| Each day, from early summer on, it's a pleasure to see the latest daylily blooms in the garden. I found this wonderful surprise growing between "Rocket City" and "Gold/Golden Joke" which is what a friend who gave it to me said it was called. However, I could not find a reference to "Gold Joke" in any of the data bases. Can anyone identify it for me? Regardless, this new "baby" (Image 3) is a welcome surprise to my ever-growing daylily garden!  H. Rocket City H. Gold/Golden Joke Hybrid |
| I also have a daylily that came to me listed as 'Golden Joke' - it was part of a set of daylilies sold in the early 2000s, marketed as 'The Sunshine Collection' and, if my memory serves correctly, sold in box stores such as Wal-Mart, Nichols or Jamesway. I think I purchased the set in 2004 or 2005. The entire set ... 'Sunshine Collection' of 10 plants, 1 ea. 'Autumn Red,' 'Black-eyed Susan,' 'Frans Hals,' 'Mary Todd,' 'Matador,' 'Golden Joke,' 'Raja,' 'Gentle Shepard,' 'Rocket City,' and 'Hyperion.' Colours are, respectively: deep orange with yellow center, yellow with orange inner ring and yellow interior, yellow alternating with rust-orange (which has a yellow center stripe), pure lemony yellow, deep golden yellow, bright deep yellow, tangerine, white with light yellow center, bright orange with center of a paler orange, and sunshine yellow. I cannot find either 'Golden Joke' or 'Raja' listed anywhere else; but most of the above were also registered varieties you can still find listed in databases; and, in some cases, are still available for purchase thru Daylily nurseries or collector gardens. |
| Some people give "garden names" to daylilies. One would hope that they wouldn't give their "garden name" to someone when giving/selling a piece of a plant but it may happen. So, is it possible it is not actually a registered daylily but a seedling or unknown daylily that someone just called "Gold Joke"? |
| Thank you for your reply. The only references of "Golden Joke" I found on-line were mention by a garden journalist of this unregistered daylily for sale on eBay from Am. Nurs. Prod. in 2004; & for sale at a big box store several years ago. |
| Hi @FloraDora, Just happened to come across this old post just now. To clarify, "garden name" is often used by daylily growers to refer to any unregistered daylily name, even if it was offered in commerce. One way to make clear it is not registered is to write the name as Golden Joke [NR]. This could still be a valid cultivar name but only if it was published according to the rules of the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants (ICNCP). I don't have information to know whether GJ was. |
Ok so I am late to the party here but have fallen down a rabbit hole trying to help identify the 2 mystery flowers called 'Golden Joke' and 'Raja'. Maaaybe the mystery 'Raja' is Stout's Rajah tho I have not seen a picture of the Sunshine group 'Raja'?? |
