Some of my daylilies are repeat bloomers — they take a brief break during the heat of summer, then return in the Fall.
The variety “Faded Love” Continue reading
Tag Archives: Daylilies
First of the maroon blooms for Theron!
Theron! May 8, 2015
Theron is an heirloom daylily variety. Described as the first “red” , Continue reading
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Daylily Propagation by Proliferation
Daylily Proliferation, July, 2014.
Daylilies can be propagated by “proliferations” (or by seed, or by division).
Proliferations are the small plants that arise from “joints” in the scape (see photo left); these small plants can emerge at any time after the scape develops. All daylilies are capable of producing proliferations—if environmental conditions are favorable. There is one daylily in my collection that produces viable proliferations each year; the others do not.
Notice that the proliferation on this scape is beneath a seed pod. The plant will keep the seed pod alive and that, in turn, keeps the proliferation alive. If the seed pod dies, the scape also dies and turns brown, destroying any immature proliferations still attached to the scape.
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Daylily Propagation by Seed
Seed Pod and Seeds
Ways to get more Daylilies: physical division of plants, seed production and proliferation shoots. Seed propagation is discussed in this post. Continue reading
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The “Red” Daylilies
‘Theron’, May 2014
There are two “red” daylilies in my perennial gardens; one is ‘Prelude to Love’ and the other is ‘Theron’. I describe each of them as maroon–probably due to my Aggie lens! (We are both Texas A&M University former students).
Theron was the first “red” daylily—bred by Stout and released in 1934 (Dormant, blooms mid-May throught mid-June, no repeat) This was a pass along plant for my mother-in-law, and I acquired it from her about 8 years ago. I found it in a garden bed near the house, shaded from overgrown oak trees planted over 20 years earlier (but originally in full sun). Once carefully dug, I realized that there really wasn’t much time left because the tubers were tiny and there were only 3 of them. With care, I managed to bring it back to blooming and spreading.
Purchase in 1995, ‘Prelude to Love’ was one of the first daylilies I bought (that maroon lens again!).
‘Prelude to Love’, June 2014
This is a dormant, mid-June through July repeat bloomer.
Until this year, I thought that both of these were gone. They were discovered in unruly clumps of daylily tubers and roots—continued growing, but ceased blooming.
This year, they both have new locations in the improved raised bed. I expect to see a lot more of both of them from now on!
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Dividing Daylilies (Part 2)
Clump of Daylilies
After preparing new bed space (Part 1), Here’s how I divided the daylilies, beginning with one Clump of Daylilies (see photo, left). this clump was dug with a hand spade; this clump has quite a bit of bermuda grass and weeds woven throughout the daylily roots–those can be removed as the clump is divided into single plants (also called “fans”).
Over time, grass, sedge, and other undesired plants will happily find a new home with the daylily root system. Removing grass and weeds removes competition for nutrients and space in the soil. Before I divided the dayliles (and physically removed all obvious weeds and grass, several of my daylily varieties stopped blooming–I’ve recently discovered two varieties as they are now blooming. Do not underestimate the competition that grasses and weeds will inflict on daylilies. (There are also herbicides to remedy the bermuda grass and other weeds, just check with your local county extension agent to learn more about those chemical controls.) Continue reading
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Let Daffodils “Naturalize”
Daffodils Naturalizing
My daffodils appeared in abundance this year, so early in the Spring, I transplanted a clump to this pot in order to identify the plant and to save it for next year’s “pass along” plants. Continue reading
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Dividing Daylilies (Part 1)
By the time that I decided to divide my daylilies (early Spring, this year—recall the mess—), I realized that I could identify only two of the unruly clumps. So, the choice was made to start raised beds that would give me room to sort them by variety. Here’s how I did it:
1) the daylilies were dug up and clumps were placed in pots with potting soil—essentially I stored the clumps for future transplanting to the new beds (see pots in picture at the bottom of this post). Continue reading
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Narcissus on the First Day of Spring
Narcissus, first day of Spring, 2014
This daffodil — most likely Narcissus x golden dawn — has happily revealed its first flowers on this first day of Spring.
This clump of daffodils began as 3 or 4 bulbs planted in 2006; so these bulbs have not only survived the drought, heat, and the winter of 2014, but they have proliferated greatly!
We have very few daffodils that tolerate the summer heat during dormancy. I’m certainly glad to see these gems in the perennial bed!
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Prepare Daylilies for a Spring through Summer Show
Daylily ‘Fading Love’
My perennial garden bed is primarily composed of daylily (hemerocallis spp.) varieties. My daylily garden began in 1995, when I mail-ordered the first set of plants. After accumulating about 12 varieties, I stopped purchasing and began maintaining those already in the garden.
Over time, the daylilies form clumps that become more and more crowded — resulting in plants that produce few flowers and partially die back.
Daylily clumps should be periodically divided each year—not less than once every 3 years (depending on location and amount of growth) and then re-planted for optimum flowering and overall plant health. Continue reading
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