>> SPRING FLOWERS
The Central Georgia Daylily Club hosted its annual Daylily Show May 31, in the Baldwin County Recreation Department Banquet room. Ten exhibitors entered 93 registered daylilies into the show for judging.
Central Georgia Daylily Club President Rebecca Brock said submission numbers were lower this year due to colder weather in the spring. Daylilies prefer warmer nights and environments, so the daylily bloom was stunted this past season, she explained, adding that the show typically includes about 200 entries.
“Exhibitors have the morning to groom their entries before judging and in the afternoon, we open the exhibit to the public to view. We had about 50 people from the community come and view the winners and entries,” said Brock. “We are always grateful to see the community engaging with our club and show and to sell daylilies to them, as that is how we pay for our show.”
According to the American Daylily Society website, the daylily’s scientific name, Hemerocallis, “is derived from two Greek words meaning beauty and day, referring to the fact that each flower lasts only one day.”
The importance of the daylily is attributed to it being the “perfect” perennial. This title often refers to the daylily because of its variety of colors, shapes, and sizes, its ability to survive with little care in a wide range of climates, high drought tolerance, adaptability to various soil and light conditions, and because it is known to bloom from late spring until autumn.
Though native to Asia, since the early 1930s hybridizers in the United States and England have made great improvements in daylilies, according to the American Daylily Society. Due to these enhancements, modern daylilies have adopted a variety of colors and different distinctions that help label them as either a “show flower” or “landscape flower,” depending on their attributes and type.
The Central Georgia Daylily Show is sanctioned by the American Hemerocallis Society and was judged by six certified trained judges from Baldwin County.
“There are about 75,000 registered daylilies,” said Brock. “When being judged, daylilies are split into nine categories, and from each category, the best daylilies are picked for our head table.”
Daylilies entered into the show were split into nine categories: extralarge; large; small; miniature; double, multiform, and polymerous flowers; spider; unusual form; youth; and seedling. In each category, judges selected the best flower to join the “head table,” and from the “head table” the Best in Show flower would be selected.
“This year our Best in Show was Jack Brock, my husband, who has been growing daylilies for many years. He is actually the one who introduced me to the hobby and led me to eventually become president of our club,” said Brock.
Each flower was judged individually after being put into a uniform pot, to prevent any distractions to the judges. Judges used a scoring sheet to give or take points away from the entries. They examined things such as if the daylily had six petals, if it was true to its descriptive color, if any blooms had fallen off, et cetera.
According to Brock, “show flower” daylilies can typically only be bought through a Daylily club or the American Daylily Society. Local stores often sell the “landscaping” variant of the flower instead. The two have distinct differences due to hydrolyzing, height, and more.
“Only show flowers can be entered and judged in a Daylily Show and we always sell flowers at the show for anyone interested in them,” said Brock. “Those funds help us continue to host and fund future Daylily Shows for the community.”
Winners of this year’s Daylily Show included: Kay Sheppard in the extra-large category; Jack Brock in the large, miniature, unusual form, and seedling categories; Heather Herrington in the small and youth categories; Suzi Troxell in the double, multiform, and polymerous flower category, and Sharon Carr in the spider category. There also was a category created solely by The Central Georgia Daylily Club for youth off-scape daylilies, in which Lila Jackson was the winner.
To learn more about The Central Georgia Daylily Club, contact Rebecca Brock at 478-456-0472.