Daylily Plants

During the 1960s if you walked into a garden center in search of Daylily plants for your perennial bed you would first of all be lucky if the merchant stocked them.

Secondly if they were offered for sale you probably would not find more than one variety available.

As I remember, they seldom were sold as named varieties but rather by color.

It was during this same time period that the rebirth of interest in ornamental perennials began.

Interest in perennials has not only lasted through this time span but has actually increased with many gardeners trying new varieties every year.

Daylilies have enjoyed an enormous level of popularity especially during the past twenty years or so.

Daylily breeders have developed so many new selections that I have found it absolutely impossible to have a decent working knowledge of no more than one to two percent of the offerings.

Having made reference above to Daylily breeders I was deeply saddened a few years back when the local Hemerocallis authority and developer passed away.

He had worked for many years developing new cultivars and some may even have gone on to be award winners.

I couldn’t help but wonder what family member would pick up the torch and continue on with the work that he had started.

Several years later I happened to drive by his place just in time to see a bull dozer wipe out the last long row of his efforts to produce the perfect award winning daylily.

Yes I was sad that the man had left us and now I had the same feeling when I realized that his efforts and accomplishments were gone forever.

Funny how greed for the almighty dollar, in this case valuable real estate, becomes more important than ones life works.

Daylily plants are quite easy to grow and one could even say that they are almost fool proof.

They ask or require very little from the gardener but the following suggestions would make them extremely happy when provided:

• The first step is always the same which is to have your soil tested by a private laboratory.
  
  
• Inform the laboratory of your intentions to grow daylilies so they will be able to provide you with the formula that will guide you in developing the proper ph (6.5 is ideal but any point between 6.2 to 6.8 will work) and nutrient level.
  
  
• Avoid applications of high nitrogen fertilizers as your plants may then concentrate more on foliage than bloom. There is also strong evidence that high nitrogen feedings can and do lead to disease problems.
  
  
• The crown should be no deeper than one inch below soil level. The crown can best be explained as being that part of the plant where the roots join the stems.
  
  
• I have found that growers sometimes ship plants off to market that are planted too deep so dig down a little ways in the root ball until you find the crown and remember the one inch rule.
  
  
• It is best to install your new plantings on a slight mound so that excess water has a tendency to run off rather than to leave the cultivar standing in water.
  
  
• Very few diseases and insects will ever become a problem for you. If a situation does develop then seek out the advice of a good practicing horticulturist.
  
  
• Daylilies should be mulched for both summer and winter protection. However the much should not be allowed to touch the stems, which is true regardless of what you may have planted. Let me go on to advise you to keep mulch several inches away from even the trunks of trees. Smothering of plant stems can cause disease.
  
  
• Once your new daylily plantings are established they require only an inch of moisture a week.
  
  

That’s pretty much it as they truly are almost fool proof.