Top 24 Munson Selections (174 voting members of E-mail Robin)
MALAYSIAN MONARCH48
BETTY WARREN WOODS42
COURT MAGICIAN40
HIGHLAND LORD35
KATE CARPENTER32
CAMEROONS 29
RESPIGHI25
RUSSIAN RHAPSODY22
RUFFLED DUDE12
SPANISH MASQUERADE12
BENCHMARK11
CAROLYN HENDRIX11
CHERRY CHAPEAU11
LEXINGTON AVENUE11
MERRY WITCH11
EMPEROR'S DRAGON10
OLIVE BAILEY LANGDON10
SEA GODDESS10
SILVER ICE10
NIVIA GUEST9
RUFFLES ELEGANTE 9
CHINA LAKE8
MOUNTAIN VIOLET8
SARI 8
Comments on the top 8 (My apologies for losing the climate zone for each remark):
MALAYSIAN MONARCH
“truly possesses what I call "regal bearing." Rich in grape-purple tones, this one again has that large chalky watermark that extends nearly half way out onto the petals. There is truly something majestic about this daylily that I really like. And it grows like a weed here.”
“ a large flat flower which is somewhat triangular and makes a bold statement. The near white watermark jumps out from a bright purple flower.”
“ an elegant grape/purple flower with a light creamy throat showing chartreuse deep inside.”
“ is a great purple.”
“ Great large flowering purple, beautiful eyezone”
“ although, must say it melts badly on even 80 deg. days”
“gorgeous blue purple and vigorous!”
“ a beautiful purple”
“ -another purple, heavy rebloomer here, just love it.”
“ the Munson mark.”
“ A true king among daylilies, and the trademark chalk-eye”
“ a great showy daylily with its bold wide eye on a beautiful hue of purple”
“one can get lost in the patterns of this cultivar.”
“ probably the most impressive clump in the garden this year”
“ Is perfect here in Virginia, with incredible vigor and reliable, sun resistant purple blooms. Non daylily people buy this plant on sight at triple the price of other plants.”
BETTY WARREN WOODS –
“this is a landmark yellow that nearly everyone has hybridized with. It has beautiful round form and performs well for me unprotected up here in the north.”
“This one is at the top of my list. Beautiful lemon-yellow color, heavy, waxy, form substance, tight ruffling, and an excellent breeder make it not only an excellent garden clump, but also a hybridizer's dream.”
“ was a tad recalcitrant about getting established in my garden. But after pouting for a while, it really flourished. A beautiful lemon cream yellow with a strong ruffled gold edge, excellent form and branching, and a consistently good opener, BETTY WARREN WOODS is definitely a winner.”
“ This lovely cultivar grows well for me, and I do think had Bill placed it on the Awards and Honors list the first or second year of its eligibility, it would have probably won for him that Stout Medal, which he has never received. The last time I visited with Bill and Betty, I reminded him that it then was five years overdue and he agreed to nominate the cultivar for the next year's HM candidacy. Though older than some other cultivars against which it will be competing in the future, I think this lemon and cream delicacy is still worthy of high honors.”
“ is such a quality daylily--even a new-to-daylily person who visited my garden this summer saw it and recognized its superior flower, and wants it.”
“ can't be surpassed in our garden for number of blooms”
“ I love this yellow daylily. It is one my favorites in all of the garden.”
“a classic for all times”
“produces good offspring”
“ doesn’t like our freeze thaw springs, but always puts on a show”
“ has beautiful form”
“ one of the best yellows and does wonderfully in the Southeastern Gulf Coast.”
“ who doesn't like this one.”
“ a superb ruffled yellow that is on the tender side for us but still gives us some beautiful blooms.”
“ Just plain great!”
“ Yellow is my second least favorite color (after gold), but this particular flower is just about perfection. While we don't begin to get the superb branching and bud count which I have observed on this flower while growing at Wimberlyway, we still get a great display from this beauty as long as it is not being disturbed. It tends to have a short sulk after we disturb it, but it has always managed to recuperate nicely.”
COURT MAGICIAN-
“This one also did very well in Lexington, Kentucky. Like the one above, it provides the added pleasure of rebloom here.”
