Daylily Planting Guide
Saksa Daylily Farm
Here are planting and care instructions and some tips for getting the most out of your daylily plants.
“Where can daylilies be planted” -
Daylilies are tolerant of poor soils and growing conditions, making them an ideal plant for areas where other plants will not thrive. Although daylilies prefer full sun they will also do well in partial or mottled sunlight. Daylilies should receive at least 6 hours of sunlight a day in order to have the best blooming conditions. Daylilies may not do well near or under trees that compete for moisture and nutrients. If you do decide to plant them near trees make sure you provide them with extra
waterings.
“Preparing your daylily planting bed” -
Like most plants, daylilies will perform best in well-drained fertile soil. Working in compost will increase fertility and microbial activity. The ideal soil will hold sufficient moisture to sustain the plants, yet will also be well-drained. Soils that contain too much sand or clay can be improved by amending with compost.
"How do I plant my daylilies" -
If you’ve purchased your daylily plants bare rooted with the tops and flowers still intact, the foliage should be trimmed off leaving 4 to 6 inches of foliage remaining.
If you’ve purchased your daylily plants in pots, remove them from the pot and break apart the soil so that the roots can be spread out. To encourage root development, trim back the foliage leaving 4 to 6 inches of foliage remaining.
Daylily plants purchased by mail order will be shipped bare rooted with the foliage already trimmed back.
Daylily plants should be planted no less that 18 to 24 inches apart. When the daylilies start to grow, you will notice new leaves starting to form in the center of the plant. Foliage on the outside edges will dry up and can be removed. When it’s okay to remove it will pull off easily. If it doesn’t pull away easily leave it alone and try again at a later time.
If you cannot plant your daylily plants right away, cover the bare roots with wet sand or mulch to keep the roots moist. We suggest planting the daylilies as soon as you can before the roots become dry. Some people put them in a bucket of water for 30 minutes before planting. We fill the hole with water before sticking the daylily in the hole. It seems to work well for us.
Dig a hole big enough so that the roots can be spread out when placed in the hole. If you’ve amended your soil when you prepared your flower bed for planting, little else needs to be done at this time. Place the daylily in the hole preferably on a mound of dirt formed in the hole and spread the roots out over the mound. Cover the daylily plant with soil so that the crown of the plant is level with the surrounding soil. Do not set the crown (i.e., the point where foliage and roots join) more than 1 inch below the surface of the soil. Firm the soil around the plant which will help to remove any air pockets. Apply some mulch around the daylily plant to help retain moisture and keep the weeds down. The daylily plants should be thoroughly watered after planting, and continue to deep soak them at least weekly until established (about six to eight weeks). If you do nothing else to your flower beds, provide at least 1-1.5 inches of water per week. Although daylilies are drought-tolerant once established, consistent watering will produce better quality flowers.
“How do I maintain my daylily bed” -
In the spring, dead foliage and debris should be cleared away from around your daylilies. Add compost and mulch your daylily beds. We work leaf compost into the soil when we plant them and again when they are divided. A slow release fertilizer such as 18-6-12 can be applied in the spring.
During the growing season, damaged or diseased foliage should be removed. Continue weeding as necessary.
At the end of the bloom season, cut off the spent bloom scapes to within a few inches of the ground unless you are hybridizing. See our article on How To Grow Proliferations published in this blog.
Dividing daylilies will become necessary when the plants become overcrowded (after 5 to 6 years). Overcrowding will impact the number of blooms produced. If your daylily plants have become large and you notice that they don’t seem to have as many blooms as they once had, it may be time to divide your daylilies. You can divide your daylilies any time during the season. We generally make sure that we are finished dividing our daylilies by the beginning of September so that the divided daylily plants have a chance to form a good root system before winter sets in. This will prevent the daylily roots from heaving out of the ground with all the freezing and thawing that we encounter in the northern climate.
Reblooming Daylilies –
Reblooming daylilies are defined as “having more than one cycle of flowering per year”. Most plants that rebloom will have a flush of flowers, then rest a period, then another flush. There are also some that keep right on blooming for several months. These are often referred to as “extended bloom”. How they act in your garden will depend on the temperature, the amount of water and the amount of sun they receive. You’ll notice that many reblooming daylilies will be compact plants with small flowers and slender foliage. These daylilies are perfect for landscape planting because they’re low growing and have a neat appearance. This type of daylily also makes great long blooming container plants as well. If planted in a container you can drag them into your garage in the winter, give them a little water, then they’re ready to go in the spring. Don’t worry if they appear to be dead. They’ll start sprouting again as soon as the weather warms.
To keep them reblooming throughout the summer:
1. Snap off the spent blooms every day or two.
2. When all the blooms on the stalk are done, snip the entire stalk off close to the ground. Your plant will be able to put all it’s energy into setting more flowers. 3. We’ve noticed that the plants may need a few years to get established before they rebloom as they should, so don’t despair if they don’t rebloom the first year.
We have a few daylilies that are not supposed to rebloom but they bloom 2 or 3 times during the summer.
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