|
Hello!
WELCOME TO DAYLILY E-NEWS, a free electronic newsletter brought to you by the American Hemerocallis Society, also known as AHS. Daylily E-News is for all who share an interest in daylilies, including members of the American Hemerocallis Society and other horticultural organizations, educators, garden writers, news media, and anyone who loves to garden.
I am pleased to announce our feature article this month is by P. Allen Smith, the award-winning designer and gardener. A well-known garden book author and tv personality, Allen enjoys growing and hybridizing daylilies in Little Rock, Arkansas. Learn more about "Growing Daylilies" in your garden this year with tips from an expert.
The "Ask the Ombusdsman Column" this month is all about the AHS Membership Portal, a great benefit available to anyone who joins the AHS.
Our featured photographer this issue, Nikki Schmith, gardens in Worden, Illinois. In her own words, "Everyone should be obsessed with something, and for me, that obsession is gardening with daylilies." Nikki is very involved in the AHS as Media Librarian and current president of the largest region, Region 2, in addition to serving on many committees. A virtual fireball, Nikki is enthusiastic about everything she undertakes, and daylily photography is no exception.
Be sure to click on the Facebook "like" button and share this issue with your friends!
If you are not yet a Daylily E-News subscriber, sign up via the link at the AHS website: Daylily E-News .
For much more about daylilies and daylily events, visit the AHS website (see QUICK LINKS on the sidebar).
You may unsubscribe from Daylily E-News at any time by clicking on SafeUnsubscribe, which you will find in each issue.
We hope you enjoy Daylily E-News!
Elizabeth Trotter
E-News Editor |
|
Thank you to our sponsors for this issue of E-News!
|
|
*** Registration is full ***
|
|
NOW IS THE TIME!
TO SEE A DAYLILY SHOW IN YOUR AREA
visit http://www.daylilies.org/Exhibitions.html
|
|
|
|
AHS Youth News
The winner of the 2012 Christine Erin Stamile Youth Award is Amanda Hotaling of Clayton, Delaware. She will receive an AHS life membership. Congratulations, Amanda!
Youth Contest on the AHS Membership Portal!
www.daylilynetwork.org
April 1 to July 31, 2012
A drawing every month for a daylily!
At the end of the contest, a grand prize drawing for 'Skin of My Teeth', a 2012 introduction from Karol Emmerich.
Youth must perform tasks within the youth group on the AHS Membership Portal to be eligible.
Official rules posted on the Portal and in the AHS Youth News.
It's show time! If you've never entered an AHS flower show, think about doing so this year. Check out the presentation, "Grooming a Daylily For a Show Exhibit" by Amber Strope on the Ohio Daylily Society web site: www.ohiodaylilysociety.org.
Shoot those daylily and garden pictures this summer to submit to the AHS Youth Photography contest. The submission deadline is November 1, 2012. Official rules can be found on the AHS web site: http://www.daylilies.org/ahsphotoawrds.html.
|
|
|
Ask the Ombudsman 
Donna Peck has been the Ombudsman for the American Hemerocallis Society for the past four years. An Ombudsman "is an independent, neutral party who is able to look at problems that come up in an unbiased fashion." The Ombudsman also answers questions about Society rules and procedures. Donna has been writing Ombudsman columns for regional newsletters and the Daylily E-News, and now the columns are available on the AHS website. In this series of columns, she will answer questions that may benefit not only the member who had the concern but others as well. If you have a problem, question or situation with which you need help, contact Donna at AHS Ombudsman.
WHAT IS THE MEMBERS-ONLY PORTAL?
Part One - Why do we need the Members-Only Portal?
By Donna Peck, AHS Ombudsman, with comments from Julie Covington and Mary Collier Fisher
Over the past several years, it became clear to several Board members that a different method for the rapid updating of AHS information on the internet was needed. With the type of platform that supported www.daylilies.org, changes were extremely labor intensive for our capable Webmaster, Tim Fehr. Then AHS President Mary Collier Fisher asked the Technology Chair and Committee to research additional methods. In the course of that research, several social networking companies were identified. The concept of the AHS having an interactive social networking site that would not only allow materials to be uploaded from PDF documents easily, but that would greatly expand the services we could offer our members, was appealing. This was discussed widely among the Board, staff,and committee chairs who felt it would be an enhancement to our membership services.
