The Daylily: A Guide for Gardeners [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

John P. Peat (Author), Ted L. Petit (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 2004

Few perennials are as tough and versatile as daylilies (genus Hemerocallis), and even fewer offer daylilies' enormous range of color, shape, and growing characteristics. The ease of hybridizing daylilies is a major attraction for the enthusiast. Any backyard gardener can hybridize daylilies, but this blessing of easy breeding can also be something of a curse to the newcomer. Tens of thousands of new daylilies are bred each year. How to choose and grow daylilies amidst this profusion? John Peat and Ted Petit have come to the rescue in this authoritative overview of all aspects of daylily history, cultivation, and breeding. Inspired by R. W. Munson Jr.'s classic treatment, Hemerocallis, they fully describe the history of the modern daylily. In the heart of the book, they detail the various types of hybrids and provide indispensable advice for growing all of them well. More than 200 beautiful color photographs and illustrations round out the work.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Blessed as it is with a relatively carefree nature, extensive climate range, and dazzling color spectrum, the daylily is deservedly popular with amateur and professional gardeners alike; so much so that some 1,600 new daylilies are introduced into the marketplace annually and in excess of 50,000 registered cultivars are widely available. Such a profusion of daylilies is bound to breed confusion. Enter this up-to-date and comprehensive guidebook aimed at demystifying the current state of one of horticulture's most prolific, varied, and adaptable members. Covering a broad range of topics, from the history of the species to a first look at as-yet-unnamed new introductions, the manual also offers an inclusive directory of those daylilies generally considered most desirable by today's gardeners. Contributing authors, each an expert in a specific aspect of daylily gardening, discuss topics such as cultivation, landscape design, and the increasingly popular field of hybridization. More than 200 color photographs and illustrations aid in making this a must-have reference for the daylily devotee. Carol Haggas
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"A horticultural gem."—John Bagnasco, Garden Compass, April 2005 (John Bagnasco Garden Compass )

"Another beautiful book by Peat and Petit."—Joanne S. Carpender, National Gardener, December 2004 (Joanne S. Carpender National Gardener )

"There's much to appreciate about this comprehensive guide."—Lynne Terry, Oregonian, October 28, 2004 (Lynne Terry Oregonian )

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 200 pages
• Publisher: Timber Press (October 15, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0881926663
• ISBN-13: 978-0881926668
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #186,068 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars ylily:A Guide for Gardeners, October 7, 2005

By 

Daylily Lover (Seattle, Wa.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Daylily: A Guide for Gardeners (Hardcover)

This book was a self-serving book for the hybridizers, Peat and Petit..Most of the images were THEIR daylilies...Their Color Encyclopedia of Daylilies was much better...

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Waste of colour fotography!, November 26, 2008

By 

Jamie V. "Wordseeker" (Cologne) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Daylily: A Guide for Gardeners (Hardcover)

After the first edition of The Encyclopedia of Daylilies, I was expecting the same high quality. No way! The printing is abomanable, poor editing and generally a slap-dash production. Shame, as the info is certainly valuable and the various authors that have contributed deserved a better production job! What happened, TP?

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Advancing the Daylily story a few more years, August 5, 2008

By 

Benjamin (UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Daylily: A Guide for Gardeners (Hardcover)

Another offering from Messrs Peat and Petit, authors of The Color Encyclopedia of Daylilies, published 2000, (and with The New The Color Encyclopedia of Daylilies due to be published 2008), if nothing else brings the story of daylilies on a few more years. The Daylily does cover much of the same ground as their Encyclopedia in that it discuses the original species and its development in the hand of hybridisers. However much more space is given to the growing of daylilies with chapters on Landscaping with daylilies, Cultivation, Pest and Diseases, Hybridising and Exhibiting Daylilies in Shows. There is also chapter a devoted to Award Winning Daylilies; a Chapter each for Daylilies in Australia, Canada and Europe; and a chapter devoted to Daylily Societies and Events. Also included is a list of Sources for Daylilies and a Bibliography. Many of the chapters are not the work of Peat and Petit but contributed by other writers, so even where there might be a duplication of topic at least in the hands of a different contributor we get a new slant.

The biggest single section of the book, 50pp, is given over to A Selection of Daylilies for the Garden. Each cultivar is described in terms of size, colour, flowering season along with other facts, and many of them are pictured in colour; almost all of the cultivars included here are post 1990. A further selection is included, and pictured, in the chapter A Look to the Future.

It all makes for a very useful contribution to the Daylily library. However it Peat and Petit's apparent preference for rounded and heavily ruffled flowers does mean sadly that there are very few Spiders and UFs included. With the authors extensive knowledge of their subject it would have been interesting to have included some personal comment or evaluation of the cultivars listed.

The more than 200 colour illustrations might sound a lot, but as the authors point out each year over 1,600 new plants are registered, so in Daylily terms this merely scratches the surface; and for those of us outside the USA many of these never become realistically available. So perhaps the real value of this book is that it provides an insight into the direction Daylily hybridising is going, and what we can expect to see in the future.