Deserving Daylilies!

Easy to grow and easy to enjoy, daylilies should be on everyone’s list of Top Ten perennials. Formally known as Hemerocallis (Greek translation: hemera meaning day, kallos meaning beauty), each flower lasts for just a day. Thankfully, most produce an abundance of blooms that we can enjoy for many weeks in the summer garden. Do a little planning and enjoy a sequence of blooms with your favorite daylilies. Popular varieties, such as ‘Stella D’Oro,’ ‘Pardon Me,’ and ‘Happy Returns,’ bloom continually throughout the summer.

It’s all about the flowers when growing daylilies. Flower colors include a wide range of yellows, reds, pinks, purples, and oranges (some are bi-tones, bi-colors, picotee). Flower shapes: ruffled, double, trumpet, triangular and more. Did you know that some varieties are fragrant? Good gardeners will deadhead spent blooms regularly. If left on the plant, seedpods will form and rob needed energy from the plant.

How to grow:

• Plant daylilies in well-drained soils amended with compost or composted manure prior to planting.
• Full sun is ideal for best flowering. Shady conditions will produce few if any flowers.
• Deep watering is best. Be mindful of dry conditions. Overhead watering during sunny days can spot and ruin daylily flowers.
• Water the soil – not the leaves or the flowers!
• Apply two inches of mulch to conserve soil moisture but avoid applying near the crown of the plants.

Helpful tips:

• Divide daylilies when overcrowded (possibly every 4-5 years) in spring or fall.
• Fertilize in spring.
• Clean up dead foliage in late fall. Any remaining foliage can be removed in early spring before new growth resumes.

How to use:

• In pots and planters
• In landscape beds and borders
• On slopes
• In masses