Beautiful, stable, variegated foliage on a dwarf daylily. Striking green and white striped leaves are produced under shade conditions; green and yellow when grown in the sun. Clear golden-yellow clusters of flowers in summer.

Plant in mass for vivid displays, in containers for excellent contrast, or in mixed perennial borders. Deciduous even in the mildest of climates. Full sun to part shade. Foliage reaches 12 inches in height, spreading to 24 inches.

Evergreen perennial to 5-6' tall by 2' wide with dark red flowers from spring-fall. They prefer full sun and good drainage, with regular irrigation.

These plants, with their unusual flowers, make wonderful focal point specimens and are stunning when massed in banks. They make great cut flowers, and also do very well as container plants.

We'd like to wish everyone a very happy Father's Day!

About Father's Day

The driving force behind the establishment of the celebration of Father's Day was Mrs. Sonora Smart Dodd. Her father, William Smart, was widowed when his wife died while giving birth to their sixth child. He was left to raise the newborn and his other five children by himself.

Mrs. Dodd was inspired by Anna Jarvis's efforts to establish Mother's Day. Although she initially suggested June 5, the anniversary of her father's death, she did not give the organizers enough time to make arrangements, and the first celebration was deferred to the third Sunday in June (coincidentally, that was June 19th, the same date we celebrate Father's Day this year). Unofficial support for the holiday was immediate and widespread.

Calvin Coolidge recommended it as a national holiday in 1924. The observance of Father's Day was recognized by a Joint Resolution of Congress in 1956. Lyndon Johnson declared Father's Day an official holiday in 1966. In 1972, President Richard Nixon signed into law a permanent U.S. Father's Day to be observed on the third Sunday of June.

Like carnations to be worn on Mother's Day, there is also a flower for Father's Day. Roses are the Father's Day flowers: red to be worn for a living father and white if the father has died.

This Week's Trivia Question:

I bought a beautiful blue hydrangea last year, but this year it's blooming pink!  What can I do to make it bloom blue next year?

This Week's Prize:

5 gallon hydrangea

Start with a hydrangea that was blue when you bought it. Some kinds never turn blue; white varieties always stay white. Some pinks turn purple instead of blue.

Plant and grow blue hydrangeas in acid soil mix. When planting in containers use a commercial soil mix designed for camellias and azaleas. We recommend Gardner & Bloome Acid Planting Mix. When planting in the ground, amend the native soil in the planting hole with the same acid planting mix, according to package directions, or use two-thirds premoistened peat moss. Mulch with leaf or redwood.

If planting in the ground, check the root run of established plants to make sure the soil is not too alkaline. Use a soil test kit to test the pH of the soil. A pH of 4.5 to 5.0 yields blue flowers, a pH of 5.5 to 6.5 yields mauve, and a pH of 7.0 to 7.5 yields pink.

Maintain the desired pH with aluminum sulfate. Use 1 tablespoon aluminum sulfate per foot of plant height, or 1/4 teaspoon per potted plant. Mix this in water and apply it as a drench several times in spring and fall, beginning in September.

Never use fertilizer that contains phosphorus. Phosphorus is alkaline, so the use of it will raise the pH of the soil and turn blue hydrangeas pink.