So in May 2010, at the Board of Directors' meeting in Valdosta Georgia, the Membership Chair, Joe Goudeau, noted that research was underway to explore the feasibility of establishing a members-only section on the web. When Joe brought the proposal up again for a vote at the fall 2010 board meeting, the AHS Board of Directors approved funding to authorize the development of the Membership Portal. The site opened for members in early March 2011.
The Portal has now been set up for nearly a year, and I am still getting questions about why the AHS is doing this and how it works. This column is devoted to the WHY question. Next time we will have the HOW column.
WHY DO WE NEED A MEMBERS-ONLY PORTAL?
Over the last decade, the AHS has been seeking incentives for individuals to join AHS and benefits to retain members. Membership numbers had been declining steadily since 2002. The voucher program is working very well, the trial membership we started last year has over 200 members who have already joined, and our fantastic Daylily Journal is a must-read for daylily growers. Our Board and our Membership Chair, Joe Goudeau, kept trying to provide members with more benefits. By the fall 2010 Board meeting in Columbus, Ohio, the Membership and Technology committees presented the proposal that AHS work with the YourMembership.com firm to build a robust social networking site for AHS members only in order to enhance the capabilities AHS has to provide services and information to members. This proposal was passed unanimously by the Board.
The site could be used to search for AHS members' names, cities and states by other members; for regional and national publications; for educational forums; regional and other groups such as Garden Judges; promotion of regional and local activities via community and regional calendars; and automatic reminders of many AHS deadlines, including membership renewal, via email messages. It provides members with a safe environment to post pictures, participate in forums, and connect with other members. It even allows a protected group for our AHS youths to network about daylilies with no non-youth members allowed. The benefits are still being explored and developed.
Another benefit many members took advantage of over the holidays was the AHS store, which has daylily merchandise. Tee Money has volunteered to design some great daylily merchandise. She is even able to accommodate one-time special orders for clubs and groups. The Members' Portal is a source of "one-stop shopping" for our members. Items can be purchased, memberships can be issued or renewed, donations can be made, and interesting programs can be purchased (some are even free) using credit cards, e-checks, and PayPal.
Julie Covington, AHS President, mentions that "beginning with the Spring 2012 issue, you will be able to view The Daylily Journal online at the Portal. The pages are viewable in a PDF book format, and you can also zoom in on pictures and articles on each page. Under The Daylily Journal tab will be a complete page of archived items reprinted from past Journals and you can suggest other articles you'd like to see added.
Several other changes have been made to the home page. We are featuring different members on the left column, and hope to do that more frequently in 2012. Be sure to look under the "Contact Us" tab, where you can find a link to a list of all AHS-sponsored email robins as well as contact information for the Portal leaders, AHS officers, staff and special chair contacts, and other "go to" people. Another new tab is called "Administrative Files." While this contains AHS and regional files, this page is not intended for regional and national officers only, as we wish to keep the working of this organization transparent for all of our members. One feature on the page is called "Regional Offices at a Glance." Anyone who is asked to accept a position as a regional officer or liaison can check these pages and quickly find out what is involved in the job!
The direct link to the Portal is http://www.daylilynetwork.org. Another way to access it is to go to the AHS website at www.daylilies.org and then click on the "AHS Members Portal" tab. In the next column, Julie Covington and MaryAnn Pruden, Portal Community Manager, will discuss in more detail about HOW to access the Portal including how to find your password (which I've had many questions about). Also check out the excellent Portal article in the 2012 Spring Daylily Journal written by Sandy Holmes. If you have any comments about WHY we have the Portal and the information that Julie Covington and Mary Collier Fisher have given here, please email me and I'll include that in the next column. Email me at Ombudsman@daylilies.org. I'm hoping to hear from you, either with your positive comments about the Portal or further concerns you'd like to discuss concerning this subject. |
 Growing Daylilies
by P. Allen Smith
I can think of few plants that are as easy to grow as the daylily. When gardeners ask me to recommend no-fail perennials, daylilies are always at the top of the list. Give them full sun and they will produce seemingly endless waves of trumpet shaped flowers. And if you choose early, mid- and late-season blooming varieties you will reap these rewards well into summer.
In my garden, I grow the variety 'Hyperion'. It is an old timer, dating back to the 1924. I like the long, elegant scapes that often reach 44 - 46 inches tall topped with clear yellow, lightly fragrant blooms. The flowers tower above many of the other plants in my garden and move gently with the slightest breeze.
H. 'Hyperion'
'Barbara Mitchell' is another daylily that I grow. While it doesn't date back as far as 'Hyperion', it has earned accolades for its soft pink blooms and robust nature. I have it planted under the canopy of a large elm tree. In spite of the dappled shade, this daylily is a champion that never falls short.
