Even in drought-like conditions, daylilies will continue to bloom year after year with little maintenance. Here’s how to grow daylilies in your garden and take care of them, including cleaning up at the end of the growing season and dividing after flowering.
About Daylilies
The daylily is an incredibly low-maintenance (nearly no upkeep), easy-to-grow perennial that can withstand drought, irregular sunlight, and poor soil. It is also virtually disease- and pest-free. Additionally, there are a huge variety of stunning daylilies available. Daylilies can bloom from late spring until the first October frost if you combine early, mid-season, late blossoming kinds, and repeat bloomers.
Hemerocallis, the daylily’s botanical name, derives from the Greek words hemera (“day”) and kallos (“beauty). The name fits because each flower only blooms for a day.
Daylilies, despite their name, are not “genuine lilies, which have fleshy roots. True lilies, which include Asiatic and Oriental lilies, are of the genus Lilium and grow from onion-like bulbs. In the case of daylilies, the flowers develop on stems devoid of leaves, which are referred to as “scapes that protrude above the vegetation. A mature plant can have four to six scapes, each of which bears 12–15 buds, giving the plant a lengthy bloom period.
When a daylily variety is listed with a height, it refers to how long the scape is. Some people grow as tall as 6 feet!
Choosing and Preparing a Planting Site
- Daylilies can thrive in less-than-ideal situations, but they thrive in full sun and a location with healthy, well-drained soil.
- Avoid planting close to trees and bushes that will compete with it for nutrients and moisture.
- Before planting, amend the soil with old manure or compost to enhance the amount of organic matter.
How to Plant Daylilies
- Create a hole that is roomy enough for the roots to grow.
- The plant’s crown, where the roots and leaves converge, needs to be buried approximately an inch deep.
- Soil should be added, then lightly packed down all around the plant.
- Water until the soil is well moistened.
How to Care for Daylilies
However, if you want these flowers to thrive and perform at their best, here’s how to give them a little TLC. Daylilies require little to no maintenance and can even live when left unattended.
- Once a week until they become established, water newly planted daylilies.
- Daylilies can live without water since they are relatively resistant and drought tolerant. They do, however, prefer about an inch of water every week, which typical rainfall will provide in large part. They will reward you with extra blooms if you water them during a dry spell or in a dry climate. To assist prevent weeding and keep the plant moist, add mulch around it.
- As long as the soil is moderately fertile, daylilies don’t need fertilizer. A small amount of all-purpose fertilizer (10-10-10) applied once a year in the early spring as fresh daylily top grow appears, however, can promote higher bloom performance. At the base of each daylily clump, scatter a few handfuls and water if necessary. If you’d like to encourage your daylilies to grow more quickly in the future, you can fertilize them again after they’ve completed blooming.
- Deadheading is not required, but you can encourage more blooming by removing old blooms and preventing the development of seeds. As soon as you notice them fading, simply cut off their blossoms. The majority of daylilies don’t self-sow; you have to divide them to produce new plants (see how below).
- A daylily scape can be completely trimmed back to the ground as soon as the blooms on it have finished blooming, in the fall, or not at all. It will simply turn brown and keep standing if you don’t trim it back.
- However, before new growth begins in the spring, remove the dead leaves from the previous year’s growth in the early spring.
- In the spring, amend the soil surrounding the plants with compost or old manure.
Dividing and Transplanting Daylilies
Daylilies can expand quickly and will probably need to be divided at some point (usually every 3 to 5 years). Dividing plants will not only stop their spread but also give them new life, producing better and more frequent blooms.
How to divide daylilies is as follows:
- Even though soil can be worked at any time, it is recommended to divide daylilies shortly after they have completed blooming. Note: Before winter, the plants require at least 6 weeks to establish themselves again.
- Take out the entire root mass.
- As much soil as you can from the roots. To remove extra soil, soak the roots in a pail of water.
- Identify the plant’s crown. Split it into smaller clumps beginning at the edge (usually 3 to 4 per plant). Each clump need to have a few leaves and sound roots.
- Reduce the length of the leaves by about a third of their original size (5 to 6 inches, generally).
- Replant and give it plenty of water.
There are plenty lovely daylilies to pick from! To have daylilies bloom from late spring into fall, combine early, mid-season, late flowering kinds, and repeat bloomers.
