Substantial Substance
(Sdlg#STSE3)
(Stella De Oro x Substantial Evidence)
26" scapes - 4" flowers - Diploid - Early - Extended - 3 branches - 18 buds - Dormant - Rebloom
Open, flat flower with exceptionally thick substance in bright medium yellow with moderate ruffling, slightly paler petal edges and a profusion of scapes with strong rebloom.
I will discontinue carrying Substantial Substance as a regular stock item in 2022. For more information, see this post.
Substantial Substance is perhaps one of my favorite flowers that I have produced and is my favorite among all the small reblooming types I have ever grown or produced. Now, I know, I know, its 'just another yellow', but it is one of the best yellow flowers I have ever grown. The most amazing thing, first and foremost, is the incredible substance. The name is both an homage to its amazing pollen parent, but also to the fact that this one has simply amazing substance. I know of no other small, reblooming dips with this level of substance. The petals are just thick and plastic-like. They are actually thicker than the petals of pollen parent Substantial Evidence! They are far thicker than pod parent Stella De Oro.
So how did these two parents produce a seedling with substance thicker than either of themselves have? I don't know, but I am sure glad I made the cross. Not only is the substance of Substantial Substance thicker than either parent and thicker than any of the little reblooming dips I have grown, it is thicker than many tetraploids I grow, with only a few things showing this level of substance and resilience against sun and rain, even at the tetraploid level. To me, this one is a breakthrough in terms of substance both at the dip level and for these wonderful little reblooming diploids that have so much value in the garden and for commercial use in landscaping and for commercial plant growers and sellers.
The picture above shows the first round of scapes at the beginning of their bloom cycle. Even then, if you look closely, you can see a profusion of instant rebloom scapes emerging below the mature scapes, which are also in profusion. You can also see how bright and eye-catching the flowers are when in mass planting. Even a single mature clump is a beacon from across the garden.
The picture above shows the row of line-outs of Substantial Substance with sibling Substantial Returns in the foreground and sibling Substantial Glow in the far background. The dark purple immediately behind Substantial Substance is Vorlon Encounter Suit. You can see in this picture how profuse the mature planting of Substantial Substance is. It is really stunning and a huge step beyond the simple flowers of Stella De Oro, with even better branching, bud count, scape-to-fan ratio, and big, bright flowers with extreme sun and rain resistance, as well as a much clearer, brighter color.
The foliage is also very beautiful, deep green with fast increase and showing dormancy here in my garden. It is senescent in most years in my zone 6/7 garden, but in very mild winters it holds some green growth, so I suspect this one will do well in warmer winter areas in at least zone 8 and maybe zone 9 or higher. I also suspect it will do well in colder winter gardens into zone 5, maybe even zone 4 or lower. My guess is that anywhere the parents do well, this one will also. It has been very hardy here with good tolerance to late spring freezes.
Substantial Substance was extremely rust resistant through all five years of my rust resistance screening. As well, it also shows moderately high thrip resistance. Substantial Substance is fertile both ways and even though it is 'just a yellow' it has produced a range of flat, heavy-substance-flowered seedlings in a range of colors and many showing the same very high rust resistance.
While my main thrust in introducing Substantial Substance is to get this amazing plant into the hands of gardeners and commercial growers and sellers, daylily collectors and breeders should not overlook this one. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles such as patterns or extreme petal edges, but its simplicity is deceptive - it has many advances that would benefit many diploid programs, especially those working with small reblooming types - and it has high breeding value for its many advanced traits.
Substantial Substance is perhaps one of my favorite flowers that I have produced and is my favorite among all the small reblooming types I have ever grown or produced. Now, I know, I know, its 'just another yellow', but it is one of the best yellow flowers I have ever grown. The most amazing thing, first and foremost, is the incredible substance. The name is both an homage to its amazing pollen parent, but also to the fact that this one has simply amazing substance. I know of no other small, reblooming dips with this level of substance. The petals are just thick and plastic-like. They are actually thicker than the petals of pollen parent Substantial Evidence! They are far thicker than pod parent Stella De Oro.
So how did these two parents produce a seedling with substance thicker than either of themselves have? I don't know, but I am sure glad I made the cross. Not only is the substance of Substantial Substance thicker than either parent and thicker than any of the little reblooming dips I have grown, it is thicker than many tetraploids I grow, with only a few things showing this level of substance and resilience against sun and rain, even at the tetraploid level. To me, this one is a breakthrough in terms of substance both at the dip level and for these wonderful little reblooming diploids that have so much value in the garden and for commercial use in landscaping and for commercial plant growers and sellers.
The rebloom of Substantial Substance is extremely good in my garden. It shows early scapes followed by instant rebloom for a long season. Note the instant rebloom scapes emerging below the mature, blooming scapes in all three of the pictures above. Notice also the nice, lightly ruffled edges and the flatness of the flower. You can see how the stamens swirl, which is characteristic of the flat types. While not as completely flat as pollen parent Substantial Evidence, the flatness of Substantial Substance is nearly as extreme as the pollen parent and far more open and flat than the rather trumpet-shaped pod parent, Stella De Oro.
The picture above shows the first round of scapes at the beginning of their bloom cycle. Even then, if you look closely, you can see a profusion of instant rebloom scapes emerging below the mature scapes, which are also in profusion. You can also see how bright and eye-catching the flowers are when in mass planting. Even a single mature clump is a beacon from across the garden.
The picture above shows the row of line-outs of Substantial Substance with sibling Substantial Returns in the foreground and sibling Substantial Glow in the far background. The dark purple immediately behind Substantial Substance is Vorlon Encounter Suit. You can see in this picture how profuse the mature planting of Substantial Substance is. It is really stunning and a huge step beyond the simple flowers of Stella De Oro, with even better branching, bud count, scape-to-fan ratio, and big, bright flowers with extreme sun and rain resistance, as well as a much clearer, brighter color.
The foliage is also very beautiful, deep green with fast increase and showing dormancy here in my garden. It is senescent in most years in my zone 6/7 garden, but in very mild winters it holds some green growth, so I suspect this one will do well in warmer winter areas in at least zone 8 and maybe zone 9 or higher. I also suspect it will do well in colder winter gardens into zone 5, maybe even zone 4 or lower. My guess is that anywhere the parents do well, this one will also. It has been very hardy here with good tolerance to late spring freezes.
Substantial Substance was extremely rust resistant through all five years of my rust resistance screening. As well, it also shows moderately high thrip resistance. Substantial Substance is fertile both ways and even though it is 'just a yellow' it has produced a range of flat, heavy-substance-flowered seedlings in a range of colors and many showing the same very high rust resistance.
While my main thrust in introducing Substantial Substance is to get this amazing plant into the hands of gardeners and commercial growers and sellers, daylily collectors and breeders should not overlook this one. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles such as patterns or extreme petal edges, but its simplicity is deceptive - it has many advances that would benefit many diploid programs, especially those working with small reblooming types - and it has high breeding value for its many advanced traits.
