plant named ‘Rule of Plum’

Botanical classification:(L.) hybrid.

Variety denomination: ‘Rule of Plum’.

The new cultivar was registered in 2025 with the American Daylily Society which is the International Cultivar Registration Authority for the genuswith a brief description and photograph. No plants of‘Rule of Plum’ have been sold or offer for sale in this country or anywhere in the world, nor has any disclosure of the new plant been made, more than one year prior the filing date of this application, and such sale or disclosure within one year was either derived directly or indirectly from the inventor.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct daylily plant,‘Rule of Plum’ hereinafter also referred to as the new plant or just the cultivar name ‘Rule of Plum’.‘Rule of Plum’ was hybridized by the inventor on Jul. 23, 2013, in a greenhouse at a wholesale perennial nursery in Zeeland, Michigan, USA. The new plant originated from a breeding program conducted by the inventor with the specific intention to improve the garden worthiness, expand color regimens and increase flowering period which were some of the criteria of further trials in the trial beds at the same nursery in Zeeland, MI. The female or seed parent was ‘Pardon Me’ (not patented) and the male or pollen parent was ‘Alpine Mist’ (not patented).

The new plant was selected as a single seedling from this cross, and during confidential evaluations in a trial bed beginning in 2015 at the same nursery was assigned the breeder code 13-141-1. The new plant has been asexually propagated by division at the same nursery since 2015 with all resultant asexually propagated plants having retained all the same unique traits as the original plant.‘Rule of Plum’ is stable and reproduces true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.

There are over 110,000 daylilies registered with The AmericanSociety, which is the International Cultivar Registration Authority for the genus. In comparison to the new plant, the female parent has a brighter cranberry-red flower color with a yellow watermark and a green throat on shorter scapes. In comparison to the new plant, the male parent has a lavender purple flower with washed bluish-lavender eye zone and yellow green throat on short scapes.

The most similar daylily cultivars known to the inventor are: ‘All Yours’ (not patented), ‘Cinderella's Dark Side’ (not patented), ‘Forsyth Jimny Cricket’ (not patented), ‘John Henry Reeves’ (not patented), ‘Little Blackie’ (not patented), ‘Midnight Chase’ (not patented), ‘Midnight Oil’ (not patented), ‘Purple de Oro’ (not patented), ‘Purple Sphere’ (not patented), ‘Remus’ (not patented), and ‘Spirit World’ (not patented).

‘All Yours’ has slightly taller scapes and larger flowers with tepals that are deeper burgundy and flowers earlier in the season. ‘Cinderella's Dark Side’ has taller scapes producing flowers that are deeper maroon-black with a darker black-purple eye more green throat. ‘Forsyth Jimny Cricket’ has larger flowers with less recurved inner tepals, and the eye is larger and more violet-black. ‘John Henry Reeves’ has larger flowers with flatter and narrower tepals, the eye is darker violet and the throat is more green. ‘Little Blackie’ has slightly shorter scapes, and slightly larger flowers with larger eyes of darker purple. ‘Midnight Chase’ has slightly taller scapes producing larger flowers of dark purple with yellow-green throat, and less recurved inner tepals. ‘Midnight Oil’ has taller scapes with larger flowers of darker black-purple and more intense green throat. ‘Purple de Oro’ has a shorter scape with flowers of medium purple and lighter purple midrib and gold throat. ‘Purple Sphere’ has larger flowers of violet purple, broader inner tepals, and a greenish-white throat. ‘Remus’ has taller scapes and the inner tepals are broader and more longitudinally pinched toward apex. ‘Spirit World’ has taller scapes, flowers with a larger green throat, and the inner tepals are broader with a slightly lighter purple midrib.

‘Rule of Plum’ differs from all other daylilies known to the applicant, by the combination of the following traits:

The following descriptions and color references are based on the 2015 edition of The. Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart except where common dictionary terms are used. The new plant,‘Rule of Plum’, has not been observed under all possible environments. The phenotype may vary slightly with different environmental conditions, such as temperature, light, fertility, moisture and maturity levels, but without any change in the genotype. The following observations and size descriptions are of a three-year-old plant in a sunny landscape at a display garden in Zeeland, Michigan with and supplemental water and fertilizer.

Hardiness at least from USDA zone 3 through 9, and other disease resistance and tolerance is typical of that of other daylilies. The new plant is useful for landscaping en masse, as a single specimen or small groups.