Daylily blossoms can be fragrant and are available in a wide range of hues. While some flowers have wide petals with ruffled edges, others have full, rounded petals. The daylilies known as “spiders” have a form resembling a spider, while “doubles” have twice as many petals and sepals. Some modern varieties even bloom at night and have strong fragrances.
Some of our preferred cultivars are:
- ‘Stella de Oro’ blooms all summer long and has several yellow flowers on each scape.
- Early in the summer, the little purple flowers of “Little Grapette” bloom. Only 12 inches tall, this daylily.
- Flowers on “So Sweet” are yellow. Its leaves stay green throughout the winter.
- ‘Ruby Spider’ boasts broad, scarlet-red blooms with golden throats that can reach a width of up to 9 inches.
- ‘Catherine Woodbury’ produces fragrant lavender-pink flowers in mid- to late summer.
- ‘Indian Giver’ blooms from early to late summer and features enormous, deep purple flowers. It is largely evergreen.
- Early to midsummer brings out the fragrant, double, salmon-pink blooms of “Siloam Double Classic.” This is perfect for containers.
The growing season is when reblooming daylilies can be found:
“Happy Returns,” “Mini Stella,” and “Good Fairy”
The leaves of evergreen daylilies stay green throughout the winter:
“Joan Senior,” “So Sweet,” and “Wind Frills”
Looking for a particular shade? No issue! Here are a few possibilities. :
- “Lullaby Baby,” “Chicago Candy Cane,” and “Halls Pink” are all pink.
- Mountain Violet, Velvet Shadows, and Summer Wine are examples of lavender/purple flowers.
- Red: “Red Mittens,” “Oriental Ruby,” and “Hearts Afire”
- Orange: “By Myself,” “Rocket City,” and “Carrot Top”
- Yellow: “Paradise Prince,” “Lemon Lollypop,” and “Mini Stella”
- Crispin, Ice Carnival, May May, and “So Lovely” are all in white.
Using Daylilies as Cut Flowers
Daylilies, especially the heirloom varieties, can create lovely cut flowers. Individual blooms only last a day, but buds can stay up to a week indoors before they start to open.
- The secret is to cut daylilies when the buds are just beginning to open and some of the blossom color is visible. As the buds at the bottom fade, the buds higher above will open.
- As soon as you have the flowers inside, use a sharp knife to make a diagonal cut that is about an inch long to trim the stem ends.
- Water should be changed every few days.
- New buds will open when the faded blooms are removed every day.
- Daylilies were first domesticated in Asia and are not indigenous to North America. They were brought to Europe by explorers, and then North America by early colonists.
- Common orange-red daylilies (H. fulva), which create eye-catching borders alongside rural roads, are also known as roadside lilies, outhouse lilies, ditch lilies, and tawny daylilies.
- If a daylily blossom opens later or shuts earlier than usual (opens at 7:00 a.m., closes at 7:00 p.m.), look for rain, according to weather lore.
- The daylily’s entire body can be consumed. You can eat the delicate leaf as a spring green. You can eat the buds and flowers raw or in soups. You can boil and eat the swelling parts of the root. More information is provided below.
The flower buds may become prey for aphids and thrips. To repel them, use insecticidal soap or powerful water sprays.
Daylilies have a lengthy culinary history and are edible. The fragile leaves was used as a spring green, the buds and blossoms were consumed raw and added to soups, and the enlarged portions of the root were cooked and consumed. When cooked in stews, soups, or sauces, all sections have a mild peppery flavor and serve as a thickening factor.
- Try frying some butter and garlic to cook some daylily blooms. They have a flavor that is a cross between asparagus and green peas.
- Daylily buds are deep-fried after being covered in a thin batter. You may add salt to make a wonderful summer treat!
Have daylilies got bulbs?
It’s incorrect to call daylilies “lilies.” In actuality, they diverge significantly. True lilies, as you are aware, have blossoms at the top of their tall stems. Daylily flower stalks, or “scapes,” emerge from a fountain of grass-like leaves at ground level and are typically much shorter. Furthermore, despite the fact that the trusted daylily is orange, avoid calling them “Tiger Lilies.” That is the common name for a species of lilya, a tall true lily with orange and black dots. A Tiger Lily is not a daylily.
Daylilies belong to the Hemerocallis genus, not Lilium, which is the term given to true lilies. The word “day” and “beautiful” are combined in the Greek word “hemerocallis,” which means “day.” This informs you that the flowers are lovely and only last a day. Few people are aware of how quickly daylilies lose their blooms because, as one closes, the next one on the stalk (or “scape”) opens, keeping a planted in bloom for days, sometimes even weeks.