Daylilies are excellent for slopes, massed in beds and along foundations. It seems that the only requirement is that they receive at least 6 hours of direct sun a day. And even this rule can be bent. While white, yellow and pastel varieties need full sun to bring out their color, darker varieties favor light shade during the hottest part of the day.
When planting daylilies, mound the soil in the bed around each plant about 1 inch above ground level so rainwater will run off. Bury the crown (where the leaves and roots meet) about a half inch below the surface and space them about 10 to 12 inches apart. Even though daylilies aren't particular about soil conditions, it is a good idea to add some compost to your garden soil. If you have heavy clay, compost will help improve the drainage and if you garden in sandy soil, adding compost will help retain moisture. New additions to the garden should be watered consistently during the first growing season to establish an extensive root system.
One characteristic of daylilies that appeals to me is that they multiply over time and can be divided to share with friends or plant elsewhere in the garden. I've found that the late summer is an excellent time of the year to tackle the job of dividing daylilies. It gives them an opportunity to settle in before the shorter days and colder temperatures of fall set in.
There's really nothing to dividing daylilies. Just carefully lift the clumps with a sharp shovel and gently remove the soil from the roots so you can begin to see the individual plants. Then with a sharp knife separate each plant and remove any foliage that appears dead or diseased.
Next cut off the foliage down to about half of its length and they're ready for transplanting back into the garden.
Whether it is an old standby or a newly developed cultivar, give daylilies a try in your garden. They are the perfect complement to the summer perennial border.
About P. Allen Smith
P. Allen Smith is an award-winning designer, gardening and lifestyle expert and host of two public television programs, P. Allen Smith's Garden Home, P. Allen Smith's Garden to Table and the syndicated 30-minute show P. Allen Smith Gardens. Smith is one of America's most recognized and respected design experts, providing ideas and inspiration through multiple media venues. He is the author of the best-selling Garden Home series of books published by Clarkson Potter/Random House, including Bringing the Garden Indoors: Container, Crafts and Bouquets for Every Room and P. Allen Smith's Seasonal Recipes from the Garden. Allen is also very active on social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, Allen's Blog and YouTube as well as on the new eHow Home channel and eHow Pets channel. His design and lifestyle advice is featured in several national magazines. Learn more at http://www.pallensmith.com.
For more information about growing daylilies, visit the AHS website at http://www.daylilies.org/AHSFAQsNew.html
|
|
| The American Hemerocallis Society, Inc., is a non-profit corporation organized exclusively for educational and scientific purposes, and especially to promote, encourage, and foster the development and improvement of the genus Hemerocallis and public interest therein. |
| AHS Daylily E-News Committee: Elizabeth Trotter (KY), Editor, E-News; Sue Bergeron (ON, Canada); Ken Cobb (NC); Julie Covington (VA); David Kirchhoff (KY); Nikki Schmith (IL); Maureen Strong (ON, Canada). |
| Daylily E-News © 2012 by the American Hemerocallis Society, Inc. |
|
|
|
Hemerocallis seedling by Kimberly McCutcheon. Click photo for larger image.
SPELLING LESSON
| |
How to spell
"daylily"
| |
The word "daylily" is properly spelled as one word. Many of today's spellcheckers and media style books incorrectly use the old-fashioned spelling "day lily" instead. The single word has been the preferred spelling for decades.
|
 | | Locate an AHS group near you! | |
The American Hemerocallis Society is all about daylilies and people.
AHS is organized into 15 Regions including USA, Canada, and International designations. Each offers a variety of regional and local club daylily activities.
When people join AHS, they also become a member of the AHS Region in which they live. AHS Regions do not charge additional dues. Most AHS regions publish their own newsletter and mail it to all regional members at no extra charge. Members often participate in events outside their own region.
To learn about daylily activities and events near you, visit the webpage:
AHS Regional Activities
|
|
Hemerocallis 'Glamour Puss' (Smith-FR, 2009). Click photo for larger image. | |
The AHS Media Library | Easy programs for your club--
OR... add your presentation to the Library! By Nikki Schmith
AHS Media Librarian
AHS Region 2, Illinois One benefit of your American Hemerocallis Society (AHS) membership is access to rental programs from the AHS Media Library for club presentations, public education events, and personal use.
Over the last decade or two, AHS collected and organized presentations on traditional slide media and made them available for rental to AHS members. Many members took advantage of this easy way to offer entertaining and educational programs to their clubs.
