If you like daylilies, you’ll be excited to know that the only international daylily meeting in North America will be held in nearby Mississauga, Ontario.
The 21st Annual CanAm Classic will be held Friday and Saturday, May 5 and 6, at the Toronto Airport West Hotel, 5444 Dixie Rd., Mississauga. It is sponsored by Region 4 of the American Hemerocallis Society, which covers seven states and seven provinces.
You don’t have to be a member of the society to attend.
You can get the scoop on what is possible with daylilies and what new varieties are being introduced, said Dave Musser, chairperson of the CanAm Classic and a member of both the Ontario Daylily Society the Buffalo Area Daylily Society.
“There’s more than just yellow and orange daylilies,” Musser said. “They come in different colors, heights, forms, shapes and patterns.
“It’s really quite exciting to see what’s coming. Everybody’s working on blue. Now what passes for blue in daylilies are shades of violet. Some are coming closer to blue.”
Presentations will be given by leading-edge daylily hybridizers. You can see the list of speakers here.
“For me, one of the big pleasures is having time to talk to people during breaks,” Musser said. In addition to socializing with other people who enjoy daylilies, “You can talk to growers and hybridizers and get all your questions answered. It’s a great opportunity to learn.”
You can also get your hands on some of these great plants. Plants will be sold and there will be silent and live auctions. There will be an agriculture inspector to provide the phytosanitary certificate you need to be able to bring your plants back to the United States.
The Can-Am was started 20 years ago as a collaboration between the Buffalo Area Daylily Society and the Ontario Daylily Society, said Kathy Shadrack, member of the Buffalo Area Daylily Society. The event has grown it into a world-class daylily event with fun and interesting speakers.
You would usually have to travel long distances out of state to get to an event of this caliber, said said Anthony Haj, a hybridizer, owner of Lasting Dreams Daylilies and a member of the Buffalo Area Daylily Society.
“Unfortunately, most people in our area are totally unaware that this event exists,” Haj said.
Register online or get a mail-in registration form. Early bird registration prior to April 1 is $100 Canadian and after April 1 is $110 Canadian. Youth registration is $50 Canadian.
