Planting Daylilies

Now that we know the terms to describe the blossoms, colors, foliage types, and more, we’re almost ready to start planting daylilies, whether they are divisions from a friend, bare root from a supplier, or potted from the local garden center.  Before we start, though, there are just a few more terms it will be helpful to know.

Daylilies grow from long, thin, fibrous roots, which over time thicken into spindle-shaped tubers.  These thick, fleshy roots absorb and store water and nutrients to feed the foliage and blossoms of the plant.

The crown is the solid white core of tissue that joins the leaves and the roots of the daylily plant.  The crown produces the leaves from its upper surface and the roots from the lower surface.  Most daylilies must have a crown with each propagated piece to be able to establish a new plant.

 

Daylily leaves are grass-like with a center rib that is prominent on the underside of the leaf.  The leaves are attached opposite each other on the crown and form a fan.  Multiple fans form a clump.  Daylilies can be divided down to a single fan or left with multiple fans in a clump.  The more fans left in the clump, the sooner the daylily will bloom again, but also the sooner it will need to be divided again. 

 Finding the right location for the daylily is important.  Most daylilies prefer full sun, although more and more cultivars are being developed to tolerate part shade.  Light yellows and other pastel colors need full sun to show their best colors.  Darker colors, like reds and purples, may benefit from partial shade, particularly from the hottest mid-day sun.  These dark colors have a tendency to lose their vibrancy when exposed to the hottest sun.  Too much shade, though, will keep the daylily from blooming its best and may cause the foliage to become limp and floppy.

Daylilies are not particular about soil type.  In fact, daylilies are great in my heavy clay soil because the thick roots and tubers act as “clay-busters”.  They are said to prefer a slightly acidic soil, but they thrive in my highly alkaline clay.  They do require a location with good drainage and they like to have a fair amount of organic matter in the soil around them.  I top dress mine with a couple inches of composted manure at least every other spring.   (Top dressing is simply a matter of spreading the compost over the top of the existing soil around the crown of the daylily).

Daylilies prefer evenly moist soil, but are quite drought tolerant once established.  About the only thing they really don’t like is too much moisture.  In extreme conditions, the tubers can rot.  In less extreme, but still too moist, conditions, they are prone to fungal diseases such as leaf streak, white mold, or Rhizoctonia crown rot.  Bacterial soft rot can destroy the daylily if the soil remains too wet.  We’ll talk about controlling diseases of daylilies in another blog.

Daylilies can be planted anytime that the soil is workable, e.g. anytime the soil isn’t frozen solid.  They tend to do their best if planted in early spring, while moisture is more abundant and temperatures are a little cooler.  I have successfully planted daylilies, though, in the hottest part of the summer – the key is to give them a little extra tender loving care in the form of good, even moisture and a little mulch around the planting area to help keep the roots cool.  Daylilies planted in late fall need protective mulch covering them for the winter in harsher climates.

Daylilies  should be planted in a hole that is large enough to hold the roots without twisting, bending or crowding them in any way.  It may be helpful to mound the soil in the middle of the planting hole, then set the center of the crown on the mound and spread the roots down the side of the mound.  This helps assure that the roots stay straight and uncrowded when the planting soil is filled back in the hole.  The daylily should be planted so that the crown is about one inch below the surface of the soil. 

Most daylily cultivars benefit from being divided every three to four years.  Some, like the Stella d’Oro, are vigorous growers and require dividing every other year to continue to perform their best.  Dividing daylilies really isn’t difficult, but there are a few tricks to make it easier and assure success.  We’ll talk more about those in my next blog installment.