PARK HILL, OK – The desirable, soft butter-yellow color of Garden Debut®’s new introduction Montego Melon™ Daylily is superior to previous long-blooming daylilies because it represents advances in both color selection and disease resistance, along with an incredibly long bloom season. Plants in the Enjoy 24/7™ “the no work plant collection”share outstanding characteristics that appeal to gardeners, homeowners, landscape designers and contractors.
Bright, cheerful Montego Melon™ Daylily flowers are a clear yellow to cream melon color with an apple-green center that act as a magnet for the eye across a green landscape. Delightfully wide petals are sculptured or pleated with heavy substance, and recurve to form a very round flower. Large, looping ruffles extend into the throat area. Throughout the year, branched flower scapes produce dozens of flower buds, enhancing the display.
Montego Melon™ Daylily is a 2011 introduction in the Tetraploid series Enjoy 24/7™ “the no work plant collection” from Garden Debut® that features shorter plants with large, brightly-colored flowers. Flowering begins six to eight weeks earlier than standard daylilies and flowers develop even during cooler weather and cold nights, a big plus for retailers whose customers will be captivated by the colorful display on their springtime shopping trips. Branched scapes are loaded with buds that begin blooming eight weeks earlier than standard daylilies and continue blooming until hard frost ends the growing season.
What’s more, Montego Melon™ Daylily is resistant to Daylily Rust, the scourge of previous long-blooming daylilies. Short, grassy foliage, clean shedding of old blooms, prolonged reblooming that extends the season, and rapid increases of divisions add up to a finer and more saleable daylily. Compact plants with short flower scapes and foliage of this daylily eliminate blow-over in garden centers common to taller daylilies sold in gallon pots.
The culmination of seven years of targeted plant modification by renowned daylily breeder and author Dr. Ted Petit of Le Petit Jardin, McIntosh, Fla., Garden Debut® is pleased to provide the green industry with superior plants through this new partnership. Montego Melon™ Daylily is available in summer 2011. The series is named for the luscious, soft dawns and tropical island colors of the Beach Boys’ classic song, Kokomo, and future introductions in this daylily collection will continue with enjoyable names derived from this hit recording.
For more information on Montego Melon™ Daylily and other superior plant introductions brought to gardeners by Garden Debut®, visit gardendebut.com. To set-up an interview contact Jim Thompson toll-free at 877-663-5053 or jim_thompson@greenleafnursery.com.
Plant Category: Perennial
Mature Height: 14-18 inches, shorter plants won't blow over in gallon pots
Mature Spread: 12 inches
Mature Form: Grass-like foliage, short mounds
Growth Rate: Vigorous, rapid increase in landscape or garden quickly forming large plants
Disease resistance: Very Rust resistant, "No Work Plant Collection"
Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
Soil Moisture: Wide range, tolerant of sdry to damp soils
Soil Type: Loam, Sand, Clay, tolerant of all soil types
pH Level: Wide range, tolerant of soil reaction
Flower Genetics: Tetraploid. More flowers with heavier substance, yet the series are shorter with narrow leaves that will not blow over in gallon nursery pots.
Intensity: Light-colored butter cream yellow blooms
Flower Color: Bright, cheerful Montego Melon™ Daylily flowers are a clear yellow to cream melon color with an apple-green center. The wide petals are sculpted with heavy substance, and recurve to form a very round flower. Large, looping ruffles extend into the throat area. Delightfully wide, overlapping, yellow melon petals recurve, creating a round flower form
Flower Size: 4 inches
Bloom Time: Continuous bloom spring through summer. Starts blooming 6 to 8 weeks earlier than standard commercial varieties, blooms during spring retail rush. Branched flower scapes have dozens of flower buds, enhancing the display.
Weather: Flowers even in cool weather and cold nights
Repeat Bloomer: Outstanding re-bloomer or continual-bloomer with multitudes of buds and flowers on well- branched scapes
Self-cleaning: Clean shedding of old blooms
Season: Flowers extremely early (with Azaleas and Redbud) and throughout summer and fall, until hard frost
Landscape Value: Improved garden mainstay; popular perennial now blooms earlier, fits into retail racks and has greater landscape application
Zone: 5-9
Source: Garden Debut
