Planting Daylilies
Here's a few tips that if followed will provide you with more success growing daylilies in your landscape and gardens.
Sun Exposure
Daylilies grow best in full sun, although they will tolerate up to 70% shade. If they are planted in full sun they will have more flower buds, larger flowers, and flowers with more vibrant color. The general rule of thumb is to plant in a location that gets at least six hours of direct sunlight a day, so as to ensure the daylilies will perform to their full potential.
Soil
Daylilies will tolerate many different soil types from heavy clay to sand, but they do prefer a well-drained soil. You can amend your soil with ground pine bark, sand, mushroom compost, worm castings or gypsum to adjust the soil's ability to drain. For containers, most any soil mix will do provided it is fairly well-drained.
Water
Water is essential for good performance. In sufficient quantity, water helps ensure that you get as many blooms and as large blooms as possible. It is most important that daylilies get sufficient water in the spring, when plants are making scapes (flower stems) and buds, and in summer during bloom season. Daylilies can withstand drought conditions, but you will notice decreased numbers of blooms, smaller bloom sizes, and older leaves may die to compensate for the lack of water.
When To Plant
You can plant daylilies most any time of the year as long as the ground is not frozen and can be cultivated, though the best time to plant daylilies is at least one and a half months before the first fall frost. This will allow the new plants time to get established and the new roots will hold better against winter's frost heaving. Also, the plants will have time to multiple and be showier when they bloom the next spring.
How To Plant
When planting, space the plants about 18 to 24 inches apart, and about an inch below the crown or the same depth as they were originally planted. At the center of the hole, form the soil into a mound, loosen the roots then drape the roots over the mound. Firm the soil back around the plant, then water thoroughly.
Caring For Daylilies
Daylilies are hardy perennials that require little maintenance and have almost no problems from pest or disease.
Mulching
Mulch your daylilies with a 1 to 1.5 inch later of pine straw, shredded or chipped wood mulch or leaf mulch. I do not suggest the use of stone or rock "mulches" around daylily plants. Mulch will help the soil to retain moisture during summer, assist in winter protection, keeps soil cooler during summer, and holds down the weeds. When the mulch decomposes it adds beneficial organic matter, enriching the soil and feeding the plants.
Fertilizing
I fertilize my daylilies twice a year. One time in spring and again after the first flush of flowers. I use an organic flower food however you can use a well-balanced fertilizer with trace elements such as 12-8-8 or 19-8-8. Some gardeners and commercial growers also use a liquid water soluble fertilizer such as 20-20-20 during the bloom season and then switch to a 10-30-20 later in the year. Always finish your fertilizations before the end of summer.
Cleanup
Daylilies can be "cleaned up" any time during the active growth season. Removing brown leaves and scapes (flower stems), after all the buds have opened and finished blooming, will often stimulate daylilies to repeat bloom. Of course, some varieties, such as the famous 'Stella De Oro', repeat flower whether cleaned up or not. If you're really picky, spent flowers can be removed daily to tidy up the appearance of the garden. Where I garden here in mid-Georgia we sometimes have very hot summers. This heat can cause the foliage on some varieties of daylilies to become a little ragged looking by mid-summer. If this happens, I usually cut the foliage back to about 6 inches or so above the ground. This will encourage a flush of new fresh growth, and often new flower buds, that will keep the plant looking nice through fall, until it goes dormant.
Pests & Disease
I haven't had many problems with insects on daylilies but some varieties are prone to rust. If you see rusty orange colored spots of splotches on the leaves of your daylilies this is probably rust. Whenever I see rust I cut the foliage back to just above ground level and clean up any dead leaves and remove all mulch from around the plant. Then I spray the plants, and the area around the plants, with a solution of Neem oil and reapply fresh mulch. Whenever purchasing daylilies make sure to check the leaves closely for rust and don't buy if you find it. There's too many rust-resistant varieties to even consider buying susceptible varieties.
Uses In The Landscape
Daylilies have many, many uses in the landscape. You can plant them as an edger along the borders of landscape and garden beds, walkways or driveways or use them in mass as groundcover to prevent erosion on slopes or hillsides. They can also be mingled amongst other perennials in rock gardens or planted in containers. For a more natural look and maximum impact, plant them in groups or masses of one variety. Or, if you're like me and like the "botanical garden" look, you can randomly mix varieties through your landscape and garden beds. I can never get enough varieties.
There are many, many varieties of daylilies that dependably bloom at different times during the season. There are "early,", "mid," and "late" season bloomers and some that repeat throughout the seasons. By selecting and planting many different varieties of daylilies you can have daylilies blooming throughout the spring and summer!.