“ This one I once voted for the Stout Medal, on its first year of eligibility. Though I have dug and divided my clump several times, it still holds a show spot in my garden. I like its deep lavender-purple color and its chalky watermark, and it is a strong grower. It has a form which among the tetraploids of the late Eighties showed a continuing refinement.”
“ not for itself, but for it's use as a parent. CM is in the background of so many of my favorite hybridizing plants. “
“ Still another watermarked Munson purple. It carries a white edge that it passes on making it a parent of some of the finest modern purples on the market today.”
“ would probably have to rank at or near the top. It does extremely well in our garden and is beautiful besides.”
“ Love the color combination of purple, chalky watermark and yellow throat. Grow this next to a yellow daylily. Reblooms. “
“ also new this year but it bloomed - very nice and impressive.”
“ For all of the reasons others have given.”
“ Survives Nebraska winters well.”
“a great purple with a wonderful eye, very special, just love it.”
“ My favorite clear lavender still. Another great breeder as well.”
“ love the light edging around the eye and petals.”
“ love that lavender eye; registered as an ev. but performs like a dormant for us.”
“Simply has not been explored enough in hybridizing”
“was Bonnie's favorite daylily for many years “
“ reliable purple, visitors love it.”
“ an excellent purple with a chalky eye zone. It is sunfast, clear and bright. Easily fertile, it has good bud count. The plant is healthy and the foliage stays green throughout the season. It is both hardy and vigorous.”
HIGHLAND LORD-
“ Munson 83, 22 Mla, 5 sev. Mahogany red tet is what the description says, but that does not even begin to say what a beautiful daylily this is Saw it at Region 2 Madison, WI, and "had to have it" and am glad it lives here. It was one of the "bus daylilies," but I was not fortunate enough to receive it; so, I traded with Bill and Gail Johannes of the Metropolitan Columbus DS for it.”
“ A beautiful red double with a gold wire-like edge. As someone else on the Robin said...a double before its time.”
“ is one of the finest doubles in my gardens (and I dearly love doubles). I cannot praise this daylily highly enough. In my view, it is the standard for red doubles. The phrase "before its time" may be over-used and trite, but it certainly applies to HIGHLAND LORD. A strong increaser, vigorous, well-branched, and floriferous, HIGHLAND LORD is a deep velvety red with a pale yellow edge on the crimped inner petaloids. It doesn't bloom 100% double for me, but that's OK. Even when it produces the occasional single bloom, it's still gorgeous.”
“ Red Double, just wonderful here. Has clarity. Blooms better with more care and fertilizer (alfalfa pellets). Just love it.”
“ 1983 tetraploid double late bloomer”
“ a lovely red double that has done quite well here.”
“ Elegant red double with a great form. “
“ wonderful red double with gold edge”
“ probably in the top five any day you ask me”
“ what can I add to what has been said already.”
“ A gold edged red double tet. Way ahead of it's time.”
“great when gold edge shows up”
“ loads of perfect blooms, consistently double here”
“ Just traded for it but have seen it in many gardens and had it on my must have list.”
KATE CARPENTER –
“one I wanted for years and the popularity poll winner in Region 7 about 5 years ago. By the time the price came down I wanted BETTY WARREN WOODS more (:->).”
“ grows under two ornamental cherry trees and fights for light, water and nutrients and does just fine.”
“ This color and form of this one, and the consistency of performance make it a perfect garden plant. It's only flaw is that it is top branched and the blooms tend to crowd at times. It's offspring are many and have often gotten away from the top-branching.”
“ a creamy pink blend. An all around beautiful flower. “
“ A fine performer in Region 9”
“ A gorgeous pink that just blooms and blooms”
“ (just a hair away from being a Stour Medal winner)”
“ lovely pale cream pink”
“always big blooms and so pretty.”
CAMEROONS
“ a beautiful, clear claret”
“ because it so distinctive, and beautiful.”
“ has been a favorite five since I first got it”
“ I've only seen it in pictures and added it to my garden this year “
“ Love that unusual color and the twisted sepals remind me of a pinwheel. Reblooms.”
