Diggin' & Dividin'

 Sunday, September 7, 2014

Sitting in Wells, Maine this morning, watching people walk the beach with their dogs, coffee, kids, friends. Tide is heading back in. Tempertaure is 61° but the wind from the ocean makes it feel cooler. A nice day is headed our way.

I have been dividing daylilies for a week straight and just before I left I dug and divided some three year old clumps of Ruby Throat. Here are some pictures. Ruby Throat is one of the Griesbach-Klehm daylilies from the seventies that I absolutely adore. The registration info from the American Hemerocallis Society is worth a look-see.

Ruby Throat (Griesbach-Klehm, 1979)

height 21in (53cm), bloom 5in (12.5cm), season MLa, Dormant, Tetraploid,  Red self.

Sometimes plants are registered before their true size is known and I believe this is very true with Ruby Throat. In three years this daylily will reach three feet tall (registered at 21")  It is a heavy bloomer from mid season into fall as ours are just finishing up and this was an unusual year because plants broke dormancy in April and it never got cold enough again to slow them down. Last year as example, Ruby Throat was accompanied by Rooten Tooten Red and Prairie Wildfire as they bloomed towards the end of September.

This is a really nice red that warrants a place in your garden. I work hard to keep plenty ready for sale but they are popular enough that they seem to sell in multiples more often than not. Gardening magazines regularly promote planting flowers in threes now and I notice this is catching on. I also notice that when customers return the following year they share their satisfaction for how this option looks. Give Ruby Throat a try. Although we are only open by chance or appointment now through October 12th, we can set up a time to get you started with this fine daylily.

Now time for breakfast and my first beach walk. No Karl the Wonder Dog companion on this vacation but there are plenty of dogs that walk these beaches day and night. I have yet to spot the lady who walks her aging sheltie in a kid's baby stroller. 

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
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