Ross Webb, our expert gardener and professional Sales Representative at farm equipment is available to assist you with any questions about vegetable gardening. Just email him for advice and gardening tips.

Linda Dean Harmon is our expert in flower gardening. If you have flower gardening questions, please email her at Haroldlharmon@aol.com

Daylilies 101
 

by Linda Harmon

   
 Gardeners don’t have to have green thumbs to grow and enjoy a garden of carefree daylilies.  A perennial (returning every year) garden of daylilies is a wonderful investment in years of summer flowers that are adaptable, prolific, durable, beautiful, and desirable in any landscape setting.  These colorful beauties have a rich history of development and natural beauty.

     Just as its name Hemerocallis means in Greek, “beauty for a day,” the individual daylily flower lasts for only one day.  However, a single plant may produce many flowers, which can range from 2 to 8 inches in diameter.  The flowers may have a single or double row of flowers, and the colors can be on a spectrum of white to deep reds and purples, with many shades of yellow, orange, and pink, including combined hues. The flower also comes in a wide variety of heights, ranging from dwarf to up to five feet.

     Originally a native of Europe and eastern Asia, the plants were valued in the Orient for medicine, food, and beauty.  The tawny and lemon daylilies were among the first to be brought to America.  Today, these adaptable lilies can be seen growing in a wide selection of environments including roadsides, swamps, meadows, mountains, forests, fields, gardens, and landscapes. Durable and eye-catching are key words to describe these plants.

     Daylilies can withstand heat, drought, winter colds, and floods better than many garden flowers.  However, they do thrive best in soils that are not waterlogged, so they grow best in well-drained areas.  These plants are easily propagated by division of the multiple clumps at least every few years.  Many people may not realize that these plants can also be rooted by using the following procedure.

     After a flower has bloomed for a day, clip away the dead area of the bloom on one end and then clip the entire flower stem from the main stalk.  Prepare a soil area and plant both ends of the cut stem in the soil, so that it can root.  A whole new flower garden can be made using this procedure. Daylilies can be planted from early spring to late August.  Plant them about two feet apart.  They will spread and multiply each year.  Be sure to keep them moist, but not waterlogged.

      Remember that even with their durability, they will still benefit from occasional watering during the growing season and during dry periods. Making a beautiful landscape doesn’t get any easier than planting the perfect perennial, the daylily!