I am on the hosta forum a lot and we do a swap every spring. It's a lot of fun. Everyone participating sends in a want list and a have list. One very gracious member organizes the swap by matching up the haves and wants as best they can. I haven't always gotten what I wanted, but I've gotten hostas that I've never heard of and ended up enjoying. Have your members ever done this?
Daylily Swap
HelenVT, we haven't (to my knowledge since I have been here) had any large scale swap. Individually we have trade with each other. Not a bad idea! Mike
Sounds like fun...
Helen I go through Charlotte all the time!! I have hundreds of daylilies and would be happy to swap....
That's a very kind of you to make that offer. I sent you a dmail of what I have to swap.
Sounds like a neat idea - although a lot of work on the coordinating person.................... I would definitely be interested (as long as i didn't have to be the one sorting! ^_^ )
Genna
I think that the person doing the sorting should get the best or biggest package of haves from the trade.
HelenVT, I agree!!
We used to do some pretty big swaps on Daves, and had to stop. There was to much variation in size of plants and the worth of plants for some people, zone issues as well. I loved doing them, but they had to be stopped.
I did some "swaps" with a couple of people, never got mine. I have been on dg for several years and have been generous with my trades and gave away some things. I don't understand why people squabble over such nonsense. Just be honest about what you have/are sending and a good idea to send a photo of the plants before a trade is agreed on if possible? I would be happy to just get any size plant! I know some people expect nicer large plants, especially if that is the same quality they sent, and that can be disappointing. But to me even if it is small, it only matters that it is healthy and grows. I finally had someone send me my end of a trade, over a year after I sent hers. I had moved in the mean time and the box was forwarded and the plants looked pitiful, but they all lived and some even bloomed. I was just so tickled to get anything at all at that point.
I think doing trades for dl is best in the early fall, maybe set up in July or Aug and then ship in Sep or early Oct. I think Nov is bordering on too late for my zone. I guess it just depends on what it feels like doing. You know what they say about MO, if you don't like the weather just wait a few minutes lol You can wear winter clothes, change into shorts and use an umbrella all in one day!
I don't like to do spring trades as much because I don't think they get time to establish from digging and planting and don't bloom as well. On the other hand, sacrificing blooms may be ok in colder areas where it is important to establish a good root system before harsh winters cause freezing/thawing/heaving. So that too just depends on your climate.
I think trading is a great way to expand ones collection, but just don't trade anything you cant live without. It's just like loaning money. Yeah, you might get it back, but don't loan it depending on getting it back. If you can't sacrifice it, don't gamble with it. Trading is a gamble, you may or may not get anything and it may or may not thrive. There will always be bad apples, but I will still trade when I can and try not to let those bad ones spoil the fun. To be honest I have had about a 50/50 success rate with trading. And by success I mean getting anything at all.
Good for you to have such a positive outlook after so many disappointments. I guess I've been lucky, only had one less than lovely experience in a group trade of several plants. Even there one plant grew well and is much loved in my garden. Otherwise all my experiences have been terrific, plants have arrived in decent condition and the promised size or better, often with unexpected 'extras' thrown in.
I like the idea of DL trading in the fall. No instant gratification, but at least the plant is more likely to bloom after having all that time to work on its roots. Having said that, I have to admit that. I'm not quite ready! Most of my DL's are NOID, except for the ones I've been buying for the last couple of years, and I can't spare any of those yet, I need them to fill out more. And since I'm not looking for more noid's, only named DL's, I wouldn't be able to trade fairly. Full disclosure, lol...
That is the thing too, people who are just into acquiring plants don't usually have alot to trade with. I spent 14 years working up to 400 or so daylilies. Many NOIDs and mostly older varieties. After a clump has been around for 3 or 4 years they would get so large I would have to divide them. I learned the hard way not to let them get too large or they would be too large to dig and handle for me. So I either divided them more often or gave them away to whoever would do the heavy digging for me. After a few years I was over run out of my ears with dl, I am pretty sure the neighbors pretended to not be home when they saw me coming lol
I gave away piles of them, all kinds and even a couple of really expensive ones I decided I just didn't care for. To me it was just a dl and it didn't matter to me if it was a $5 one or a $100 one, it was justnot pretty to me. But anyway, my point being that after a while you get alot growing and start dividing them, and I can't for the life of me figure out why it is so hard to find someone to trade with. I have even tossed a wheelbarrow load in the compost, I am embarrassed to admit. But I didn't have anyone to take them at the time and I was in a hurry and just had to get it done. The problem with dg trading is they have to be trimmed, washed free of any soil, packaged, labeled, boxed up, drive to the post office, and then you have to hope you get something in return or your postage is a loss. So much work involved to do it. I don't mind losing the plants per say, but I can't afford to throw away postage.
That's what's so great, IMO, about annual swaps. It's a way to get rid of extras and diversify. But you must have been trading with some naaaasty cheats! Please
think of me next time you have extras. I'll send postage and whatever else you might fancy first, so you don't have to worry about it. :-)
I have had some great trades with DG friends in the past - and some pretty pitiful ones too - but most of those were just trades with random people on the trade forum. But a few years ago, they had a thing on here where we paid postage and one of the more established DL people would send us a box of extras to help us get started. I thought that was awesome and I was more than willing to pay postage. Unfortunately, we had a horrible winter after they came and a major drought the following summer and I ended up losing almost all my new ones- but that definitely wasn't the people's fault who shared them with me. That was just mother nature weilding her might........... but postage is getting pretty steep and I can definitely understand people wanting at least their postage up front!
I have been having to ship a few things here lately and have been shocked at how expensive it has become!
Blomma, that's a good idea. I am going to talk with our village public works guy to see if they have some use for the rest of my ditch lilies. I would rather have a few shrubs there.
I've done plant trading through Dave's Garden annual hosta swap very successfully. One year a generous trader gave me 13 hostas despite me only being able to send out 3. Some have a lot to give and some don't. One year when I was first starting I ordered a couple of hostas that was on the person's want list and had them sent to their address. That's allowed if you're starting out. Some years I don't get what's on my want list, but like I said I got 13 hostas and another year 8. That's ok with me because many times they turn out to be hostas that I like. If I don't like some of the hostas I give them to friends or plant them and save them for next year's swap.
I will admit to having some troubles trading with people on the trading forum. However, the hosta swap is well organized. First, the organizer starts a thread announcing the swap in the spring. People join by posting their have list and want list on the thread. Our organizer for many years has been ZZTopsoil. The swap organizer based on wants and have lists figures out who you'll be sending hostas to and who will be sending hostas to you. You don't just trade with one person. You have to notify the organizer when your plants arrive and give the ship date for when you send out your plants by sending him a dmail. When people get their hostas not only do they notify the organizer, but they also post a message on the forum about how many hostas they got and exactly what they got. The hostas have to be a named variety. This I believe keeps everyone on their best behavior. Every year that I've swapped, I've been very pleased.
It would be fun to do the same thing with daylilies.
Helen, I agree!!