Some years ago, I began growing daylilies (hemerocallis) simply to complement shrubs and perennials in borders. Then their dependability, care-free habits, and the ease with which I could develop new varieties fascinated me, and I concentrated on them.
Where I live, in Mississippi, I am not alone in my fondness for daylilies. Here, shady and semi-shady gardens are the rule in the azalea-camellia belt.
Garden after garden features azaleas and camellias and, quite often, daylilies are in front of them.
What better plant for a shady or green garden? Foundation plantings, too, consist of low-growing woody evergreens and daylilies, which are usually evergreen here.
And flowering trees and shrubs are complemented by daylilies in blending or contrasting colors.
Watch the crape myrtle, though many of us have found that drops of liquid fall out of its opening buds on daylily blooms and spot them.
Daylily Planting
Excellent use is made here of taller varieties, too often disregarded in daylily plantings.
In a shrub border, one vivid grouping is of the tall yellow Mrs. D. H. Wyman with the bicolor Just Mary in the back of it and the Chinese red Lest You Forget in front.
Old varieties, yes, but still worthy—floriferous, clear colored, sturdy stemmed, sunproof, and long blooming.
Another combination, not so showy but equally delightful, is of the tall Pink Charm with the smaller pale yellow Hyperion in front of it.
Combination of Daylilies
Still, other effective combinations I have seen and admired are the following:
- Annis Victoria Russell and Jean Lafitte
- Canari and Salmon Sheen
- Dauntless, Baronet and the Black Hills
- Canyon Purple and Pink Angel
- Potentate and Pirate’s Treasure
- Capri and Evelyn Claar
In accord with the vivid, strong-colored daylilies like Naranja, Scarlet Sunset, and Lochinvar, are sturdy plants like the fine hybrid Shasta daisies, especially the semi-doubles and doubles?
And harmonious with the more ethereal daylilies are lighter textured plants like hardy white phlox, blue plumbago, and the delicate blue Salvia azurea.
Daylily Serenade
One of the most delightful plantings I know of is daylilies Pink Dream or Cool Waters with the blue salvia and white phlox, which grows low here, at their feet.
Still, another pretty one is the older daylily Serenade showing its dainty, ruffled pale flowers above a clump of blue plumbago.
The ease with which the amateur can develop seedlings is another reason why daylilies continue to boom. I was told it took two or three years to bring seedlings into bloom.
In Gulfport Garden
This may be true in some sections—not here. For example, in my Gulfport garden, mature plants start blooming in March.
Their seeds ripen and are ready to be sown from the end of May. Seeds planted that early often produce seedlings that bloom in 8 months.
As soon as they ripen, I sow seeds one-half inch deep, a ½” inch apart, in an open seedbed, in light shade, in sandy soil containing peat-moss and oak-leaf humus.
If the weather is dry, I water daily. Then, when the time to transplant comes, I put superphosphate and cottonseed meal in the hole under the seedlings.
Growing Seedlings With Pine Straw
I do not feed or push growth during the late fall and winter months, and so far have had no damage or loss due to cold.
However, since I have been growing plants from seed, the temperature has not dropped below 18° degrees Fahrenheit. If it did, I would protect seedlings with pine straw or leaves.
I have read manure is pure poison to daylilies. But that is not true for me. Tung moss, old pine sawdust, and rotted dairy manure scattered over all my daylily beds give good results.
However, I admit that I have learned to use organic fertilizer carefully, making most applications when we have a rainy spell.
Fertilization In Early Spring
In early spring, I fertilize all plantings several times, scattering a 4-10-7 fertilizer around them lightly and watering it in.
During the bloom season, I feed plants through their leaves with a high-analysis fertilizer, spraying it on them with a hose late in the evening rather than early in the morning so as not to spot their opening blooms.
(In most varieties, daylily blooms open in the morning and close at night.) During the hottest part of the summer, I let up on plant food but water if necessary.
Usually, our summers are rainy enough to preclude this. In the fall, I feed plants with 4-10-7 (to which I add superphosphate and potash) again and water it in.
No Feeding in Fall and Winter
I do not feed in late fall and winter lest the plants make lush growth which is apt to be hurt by our sudden heavy frosts and hard freezes.
This heavy feeding routine is not usually necessary. But my soil is very thin, sandy, and poor, so a lot of food pays off with spectacular results.
In addition to plenty of food, I mulch, using rotted pine straw or oak leaves, replacing applications with fresh ones when the old material wears thin. Much is said about the daylily’s preference for the sun. Or for shade.
Grow With Some Shade
Of course, I have a long blooming season, 7 months or longer, 5 months hot, sunny, and humid. So my plants grow best when shaded from the late morning and afternoon sun.
Therefore, I am making every effort to supply all plants with some shade, to the extent of putting arbors over them, though this is being done as much for my enjoyment as theirs.
Sun For Daylilies
How do daylilies take our sun? So many in my garden, in full sun, had blossomed as fresh and unfaded come nightfall as when they opened in the early morning.
Curiously most of the pinks fade very becomingly. You can call it fading. Shading is more the word. One seedling in full sun opens a muddy rose.
As the sun continues to beam on it, it improves its color while curling its petals back to reveal a glowing yellow throat until it is a lovely pinkish tone. On cloudy days it retains its early morning look.
Some yellows splotch badly in my garden. Some become lighter, and some hold their color.
Daylily Eyed Varieties
The eyed varieties usually hold their color well, while the bicolors change more often than not.
The fulvous and in-between colors do very well. However, if they fade, they fade to a more becoming tint.
However, reds and darker colors do not fade well and should be grown where they are shaded in the afternoon, at least.
Some varieties like shade all day. Cataloguers should point these out as many gardeners would adore having daylilies that flourish and blossom in shady places.
Best Varieties
Which varieties are best? I cannot say because the location is, quite often, the determining factor.
A variety that stands a nice 24″ inches for me may grow into a gawky 6-footer under other climatic conditions.
In my semi-acid soil and warm air, a beautiful red may be muddy brown in alkaline soil and cool air. But don’t despair.
No matter where you live, close by is a daylily fan who will delight in showing you his treasures and discussing them with you.
So, before ordering plants, visit a local daylily planting, observe the different varieties in it, see how they do, then make up your order list.
This way, you can’t help but be pleased.
44659 by Ruth Redding