ChDC Plants-For-Members Program Guidelines (1/2020)

The primary purpose of the Plants-For-Members (P4M) program is to educate our members by investigating the performance of new cultivars. Many of the P4M plants are untried in our area and this program will give members information on performance of a cultivar in our area. The P4M program is designed to provide Club members with relatively recent and/or popular daylily cultivars which in turn will provide plants for Club auctions. Other goals of the program include: encouraging participation in Club activities, encouraging visits to other members’ gardens, and encouraging social interaction among members. The Club has budgeted money for purchasing plants. The plants remain Club property and are distributed to eligible Club members using a lottery system.
Eligible members selecting P4M plants will grow the plant for two years while the plant increases. If the plant increases to 6 or more fans, then the member may keep 2 fans. If less than 6 fans, the member can keep 1 fan and must return the remaining fans for auction. If the plant is a slow increaser, the member may make a request to the Plants for Members Committee Chairperson (or Chairperson’s designee) by August 1st of the year the plant is scheduled to be returned for auction to grow the plant for another year. For especially fast increasers, members may be asked to bring in a portion of the plant for auction in one year instead of the normal two.
The club encourages all members to recommend plants for purchase. If a club member wishes to pay half the cost of purchasing a plant, that member will be the member selected to grow the plant. The member will be permitted to retain one additional fan at the end of the two year growing season. Only one member will be allowed to pay half of a cultivar price and that will be the first member recommending the plant. Recommendations should be made in writing to either the P4M chairperson or Club secretary. A deadline date will be published in the Club newsletter for recommendations from members. P4M plants are typical of other plants and may be affected by weather, shipping, disease or insect infestations. Members should keep the P4M Committee informed of plant conditions.
Member Eligibility
The P4M plants will be distributed to eligible club members using a lottery system. In order to be eligible, members must:
1. Be an active member in the club (i.e. Club Officer, Committee Member, assist with meeting set-up and clean-up, or other needs of the club.)
2. Regularly attend meetings and club functions. Members must attend at least three meetings per year, but are encouraged to regularly attend meetings and events sponsored by the club.
3. Be a club member for at least the12 consecutive months immediately prior to the Distribution Meeting. New members must have joined by/at the previous year’s Plants for Members Distribution meeting. Existing members must pay dues by January 31st of each year in order to continue to be eligible with respect to membership requirements.
4. Have been growing daylilies for at least a year.
5. Have over 25 cultivars in their garden.
6. Submit their name in writing to the P4M Committee Chairperson after reviewing the P4M guidelines, submitting their name by March 31st. This allows the committee time to ensure that each person signing up for Plants for Members meets the other eligibility requirements listed above.
Distribution
The distribution meeting date will be published on the club website (chdc.plantfans.com  Info Events.) If an eligible member is unable to attend the distribution meeting, it is that member’s responsibility to contact the P4M committee chairperson if they still wish to be included in the lottery and arrange to pick up their plants. At the meeting, eligible members will choose a lottery number randomly. A stand-in will choose alternate numbers for members not present (A1, A2, A3, etc.)
The distribution will start with 1 and go up. In the event of a surplus, distribution will start with the greatest number and go backwards (1 10 first, 10 1 in surplus). The alternate numbers will choose plants in the same way as the standard distribution, but will choose at the end of each round.
Only one lottery number will be given for each eligible membership. For example, if you pay one set of dues for your household, you get 1 lottery number. If additional family members wish to participate in the Plants for Members program, an additional individual membership is required to be paid for each additional family member that wishes to participate in the program (and therefore receive a lottery number of his/her own.)
Duplicate selections: A member may not duplicate a plant selection that they have already selected until the 3rd round.
Grower Responsibilities
• All Club plants must be grown in the ground, not in pots. If you do not feel you can grow the club plants in the ground, please do not choose plants. This requirement needs to be adhered to because as club members, we are evaluating the plant and how it performs in our area, and in our specific garden conditions. If plants are grown in pots, they are not truly being evaluated in standard garden conditions in our area.
• Label your Club plant with Cultivar Name and an indication that it is a “Club Plant”. The club provides these labels and stakes at time of distribution so that it is easy for the member to label the plant. The label belongs to the member and does not need to be returned when the plant comes back for auction.
• If a club member chooses a cultivar multiple times, each “choice” must be grown in its own location at least 3 feet away from the other choice (2 separate locations) so that each plant has an opportunity to grow. This makes it so that multiple divisions of a plant are not lost due to garden condition issues.
• Provide a color photo of the plant to be used in the plant auction.
• Bring blooms, when the plant is in bloom, to club meetings and functions.
• Provide updates to the P4M committee annually.
• Encourage visitors to your garden (fellow club members or non-members.)
• Bring plant to the auction or committee member cleaned, divided, groomed and labeled. Plants should be divided into double fans if possible.
• Return the entire plant to the Plants for Members Committee Chairperson (or a committee member) should you resign from the ChDC or move away from the area. No fans may be kept by the member upon resignation from the club. NOTE: The club has determined that a member is considered to have “resigned from the club” if annual dues have not been paid by April 15th of the current year, and no attempt has been made by the member to bring dues current at that time.
• Pollen from P4M plants can be used for hybridizing. Pollen stamens should not be removed from the plant on the day of a Club tour or scheduled visit as this would disfigure the bloom.
• Pods: 3-4 pods maximum may be set on plants that are part of the Plants for Members Program. This is done so that maximum energy will be directed toward increase. All bee-pollinated pods should be removed as soon as detected.
Recommendations
• Daylilies thrive best in full sun, and with adequate water supply, well-amended ground conditions, and proper fertilization. Place the Club plant in an area of your garden where there is full sun for a majority of the day. Morning sun is the best for daylilies. Also, additional water may be needed to assist the club plants when drought conditions exist.
• Plant in an area where plants have lived happily in the previous year.
• Plant in soil that has been improved, adding up to 40% organic material. Do not use ripe manure or green plant material.
• Provide enough space for growth and place the roots at the proper depth and properly spread out.
Plants-For-Members Committee Member Duties
• Determine and publish the deadline date for P4M plant recommendations on the club website.
• Gather information on P4M plant recommendations from members.
• Participate in selection of P4M plants.
• Gather information from members who would like to participate in the program.
• Determine eligibility of members wishing to participate in the program.
• Arrange/run the P4M Distribution and the Club Auctions.
• Retrieve club program plants as necessary from members that have resigned from the club or are moving away from the area and can no longer actively participate in the club on a routine/on-going basis.