemerocallis daylilies
Portland, Oregon, Timber Press 1998
Diana Grenfell
The gardener's guide to growing daylilies
Tiber Press 2000
Munson R.W.J.
Hemerocallis: the daylilies
Timber Press 1989
Ted L.Petit & J. Peat,
The color encyclopedia of daylilies
Timber press 2000
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