Elfin

Introduced: 1949
Height: 20"
Ploidy: Diploid
Habit: Dormant
Bloom time: Extra Early, Extended, Rebloom
Bloom size: 4"
Bloom type: Single
Not Fragrant


In the introduction year, A.B. Stout described it as:
" The horticultural name of Elfin Daylilies is here given to a dwarf race obtained by selective breeding of wild stocks of the species Hemerocallis Middendorfii. Several collections of living plants and of seeds were received by the writer from widely separated localities in the Orient. These plants displayed much diversity in stature and habits of growth. Some have not exceeded 20 inches in height over a period of ten years, which is ample time for a daylily to attain its full stature.
The plant shown on page 36 is representative of the group, although some have flowers that are somewhat smaller and less full and the foliage more slender. This is one of the many plants grown from wild seed and used as a parent in the breeding of this group.
The flowers which are day-blooming, are of good size, spreading and saucer-shaped in form, and clear orange in coloring. There are often three, and sometimes four, clustered flowers on scapes that stand slightly above the mound of leaves. The Elfin Daylilies are among the earliest of daylilies in flowering; at New York they are usually in good bloom on May 15 when Darwin tulips are in bloom. This race is fully dormant in winter and hardy in the northern states. "
( cited from: Journal of the New York Botanical Garden, 1949, vol. 50, p. 36-39 )