“ fun form and bold colors”
“wine red twisty thing”
“ wine red with a chalky wine eye and a lime green throat”
“ because of the wonderful exotic form it has itself and then passes along to it's offspring”
“ a strong wine purple with a distinctive chalky-pink watermark. The narrow, twisting petals/sepals are intriguing, giving it an exotic appearance. In my gardens I like to group several Munson cultivars together. I find that the intricate eye and throat patterns, as well as the clear base colors, complement each other well. I have CAMEROONS planted with ELIZABETH ANN HUDSON, HIGHLAND CRANBERRY, and PANACHE. This is a wonderful Munson quartet that provides great visual impact.”
“super -hybridize with it. Have a seedling that may be registered someday, Red self, reblooming, just love it.”
“ one of my top ten daylilies (of 550). It doesn't fade and never turns brown or gray like some purples. Or melt. It is superb! “
“Wine/purple with chalky eyezone. Love the way it opens differently each day. Throws unusual forms also. “
“ I love the twisty sepals on this watermarked purplish red one. It is fertile both ways and produced a fair amount of seed for me this year, mostly in conjunction with narrow tets.”
“ a wonderful deep maroon that stands tall and regal and with lovely deep color even in the heat of the afternoon sun”
“ It gets my vote from the incredible children it breeds. I have seen 3 intros out of it from various breeders, and all were different and unusual. It is an interesting hard to describe color between red and violet. It is fertile both ways. It's offspring CAMEROON NIGHTS is such a great plant and a near spider.Many of Cameroon's children are UF's, and near spiders.”
RESPIGHI
“Wine/black with chalky wine eyezone. Blooms and increases here in part shade! Lovely color in the afternoon.”
“ An early 20th century classical composer. Oops, we are talking daylilies. As most of you know, Bill Munson was famous for his purples. This dark purple may have been my favorite purple this year. Although he may have been surpassed in recent years with some of the Hanson and Moldovan purples, if you were to set the clock back to say 1990, Bill Munson would have ruled tet purples.”
“ a wonderful wine/purple color, heavy bloomer, just love it.”
“ another beautiful purple”
“ Deep black-purple with purple eye.”
“ Love the purple - it gets great admiration during garden tours.”
“another beautiful purple”
“ The watermark makes this one distinctive.”
RUSSIAN RHAPSODY
“ new to my garden this year but bloomed exactly as the picture showed it would, an incredible color with a great eye.”
“ under 2 ornamental cherry trees also and fights for light, water and nutrients plus people traipsing along the brick path and refuses to quit.”
“ The one that got me first interested in Daylilies. I was a great grower for me in Lexington, Kentucky. I brought a division off that plant down here with me, where it also performs great and even reblooms.”
“ one that everyone knows and needs no introduction.”
“ Doesn't everyone know this plum purple with deep purple eye?”
“ always liked this one.”
“ loads of scapes, looks fantastic in a clump.”
Cultivars Voted for: 218
AFRICAN GRAPE7
AISHA2
APOLLODORUS7
ARMANI1
ASIAN SKY1
BARONET'S BADGE2
BEIJING4
BELGIAN CHATEAU1
BELOVED BALLERINA2