In recent years, we saw a decline in the rental of these traditional 35mm slide programs. In the interest of supporting our educational mission and providing more people access to these programs, a conversion to digital media began.
Today, rental programs are available on CD in Microsoft (MS) PowerPoint format. Each program has a $10 rental fee (unless indicated otherwise); return postage and insurance are not included.
For a listing of programs currently available, go to: AHS Media Library
There are several great choices, but with an organization our size, we should have more: more to provide to outside, like-minded organizations to spread the news about daylilies; more to provide to local clubs to continue the excitement about daylilies; and finally, more to document where we've been, because we are headed into the future so fast.
With the exception of the classic Sarah Sikes presentation, "Gardening with Daylilies," all of the original 35mm slide programs have been archived and are not available for rental at this time. Some are being considered for digital conversion in the coming years, while others will reside in the AHS archive.
If you have developed any programs, please consider sending a copy to the AHS Media Librarian if you are willing to have it rented to members. You can allow such use without giving up your copyright to the images if that is a concern to you. A Deed of Gift form can be provided in that case, covering the use and disposition. No special formatting or programming is required. You could simply send in a CD of labeled images or a completely formatted and animated PowerPoint. You could send in a presentation you've done on hybridizing, dividing, planting or designing with daylilies. You could send in a presentation on conducting a daylily exhibition. The possibilities are endless!
If you are interested in the library in any way, such as donating, renting, and volunteering to help, or if you have questions, please contact the Media Librarian, Nikki Schmith at schmiths71@gmail.com, or call 248-739-9006.
We look forward to a deluge of presentations!
|
 | | |
|
 Hemerocallis
(Munson-R.W., 2000). Click photo for larger image. | |
Why Join AHS? | |
Learn about daylilies.
Receive the quarterly publication, The Daylily Journal.
Receive a regional newsletter 2-3 times per year.
Enjoy a members-only social networking site with forums, blogs, calendars, and more.
Meet daylily growers and hybridizers.
Vote for favorite daylilies in the Popularity Poll.
Participate in daylily exhibitions.
Become an AHS Exhibition Judge.
Become an AHS Garden Judge.
Have an AHS Daylily Display Garden and/or AHS Historic Daylily Display Garden.
Attend daylily symposiums, garden tours, meetings, conventions, and more.
Participate in on-line discussion groups.
Join special interest snail-mail groups.
Become a better gardener.
Form friendships for life!
AHS members belong to one of 15 U.S./Canadian regions. Those outside the U.S. and Canada may join as International members. Over 180 local clubs form the backbone of every region, and you may find that one of them is near you. If not, meet with local gardeners and form a daylily club of your own!
It's easy to become a member. Just use this link: Join AHS
|
| |
Would you like to reach over 3,000 garden and daylily enthusiasts?
Advertise in the Daylily E-News!
To learn more about advertising in the Daylily E-News, click
| |
Hemerocallis 'Born to Run' (Stamile, 2006). Click photo for
larger image.
| |
What is a Daylily? | A daylily is an herbaceous perennial that will return year after year in a suitable climate. Some are evergreen and will retain their green foliage throughout the year in a mild climate.
Daylilies may be hardy or tender, depending on genetics, so gardeners should choose cultivars based on their local growing conditions
Daylilies belong to the genus Hemerocallis, from the Greek meaning "beauty for a day." A typical daylily bloom lasts for one day, but an established clump will produce many flowering scapes with plentiful buds that will produce a fresh flush of blooms over many days.
Daylilies do not form bulbs (as do members of the genus Lilium, otherwise known as "true" lilies).
Due to the distinctive characteristics of Hemerocallis, taxonomists have removed daylilies from the family Liliaceae and placed them in their own family Hemerocallidaceae.
Daylilies form a crown, with fibrous roots below and foliage and flowering scapes above. The daylily crown is the essential growth center of the plant. Neither true daylily root structures nor daylily foliage will grow without a piece of the crown.
Some daylilies form rhizomes -- special underground structures with scales and internodes -- that can produce new plants. The species or "wild" types often have this trait. Many modern hybrids do not form rhizomes, although there are some that do.
|
 |
| Order AHS Daylily Books, CDs, and More | As an educational service, AHS publishes The Daylily Journal and a number of other items, available at or near cost. To order online, go to:
AHS Publications
| | |
| For Previous Issues of DAYLILY E-NEWS Visit the Archives: |
| DAYLILY E-NEWS ARCHIVES |
| |
|
