Plant Daylilies For Summer Color

A gardener can plant daylilies that will provide a rainbow of colors through the season. Hybridizers have done an amazing job cross breeding plants to create an endless array of beauty.

Just look at the brilliant colors on this flower. The flower glows. The red is dark in just the right spots, creating a velvety look. the yellow bleeds into the red flawlessly.

Acquiring Plants

A couple of years ago I had the bright idea to plant a ditch lily in my garden. Big Mistake. Its been 5 years and I'm still trying to get rid of it.

Buy your plants from a grower, garden center or from trusted friends. Don't take them from the wild!

Rebloomers

Read the plant tag to make sure you have a rebloomer if that's the type of daylily you are wanting, not all are!
The most popular rebloomer is the Stella de Oro It has yellow flowers.

The key to keeping a rebloomer blooming is to remove spent flowers as soon as possible. If the plant produces seed pods, the flower production will slow down and stop

It can be hard sometimes to tell the difference in a flower bud and a seed pod. The easiest way to explain it is: flower buds are thin and long like your index finger. A seed pod is fat and stubby like your thumb.

If you plant daylilies and see these on the plant, pull them off to keep your daylily blooming.

Caring For Your Daylily

Daylilies are by far the easiest, most forgiving plants one can grow.
The plant will thrive in full sun or in spots that are sprinkled with shade during the day. It's best not to plant daylilies in full shade.

Too much fertilizer and the plant will push foliage rather than flowers. Fertilize them with a root stimulator when they are first planted and possibly once a year in the spring. (root stimulator is a very weak solution of fertizlier that is used to prompt roots to grow and helps keep your plants from suffering transplant shock)

Dividing

When the flowers start coming less frequently or the clump is getting too large. Divide your daylilies. Dig up the whole clump in the spring and split into smaller sections.

When I plant daylilies in my yard I choose ones that are bright and cheerful. These two particular daylilies were hybridized by a friend Bob Faulkner. They are not in mass production and weren't named. I love the color of their flowers.