Sammy Russell daylily is an old piece by one of the most influential American daylily breeders of the 20th century H.M.Russell. This variety has large, star-shaped, narrow-petalled, rich velvet red flowers with a deep red eye and golden throat. In spite of its birth already in 1951 it is still very popular, mostly for its longevity and extended flowering period - it begins in mid July and continues until late summer, or reblooms in early September if the weather is sunny and warm. Stems are not very thick, some 80-90 cm tall, and deciduous leaves are narrow to medium wide.

The breeder H.M.Russell came from Dallas, Texas, USA, and he devoted almost all his life to breeding daylilies. He was among the first contributors to the AHS (American Hemerocallis Society), and by 1960 he had the largest collection of his own hybrids which he sold all over the country as possibly the first daylily mail order service. His catalogue was very pretty and customer around the US enjoyed his fantastic flowers delivered right to their doorstep, unless they could make a trip to the stunning Russell Gardens with spectacular display of daylilies growing in large beds under huge oak trees. The AHS has a record of incredible 1,259 varieties registered with Russell's name.