Daylily ‘Popcorn Pete’

I don’t grow a lot of “chicken fat” daylilies because I worry they may have difficulty opening. I’ve seen a number of them on garden tours that are stuck shut or have several petals or sepals that won’t unfurl and the plants look rather goofy.

Here’s a close-up of some frilly, chicken-fat edges:

Despite my concerns I purchased several chicken fat cultivars in late 2011. It was so obnoxiously hot and dry last summer that none of them bloomed, but this summer ‘Popcorn Pete’ appeared for the first time and had no trouble opening its royal purple flowers with a bubbly gold edge.

‘Popcorn Pete’ blooms in the middle of the daylily season. The plants grow 25 inches tall with 6-inch flowers.