Summer Garden

Circular: overflowing, overlapping segments make flowers appear round

Double: more than six segments

Flared: petals arch over backwards

Flat: flowers don't arch

Recurved: flared but edges roll back

Ruffled: frilled edges

Spider: long narrow spidery petals

Star: flowers resemble three-point or six-point star

Triangular: front view reveals a triangle

Trumpet: Petals are more upright than flared, looking like a lily from the side.

Bicolor: petals are different colors from sepals

Bitone: petals and sepals are a less or more intense shade of the same color

Blend: two or more colors blended

Dotted: clusters of spots

Dusted: Color is faded

Diamond Dusted: sparkling flowers

Edged or Picoteed: flower edges are darker or lighter

Midrib: different colored flower veins

Polychrome: three of more colors

Self: flower is all one color not including the stamens and throat

Tipped: tips are different color or shade from the rest of the flower

The number of sets of chromosomes within a cell or organism. Further referred to by the number of sets: one set is a haploid, two sets is a diploid, three sets is a triploid, four sets is a tetraploid, etc.

Haploid day lilies have just one of the set of chromosomes of the ancestral species. In all species that have been studied, the Haploid set has 11 chromosomes.

Diploid day lilies are common and are easy to grow. Spider and double day lilies are most likely to be diploid.

Triploid are not seen often in daylilies. They have a triple set of chromosomes and are generally infertile.

Tetraploid day lilies have been bred to outperform Diploid day lilies in many ways: flowers are larger; colors are more intense; scapes stronger; growth and flowering are more vigorous.

Diurnal Daylilies open during the day

Nocturnal Daylilies late afternoon and close in the morning

Extended Daylilies open for at least 16 hours. In addition, they may be either Diurnal or Nocturnal

One Day Lily or another is in flower for about eight or nine months of the year, starting in early Spring. What follows is an overview of the Day Lily flowering periods: Each lasts about 30 days.

Extra Early Day Liles flower first - March in the southern US; May or June in the North or the UK.

Early Day Lilies are next, flowering from around May in the South, June or July in the North

Early Midseason - April in the South to June in the north

Midseason - May in the South to July in the north

Late Midseason - June in the South to August in the North

Late - June/July in the South to August/September in the North

Very Late - Late August in the South to late September/October in the North.

Monarch butterflies go through four stages during one life cycle, and through four generations in one year. It’s a little confusing but keep reading and you will understand. The four stages of the monarch butterfly life cycle are the egg, the larvae (caterpillar), the pupa (chrysalis), and the adult butterfly. The four generations are actually four different butterflies going through these four stages during one year until it is time to start over again with stage one and generation one.

In February and March, the final generation of hibernating monarch butterflies comes out of hibernation to find a mate. They then migrate north and east in order to find a place to lay their eggs. This starts stage one and generation one of the new year for the monarch butterfly.

In March and April the eggs are laid on milkweed plants. They hatch into baby caterpillars, also called the larvae. It takes about four days for the eggs to hatch. Then the baby caterpillar doesn’t do much more than eat the milkweed in order to grow. After about two weeks, the caterpillar will be fully-grown and find a place to attach itself so that it can start the process of metamorphosis. It will attach itself to a stem or a leaf using silk and transform into a chrysalis. Although, from the outside, the 10 days of the chrysalis phase seems to be a time when nothing is happening, it is really a time of rapid change. Within the chrysalis the old body parts of the caterpillar are undergoing a remarkable transformation, called metamorphosis, to become the beautiful parts that make up the butterfly that will emerge. The monarch butterfly will emerge from the pupa and fly away, feeding on flowers and just enjoying the short life it has left, which is only about two to six weeks. This first generation monarch butterfly will then die after laying eggs for generation number two.

The second generation of monarch butterflies is born in May and June, and then the third generation will be born in July and August. These monarch butterflies will go through exactly the same four stage life cycle as the first generation did, dying two to six weeks after it becomes a beautiful monarch butterfly.

The fourth generation of monarch butterflies is a little bit different than the first three generations. The fourth generation is born in September and October and goes through exactly the same process as the first, second and third generations except for one part. The fourth generation of monarch butterflies does not die after two to six weeks. Instead, this generation of monarch butterflies migrates to warmer climates like Mexico and California and will live for six to eight months until it is time to start the whole process over again.

It is amazing how four generations of monarch butterflies works out so that the monarch population can continue to live on throughout the years, but not become overpopulated. Mother Nature sure has some cool ways of doing things, doesn’t she?

This info from: http://www.Monarch-Butterfly.co