Hemerocallis 'Stella De Oro'

'Stella De Oro' is an historic diploid hybrid daylily first introduced by the late Walter Jablonski in 1975. A groundbreaking introduction, it was the first long-blooming daylily hybrid, blooming from spring in successive waves through to the autumn. It is also a very early bloomer - often a month earlier than other daylilies - and the stunning buttercup yellow flowers have a subtle fragrance and last about 16 hours - a long time for a daylily. These qualities, together with its delicate grassy foliage, vigourous growth and its compact miniature habit have made it a very popular choice, and deservedly so, for it is a very undemanding plant that rewards throughout the growing season with a succession of cheerful flowers.

Walter Jablonsky was a turkey farmer and enthusiastic amateur breeder of Hemerocallis from Merrillville, Indiana and after he had retired was able to devote more time to his passion. 'Stella de Oro' was his most celebrated creation. He died in 1986 aged 90. The hybrid is often misnamed as 'Stella d'Oro and several other synonyms in an apparent attempt to make sense of the curious mixture of Italian and Spanish languages. But the linguistically incorrect 'Stella de Oro' is the correct botanical name as that was the name given to it by Jablonski and registered with the American Hemerocallis Society. The renowned daylily breeder, Roy Klehm, who bought Walter Jablonski's garden from the Jablonski estate, tells a curious story : 'I asked him where he got the name,' Klehm recalls, 'and he said, "The cookies were on the table at lunchtime."' The reference was to a package of cookies from the Stella d'Oro company that had caught Jablonski's eye. Hmmm... yes, but that still doesn't explain the eccentric spelling!!