Daylilies are easy and fun to grow, but watch out! They become addictive! You can have a terrific daylily bed with time-honored, proven favorites or you can try out the latest cutting-edge cultivars on the market today. It's your choice, and you will love them. At last count, according to the American Daylily Society, there are over 90,000 registered cultivars!
In a nutshell, all you need to do to grow daylilies is plant them where they will get full sun for at least five hours a day. (I've seen folks plant a ring of daylilies under a big shade tree in the front yard and wonder why they won't bloom.) They tolerate a wide range of soil, but make sure that you plant them in an area that's not prone to standing water, and preferably in soil that's been generously amended with organic, composted humus manure. You can buy it in 40 pound bags in the garden section of most any big-box store, around $2.00 per bag. Your daylilies will love it.
I've heard it said that the best fertilizer for daylilies is water, and that's a key component. However, I tell my customers to fertilize twice a year - at Candy Times.
That means Halloween and Valentine's Day. I just sprinkle a teensy bit of granulated 8-8-8 around the base of each daylily. Rainfall and/or dew will melt it in with time. How often do I water? Depends on the weather, of course. Daylilies are remarkably drought resistant once established but they do love a consistent drink of water for optimum blooms and rebloom cycle. So for me, that means that during the fairly rainy spring season I don't need to water, but as the summer progresses I will water them occasionally.
Daylilies grow in clumps, and each clump is made up of individual "fans." You'll need to divide them from time to time. If they get too crowded in amongst themselves, the bloom quantity and quality will be affected. Some cultivars can go for years without needing to be divided, but usually you'll need to do it about every three years or so. Divide them in the fall or spring.
For a more comprehensive guide to everything daylilies, please visit the website of The American Daylily Society, at www.daylilies.org. Better yet, join the ADS today! You won't be sorry; it is filled with more information that you can imagine, as well as a fabulous database to all those 90,000+ cultivars!
Daylily Terminology:
Bloom Time:
EE - extra early season
E - early season
EM - early to mid season
M - mid season
ML - mid to late season
L - late season
Foliage Type:
Dor - dormant
Sev - semi-evergreen
Ev - evergreen
Other:
Re - rebloom
Ploidy:
Dip - diploid
Tet - tetraploid
God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7