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Flower Colors,
Forms, Variations,
Patterns and Fragrance
Colors...
When most people hear the word
daylily, they probably think of the old fashioned orange "ditch
lily," or the very common gold "Stella de Oro."
Unknown to most, daylilies come in a wide range of flower colors.
Daylilies have been
hybridized to display more colors than any other group of plants grown in our
gardens. Varying shades of pink, red, yellow,
purple, lavender, gold, and nearly everything between, can be found (if
you look long enough). The
only colors yet to be produced are pure white and true blue.
Some very near whites are available on the market, but upon closer
examination are actually very light pink or have a slight infusion
of yellow. The color blue has been elusive and is not
yet represented in the daylily flower. Many hybridizers have
produced cultivars with blue hues in their flowers, but at this time no flower can
claim to be true blue. The goal of producing daylilies
with blue flowers is a major goal in many hybridizing programs
today.
The following are
flower color variations that are recognized by the
American Hemerocallis Society.
 
Self
A flower that has
all parts being the same color, without variance. (pictured
above: left-H. 'Carrot Forever'; right-'Age of Gold')
Bitone
Bitone flowers have
petals that are of a different color or shade than the sepals. A
reverse bitone has flowers that have darker sepals than petals.
(pictured
above: H. 'Virtuosity')
 
Polychrome
The flower
color is a blend that cannot be differentiated easily. (pictured
above: left-H. seedling; right-H. 'Smokey
Mountain Autumn')
Diamond
Dusting
Small
shiny pigmentations in the flower that appear to glitter.
Throat
Color...
The throat color of daylilies
varies greatly from green to yellow to orange or to no difference in
color at all. Green throats, oddly enough, provide a excellent
aesthetically pleasing affect to the flower!
Yellow Throat with Green Base
(pictured above: H.
Amazon Parrot)
Green Throat
(pictured above: H.
'Brookwood Wow')
Orange Throat
(pictured above: H.
'Cacophony')
Color Patterns...
Many daylily cultivars
produce flowers that express beautiful and interesting patterns.
Patterns may be subtle or dramatic depending on the cultivar.
Some cultivars produce flowers with a single pattern, while others
combine two or more patterns. Some flowers have patterns only on
their petals, others on sepals, yet others will show the pattern on
both petals and sepals.
  
Watermarks
A variance
in color (usually on the petals) that forms a subtle change in color, as if water
has left a mark.
(pictured
above: left-H. 'Gather At The River'; center-H.
'Just Married'; right-H. 'Antillanca Sky')
 
Eyes
An eye in a daylily flower is much like a watermark, but is distinctly darker-begins in throat and
carries out onto petals (sometimes on to sepals). Notice the
difference in throat color in the pictured cultivars.
(pictured above:
left-H. 'Quiet My Heart'; right-H. 'Janice Brown')
  
Banding
Daylily cultivars that have narrow darker colored eyezones that
are interrupted by another color before meeting the throat are said to
have a band of color. Multiple bands are sometimes called layers
as seen in the image at far right.
(pictured above: left-H.
'Pacific Rainbow'; center-H. 'Fourth Rock';
right-H. 'Mystical Rainbow')
 
Penciled Eyezone
Another type of banding is the penciled eyezone or etched eyezone.
Penciled eyezones are very narrow and appear as though a color pencil
was used to draw it on the flower.
(pictured above: left-H. 'Tennyson'; right-H.
'Romantic Stares')
Color Overlaying or
Washing
Cultivars that exhibit a color that appears to be brushed or washed on
top of a another base color are called 'color overlayed.' (pictured
above: H. 'Matt')
  
Colored midribs
Cultivar flowers that exhibit a line of color that bisects the petals
are known as midribs (these are usually white or cream in
color).
(pictured above:
left-H. 'Legends of the Fall'; center-H. 'Playful
Discourse'; right-H. 'Take Joy')
Edges
and Ruffling...
Modern
daylily cultivars are continually being introduced with larger and
more extravagant edges and ruffling. The variation and
refinement of these features is astounding and one can only imagine
what future generations of hybrids will bring to gardeners in the
areas of edges and ruffling!
  
Picottee Edge
Picottees are a band of color that follows the edge of the petals and sometimes the
sepals. A picottee will usually match the color of the eyezone
on cultivars with these characteristics. Few cultivars exist with
picottees and no eye.
(pictured above:
left-H. 'Risque Woman'; center-H. 'Total
Commitment'; right-H. 'Prize Picottee Deluxe')
  
Wire Edge & Gold
Edge
A fine color
band that may be found on the very edge of the flower segments-usually
the petals is known as a wire edge. Gold edges are quite common
in tetraploid daylilies and may be wide bands on segment edges with
varying degrees of ruffles. Ruffled gold edges may take on forms
of that have been given many creative names (chicken fat, bubbles,
hooks, knobbies, teeth, spines, loops, crunchies, crinkles, crust and
piecrust). The many descriptors are slang that does seem to add
identity and, perhaps, an entertaining quality to the flower edges of
these daylilies.
(pictured
above: left-H. seedling; center-H. seedling;
right-H. seedling)
  
Ruffling
Ruffling refers to the varying degrees of contour the edges of a
cultivar's flowers exhibit. Many forms of
ruffling exist and many gardeners feel it adds a great deal of
character or elegance to the appearance of the flower.
(pictured above:
left-H. 'Diane Bremer'; center-H. 'Majestic Move';
right-H. 'Stunned By Grace')
Flower Textures...
Each
cultivar has a distinct texture to the flower segments that can add
aesthetic value and performance qualities. Heavy substance
(wax-like) flowers typically have a shiny appearance and often stand
up to wind and rain better than other textures. Creped flowers
have a puckered or quilted look that usually withstand strong sunlight
well. Flowers that have thickened or raised areas within the
flower are referred to as sculpted.
 
Creped
Typically very thin textured, creped flowers perform well in hot
sun, but are easily damaged by rain and wind. Creping add a
'puffy' or inflated look to flowers.
(pictured above:
left-H. 'Pee Wee's Big Adventure'; right-H. 'Belly of
Tree Frog')
2) Sculpted : (may be
considered a form)
Daylily Types...(for more
information visit the AHS
FAQ page)
Miniature:
Small Flower:
Large Flower:
Unusual Form:
Spiders=segments of the flower
are much longer than their width (at least a 4:1 ratio)
Double: the
type of doubling of petals is quite variable in daylilies, please
refer to the AHS website for further information
Fragrance:
Early blooming, Mid-season
blooming, Late season blooming, and Very late Blooming
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