Daylilies
And that's reason enough to fall in love with them. I have way too many different plants in my own garden but my 25 varieties are a drop in the bucket when it comes to the over 30,000 named varieties that are available.
Here's how to grow them.
Growing Conditions
Full sun or part shade. They will get floppy if you give them too much shade. Morning shade usually fine if the plant receives sun from noon onwards.
This plant will grow in almost any soil - from gravel to clay to sandier soils. It doesn't like clay but it will grow there. Waterlogged soils will rot the roots over the winter.
It does best in a decent soil with good drainage.
This plant has a bad reputation (and an undeserved one) of being a spreading plant. The old fashioned Tawny-daylily has orange flowers and it has self-sown in almost every inhospitable place it can possibly find. And it lives!
What the daylily roots have is great holding power and a thick old clump is a tough slog to dig up. Modern hybrids will develop the big tough roots but in my experience have never become self-sowing weeds (I sometimes wish they would) ;-)
Hardiness
Daylilies are hardy right down to USDA zone 3.
Propagation
Dig and divide in early spring or fall.
You can collect the seed (if it is produced) and start your own as any perennial seed
Tissue culture if you happen to have a lab handy.
Varieties
Because there are way to many to mention individually, let me suggest you only purchase those plants that are repeat bloomers. Older varieties bloom for 21 days (one new bloom a day) while the newer repeat bloomers produce a new bloom a day for 60 days or more. Spend a few extra dollars and triple your daylilies bloom time.
Click here to ask about daylilies.
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