BENCHMARK11
BENEDICT 2
BETTY WARREN WOODS-42
BLUSHING LEMON 1
BORGIA QUEEN6
BOTTICELLI 1
BRAZILLIAN ORANGE1
BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S3
BUENOS AIRES2
BURMESE SUNLIGHT1
BYZANTINE EMPEROR3
BYZANTINE MASK1
CALAIS 2
CAMEROONS 29
CANTON HARBOR1
CAPELLA LIGHT 1
CARAMEL GLAZE2
CAROLYN HENDRIX11
CARTIER'S GEM 1
CAVATINA 1
CHABLIS BLANC 1
CHALEUR1
CHAMPAYNE ROYALE1
CHATEAU BLANC1
CHATEAU DE FLEUR 2
CHERRY CHAPEAU11
CHEYENNE SKIES2
CHINA LAKE8
CHINA VEIL 1
CHINESE AUTUMN1
CHINESE CLOISONNE4
CHINESE PAVILLION 2
CHINESE TEMPLE FLOWER-6
CHINESE WATERCOLOR 3
CLEMENCEAUX1
COLLECTOR'S CHOICE1
COMMISSAR3
COMTESSINA1
COPPER DAWN3
CORELLI2
CORFU2
COURT MAGICIAN40
COZUMEL1
DAWN CRANE1
DEAUVILLE SUN 1
DESERT JEWEL1
DESERT TAN 1
DEVONSHIRE1
DIAMOND SHADOWS 1
DIVINE MADNESS5
DUNEDIN7
EARL ROBERTS 1
EASTER MOON1
EGYPTIAN IBIS4
ELIZABETH ANN HUDSON1
ELMO JACKSON 1
EMBASSY1
EMERALD DAWN1
EMPEROR BUTTERFLY6
EMPEROR'S DRAGON10
ENCHANTED EMPRESS4
ETOSHA4
EVELYN LELA STOUT7
FANCY ILLUSION 1
FENCING MASTER5
FIERY CHARIOT 1
FLOWER SHOP 2
FRED HAM6
FRENCH FROSTING1
FRENCH PORCELAIN1
GARDEN GODDESS 1
GAUGUIN5
GEM1
GRAND OPERA1
GRAND OPERA4
GRAND PALAIS2
GRAND RENAISSANCE 1
GUS BLANKENSHIP1
HAWAIIAN EMPRESS1
HIGH LAMA1
HIGHLAND LORD35
HOT JAZZ 1
HYDE PARK 1
IDA WIMBERLY MUNSON 1
IMPERIAL EMPRESS1
INCA PRINCE1
JAMAICA GINGER 1
JAMAICA ROSE1
JAPANESE BROCADE3
KABUKI BALLET4
KATE CARPENTER32
KECIA7
KENSINGTON MANOR1
KINGS CLOAK4
KING'S COTILLION 1
LA FENICE 1
LANGDON1
LAURIANA 1
LEMON JADE2
LENOX3
LEXINGTON AVENUE11
LILAC SNOW2
LIMOGES PORCELAIN1
MAGIC MANDARIN1
MAISON CARRE2
MALAYSIAN MAGISTRATE1
MALAYSIAN MONARCH48
MALMAISON PLUM2
MANCHURIAN APRICOT1
MANHATTAN NIGHT1
MARY ANN SMITH1
MASK BALL1
MATISSE6
MAYAN POPPY 3
MEDORAN GOLD 1
MERLE KENT 1
MERRY WITCH11
MOON SNOW1
MORTICIA6
MOST NOBLE 1
MOUNTAIN VIOLET8
MYKONOS 6
NAIROBI NIGHT5
NIGERIAN NIGHT3
NIJINSKY1
NILE CRANE4
NILE PLUM6
NIVIA GUEST9
NOTORIOUS1
OLIVE BAILEY LANGDON-10
ORANGE DIVA1
ORIENTAL SILK1
PALACE GUARD4
PALACE LANTERN1
PALACE PAGODA3
PAPER DRAGON 2
PARIS OVERTURE1
PARIS SIDEWALK1
PASHA’S PASSPOR2
PERSIAN MARKET7
PERSIAN PLUM2
PHARAOHS TREASURE1
PRIME MINISTER6
PRINCESS MOONBEAM1
PURPLE TWILIGHT TIME4
QUEEN'S CAPE1
RAINBOW GOLD STAR1
RARE GIFT1
REINE DE VIOLETTES 2
RESPIGHI25
RICHARD TAYLOR1
RILEY BARON2
ROCAMADOUR1
ROYAL EXCHEQUER 2
ROYAL HEIRESS4
ROYAL HERITAGE 1
ROYAL SARACEN4
ROYAL TRUMPETER1
RUE DE LAPE 1
RUFFLED DUDE12
RUFFLED LEMON LACE5
RUFFLES ELEGANTE 9
RUSSIAN RHAPSODY22
RUWENZORI1
SALZBURG 1
SARI 8
SCARAMOUCHE6
SCARLET CHALICE2
SEA GODDESS10
SEA URCHIN5
SELMA TIMMONS1
SEMIRAMIDE3
SERENGETI4
SHIBUI SPLENDOR5
SHINTO ETCHING3
SHISHEDO 7
SILVER ICE10
SILVER SPRITE1
SILVER VEIL1
SINGAPORE ORCHID2
SNOW SHADOWS2
SOVEREIGN QUEEN6
SPANISH MASQUERADE12
SPICED ORANGE1
SPODE2
SPRING WILLOW SONG4
STRAWBERRY CUPCAKE4
SULTANS RUBY 4
SUN KING1
TAMIL1
TEMPLE GODDESS3
THAILAND GOLD1
THAIS3
TIFFANY GOLD 4
TIME LORD6
TROPICAL SNOW1
TUSCAWILLA1
TWILIGHT MADONNA1
TWILIGHT SWAN2
VENETIAN MAGISTRATE1
VICTORIA ELIZABETH BARNES3
VICTORIAN DAYS 4
VINTAGE WINE1
VIVACIOUS 1
WAR MARCH 3
WARRIOR PRINCE1
WATERBIRD3
WRAPPED IN GOLD2
YASMIN 7
Complete Comments from the Robin, alphabetical order:
AFRICAN GRAPE-
“this one should be in everyone's garden. Went from one to 6 corn stalk like fans in 2 years.”
