Those tall orange lilies found in roadside ditches have a remarkable history.
They resemble others that are grown in neighbourhood gardens but serious gardeners wouldn’t dream of having ditch daylilies (Hemerocallis fulva) growing in their flower beds.
Although a beautiful plant, it is not their commonality that deters experienced gardeners but the invasive quality of the species. Their roots will overrun the beds and quickly smother other varieties. They will take an extraordinary amount of time and effort just to confine or finally eradicate.
The orange daylily is more often found than the yellow. The species incorporates vigor and hardiness. It is that characteristic that made hybridizing the plant specimen very successful.
At a recent Fergus Horticultural Society meeting, retired University of Guelph history professor Gil Stelter shared his gardening pursuits and traveling exposés. Stelter is a renowned daylily hybridizer and grower.
He and his wife, Sally, are very involved in the possibilities of using the common roadside daylily to incorporate vigor and hardiness into other daylily specimens they are hybridizing.
Stelter said, “I am not a plant scientist or even a commercial daylily grower, but a curious backyard hybridizer.”
In plant biology, hybridizing occurs when two distinct types of plant organisms from the same genus are bred with each other. The newly formed hybrid may have traits similar to each parent, such as one parent has orange flowers, the other has yellow, and the hybrid, a shade of apricot.
The growth characteristics of one particular plant may also be chosen as a factor for the breeding,
It is strong growing characteristics of the common ditch lily that intrigue Stelter to have a patch of them growing in his garden. From an historical perspective, Stelter reviewed the work of Dr. Arlow Burdette Stout (1876-1957). He was an American botanist, who pioneered hybridizing the daylily.
Stout’s work at the New York Botanical Gardens (1911 to 1948) laid the foundation for further studies and advancement of the species.
He completed over 50,000 hybridizing experiments that produced over 100 successful Hemerocallis hybrids. His nursery breeding techniques and popular interest in daylilies won critical acclaim worldwide.
Stelter and his wife have been retired from their careers for a number of years. As the case with many retired professionals, they find their busy lives revisiting their professions and they can only devote part of their time to gardening.
“I’m a professor of history, and I travel abroad, lecturing about cities, which gives me the opportunity of visiting gardens in various parts of the world, including Asia, the original source of daylilies,” said Stelter.
Although easily found throughout North America, the common daylily is a native of China and Japan.
Being a lover of history and gardening, Stelter introduced the audience to the numerous layouts of historic gardens throughout the world. His photos of the Taj Mahal, Japanese, and Chinese installations focused on their formality and architecture.
He carried those formal designs to his own garden in Guelph. They purchased their current large property in 1999. The property had to have mature trees and be large enough to lay out a chronological arrangement of daylilies.
Their gardens allow visitors to follow a twisting path of the Daylily Walk. Of special interest are “many of Arlow Stout’s introductions, the earliest tetraploids, and so on, until you reach the newer introductions,” he told the society.
Other notable features are a Buddha garden, pond, and an installation symbolizing Guelph’s historic radial town plan. Other collections include miniature daylilies, hardy roses, hostas and ferns.
The Stelters have chosen a mythical creature – half lion, half eagle – as the name for their Gryphon Gardens. The ancient symbol has been used as the guardian of treasure, which seems very fitting.
The American Hemerocallis Society has chosen Stelter’s garden as a display site for numerous years. He encourages visitors and offers an enticement of a current seedling they have been hybridizing.
Present day plant developers have hybridized for flowering traits to include contrasting buttons in the center of a bloom , unique colour combinations, ruffled edges , foliage variegation and size, or exquisite scents.
Other notable improvements are resistance to disease and the ability to form large clumps of roots and soil and making tender plants winter-hardy.
When not gardening, the Stelters travel in the pursuit of historical vistas or gardens that need to be personally rediscovered.
Ron Stevenson is a member of the Fergus Horticultural Society
