Blooming: pale blooms this year

Mattie has had kind of a rough year so far this year I think. One plant did not come up at all this year and the two smaller plants have looked not that great. I had only been watering them twice a week, but when I started seeing pods drying up and not blooming, I instituted my “daylilies need love too” watering program and have started watering them almost every day. I have been rewarded by seeing some new growth emerging from the base of the plants. The big central plant is currently blooming and has several blooms scapes.

One that that is different this year is the color. It is a very pale, washed out color this year and I’m wondering if the drought has anything to do with that. Not sure what is causing the pale color. I may need to ask my friend the daylily breeder.