“ a gorgeous purple which multiplies well up here. My favorite purples.”
“ It has great branching and substance and holds it color well.”
AISHA- 6" peach rose
APOLLODORUS –
“fairly sunfast purple. A midlate that reliably reblooms here in Nebraska”.
“ love the late bloom”
ARMANI (love this color! have babies with POLYNESIAN LOVE SONG:-)
BEIJING –
“ Just fabulous color and grower. It is wonderful in a clump.”
“soft apricot pink”
BENCHMARK
“Several contributors to our robin have noted Bill's many contributions among the lavenders and/or purples. This strong-growing beauty makes a great garden flower, always attracting comments from visitors. I still have a huge clump of this in my garden, and though it is more triangular than the form I have often preferred among daylilies in general, I think it is an elegant blossom in a color we hybridizers have offered too little of.”
“ Is also an older one, but has that trademark eye pattern and grows well under a large holly tree, where mostly only hostas thrive.”
BENEDICT:
“most incredible cherry rose red with a lighter watermark took my breath away first time I saw it bloom the color was so different. “
BETTY WARREN WOODS –
“this is a landmark yellow that nearly everyone has hybridized with. It has beautiful round form and performs well for me unprotected up here in the north.”
“This one is at the top of my list. Beautiful lemon-yellow color, heavy, waxy, form substance, tight ruffling, and an excellent breeder make it not only an excellent garden clump, but also a hybridizer's dream.”
“ was a tad recalcitrant about getting established in my garden. But after pouting for a while, it really flourished. A beautiful lemon cream yellow with a strong ruffled gold edge, excellent form and branching, and a consistently good opener, BETTY WARREN WOODS is definitely a winner.”
“ This lovely cultivar grows well for me, and I do think had Bill placed it on the Awards and Honors list the first or second year of its eligibility, it would have probably won for him that Stout Medal, which he has never received. The last time I visited with Bill and Betty, I reminded him that it then was five years overdue and he agreed to nominate the cultivar for the next year's HM candidacy. Though older than some other cultivars against which it will be competing in the future, I think this lemon and cream delicacy is still worthy of high honors.”
“ is such a quality daylily--even a new-to-daylily person who visited my garden this summer saw it and recognized its superior flower, and wants it.”
“ can't be surpassed in our garden for number of blooms”
“ I love this yellow daylily. It is one my favorites in all of the garden.”
“a classic for all times”
“produces good offspring”
“ doesn’t like our freeze thaw springs, but always puts on a show”
“ has beautiful form”
“ one of the best yellows and does wonderfully in the Southeastern Gulf Coast.”
“ who doesn't like this one.”
“ a superb ruffled yellow that is on the tender side for us but still gives us some beautiful blooms.”
“ Just plain great!”
“ Yellow is my second least favorite color (after gold), but this particular flower is just about perfection. While we don't begin to get the superb branching and bud count which I have observed on this flower while growing at Wimberlyway, we still get a great display from this beauty as long as it is not being disturbed. It tends to have a short sulk after we disturb it, but it has always managed to recuperate nicely.”