Creating modern hardy hybrid daylillies...
especially for gardens in northern zones!

Daylily: Codachrome*

Hey... if I'm gonna do doubles, then as ya might suspect... I'm gonna do 'em RIGHT!  WOO HOO!!!

Doubles are really an odd lot, because it seems "daylily peeps" have strangely strong opinions about 'em.  Personally, I've never understood that... because the form really is cool!  I actually loved 'em to start with, then changed my mind... but only for one real reason:  I spun through over 75 double cultivars when I first got started at this gig in PA (1995), and all but two died on me... "Scatterbrain", and "Frances Joiner".  Yes, I lost a total of over $25,000 worth of non-hardy daylilies back then... but in the doubles arena, it was really bad.  However, I loved "Scatterbrain" so much (it not only lived, but THRIVED) that I kept it around for over 25 years ... and since there are finally a few more hardy doubles to work with than there used to be, I started down that path in a breeding program.  And yeeeeears later... HERE we are!!! 

Personally, I think large/beefy/fleshy "Unusual Form" (UF - crispate, or "twisted" segment) doubles (on bona fide hardy plants) have been the way to go... because they're "slightly different", of course!  Using "Scatterbrain" for the base was a given, and the kids from it have been downright amazing.  The double gene in it isn't very strong though - of the 3500+ kids from it I've bloomed out of it, only ~3% were 100% double... so to really get "a much bigger (and crazy!) lookin' flower with intense plant habit" (by crossing with giant UF's) became multi-generational. I'm sure happy to report AT LAST though... that THIS kid definitely has it "goin' ON"!!!  WOO HOO!!!

One thing about crossing so many pastels:  The sheer number of polychromes I've got here now is nothing short of "astounding".  The blends of colors are endless, and when done "right", have a certain appeal to them like no other.  Through the course of any day (as well as lighting), different colors present themselves as dominant... almost like having a rainbow in the garden, that when on diploids in particular, tends to sparkle.  Even better, diploids are more commonly fragrant... which on a form like this one has, is a definite plus.  Though the colors are orange/yellow/raspberry/green here (darker than most polychromes), the concept isn't lost... as indeed, it reblooms with TOTAL fury!  If you're a musician (my first major), you know that "coda" means "repeat"... hence the name.  It FITS!  ;-)