Daylily roots – not bulbs
Daylilies don’t grow from bulbs like true lilies and other well-known bulb flowers like daffodils and tulips, as many good gardeners are aware of. Daylilies develop a profusion of swollen, fleshy roots as opposed to a single onion-like bulb. Our forefathers on the wagon trains discovered that plants with these special root systems can survive weeks without soil because they store so much moisture and nutrients. One of the things that makes them so popular now is their survival mechanism, which makes them hardy and incredibly easy to manage. Additionally, they are consistently hardy, so once you have them, you have them for a long time.
Easy, easy, easy to grow!
Daylilies are a favorite among everyone since no other perennial adds greater color while requiring less maintenance. Their fountain of leaves smothers out any weeds in the area, they stay low, they thrive practically everywhere there is light or some shade, and they always blossom. Every five years or so, when the clumps are so leafy that they prevent the bloom, the only labor required may be to divide them. However, a lot of gardeners omit even that. They react to regular watering, exceptional soil preparation, careful division when needed, and the right amounts of fertilizer, of course. Therefore, you may make them sparkle like no other bunch if you’re a fastidious grower. But if you ignore them, you’ll also benefit from their growth.
Are daylily bulbs contagious?
Daylilies grow more and more crowded as they quickly form larger clumps, which finally prevents them from blooming as well. Every few years, you might want to divide your daylilies, especially if you observe fewer flowers.
Daylilies are either bulbs or tubers.
To remove the tuberous roots from the soil, carefully pry them out of the ground by rocking the trowel or fork back and forth. To get rid of any loose soil, shake the roots. Do not wash or rinse the tubers; if the soil is resistant, gently brush them off with your fingers. Examine the tuberous roots, removing any that are sickly or shriveled.
Planting Instructions
Daylilies need 4-6 hours of direct sunlight every day, thus they should be planted in full sun or mild shade. Even though daylilies require full sun, there are occasionally blossoms under the cover of large trees. The daylily blossoms will always face away from any shadow and upward toward the sky. Avoid high dry locations above ledges where the soil is shallow and low wet spots where water collects during rainy spells.
Any time the ground can be worked, whether it’s in the spring, summer, or fall, daylilies can be planted with great success. To avoid winter frost heaving, mulch should be applied to daylilies planted in the fall. We advise you to plant your daylilies as soon as you get them. The roots should be placed in water for an hour before planting, but, if they will be stored for several days.
Approximately the size of the pot, dig the hole. Remove the daylily from the pot, untangle the roots, and set it into the hole with the surrounding dirt tightly packed.
Until you are ready to plant, keep in a cool area. Roots should be soaked in water for an hour prior to planting if kept for several days. Create a hole and place a cone of earth inside. Cone-shaped roots should be spread out, and the crown should be slightly below ground. One inch of earth should be pressed down tightly around the plant’s crown. Give newly planted daylilies plenty of water.
The best soil is loose, loamy soil. Clay, gravel, and sand quality is very low. Compost, decaying leaves or wood chips, old manure, or almost any other organic substance can enhance poor soil.
If the daylily will be divided and replanted in a border of mixed perennial flowers in three to five years, leave a circle of 16 to 18 inches in diameter. It needs a 24–30 inch spacing if you plan to leave the daylily clump in place for 10–15 years. A border of daylily flowers follows the same rules. Daylily plants should be placed in a triangle configuration with each plant 24 inches apart from its neighbors in a landscape setting, such as a bank that will be covered in the flowers. 30 daylily plants will consequently be needed for a bank that is 100 square feet. (Add 0.304 to the square footage.) Plant the daylily seeds 12 to 18 inches apart in a straight line as an edging along a walkway.
Mulch between one and four inches thick will help keep the soil moist and prevent weeds from growing among the daylily plants. While grass clippings, leaves, hay, wood chips, and other organic materials are appropriate, their slow breakdown draws nitrogen from the soil. Particularly with recently cut wood chips, you might want to add some fertilizer. Daylilies planted in the fall should have a thick layer of mulch applied to the area the first year to keep the earth from freezing and heaving them out of the ground.
Plant nutrients are rarely insufficient in organic compost soil. Add any slow-releasing, composted organic matter, such as horse, sheep, or cow manure, or your own compost, in the spring or the fall to sustain good daylily growth.