Rice Daylilies

Welcome to Rice Daylilies, a premier daylily breeding farm in Kentucky's Bourbon County, where award-winning horticulturalist and Vietnam veteran John Rice and his wife Annette have spent over 25 years perfecting exceptional daylilies. Located just 15 miles east of Lexington, our 10-acre farm showcases both diploid and tetraploid varieties, with 2 acres dedicated to cultivating exceptional northern and southern-hardy daylily.

Innovative Diploid Program

Our current breeding focus centers on creating exceptional diploid daylilies that push the boundaries of color and form. We're particularly known for our breakthrough work with color ranges from light to deep purple, along with distinctive blues and lavenders. Blue Dolphin, one of our cornerstone varieties, is prized by hybridizers for its exceptional plant habits, especially the large flowers, thick scapes, and waxy substance. Dream Sequence has become a foundation plant for hybridizers working to introduce teeth in diploids.

Our collection features varieties with:

• • Embossment - a rare and little-known trait
• • Blue eye bands
• • Cristate or bearded forms
• • Near-black to near-white color ranges
• • Pronounced green eyes
• • Large flowers exceeding 7 inches

Legacy Tetraploid Collection

While our current focus is diploids, we maintain an impressive collection of both classic and new tetraploid varieties. Our earlier tetraploid introductions remain widely grown and are known for their thick substance, clarity of color, sun-fastness, ruffled edges, sculptured forms, and distinctive teeth. With some fan favorites being Old Friends, Redneck Red, Jackie Canner, Truly Angelic, Hey Mr.Bud, Bass Gibson, and Crowning Achievement.

Unlike greenhouse operations, we grow all our daylily in natural outdoor conditions, ensuring exceptional garden hardiness in both northern and southern climates. This realistic growing environment produces resilient, garden-worthy plants that consistently perform well across diverse growing zones.

Peak bloom occurs from late June through mid-July, with some flowering into August and September. Our collection includes primarily mid-late and late-blooming varieties, plus reliable rebloomers.

All sales are conducted via email or in-person. Contact us for current availability and pricing.

• • All plants are sold as Double Fans, sometimes more
• • Shipping: $15.00 for first plant plus $3.00 per each additional plant. Domestic shipping only.
• • We can only ship to mainland United States
• • Cash or check preferred
• • Make checks payable to Annette Rice at 6615 Briar Hill Road Paris, KY 40361-9064
• • Located in AHS/ADS Region 10
• • USDA Zone 6