Day lilies are hardy in a range of approximately zone 3 to zone 9, but seem to grow best in zones 4-8. My upstate New York garden is zone 5b, so I fit right in. I've had a couple of my varieties for over 20 years. They aren't that fussy about soil, and will even accept a part sun area.
They are said to be edible, too -at least some varieties are - but please, approach this with lots of caution.
There are many color and shape combinations. Spider type, striped type, fringed type, tetraploid. I must admit I don't pay that much attention to the details - I plant what I think is pretty.
Some day lilies are fragrant. No pruning is needed, no insect pests that I am aware of, few diseases - the only care they will need, besides your love, is making sure they have sufficient water and dividing them every few years.
Some people recommend mulching them before their first winter, but in my zone 5b garden, I've never found that to be necessary.
Groundhogs don't bother them (and I should know). They are said to be deer-resistant, but since I don't have much of a deer problem (knock on my garden fence) I can't confirm that.
So, here's how you plant them:
1. select your area, and work the soil down to about one foot deep so it is nice and loose. Add some compost. The plants should be planted 12 to 18 inches apart.
2. Plant, making sure the crown of the plant is about an inch below the soil level. Make sure the roots are all spread out before you put dirt over the roots.
3. Make sure there is plenty of air circulation around the plants. Rust has not been a problem where I live but it, apparently, has been an increasing problem in certain parts of the country.
And now, your reward for stopping by.
I took these pictures today at Cutler Botanic Garden in Binghamton, New York. And it's turning out I may not have picked up the correct labels on some of these, so please bear with me, if you are a day lily expert. Later this week, I will feature some of my own day lilies, but not yet.
Long Stocking.
To me, these beauties only have one fault - they don't make good cut flowers. Well, two faults - each flower only lasts a day.
Meaning, enjoy them while you can!
Day seven of the Ultimate Blog Challenge #BlogBoost
Lovely. I'm a big fan of daylilies, too.
ReplyDeleteHow pretty! We went to a botanical garden in Virginia that featured roses - I'd LOVE to go to one with Day Lillies and they're a favorite of mine!
ReplyDeleteI have an abundance of day lilies in my front yard. No care given and I live in Zone 2. Chinese people have been eating them a long time but we buy them. I've never tried harvesting and drying mine. Maybe I should give it a go.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! Only lasting one day is a bummer, but many of the modern cultivars have many buds on multiple branches or are reblooming. One of ours (Spacecoast Tiger Tail Tango) was sending up a second scape before the first batch were bloomed out. A few of our others are already reblooming too.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful. And, yes, I have eaten daylily leaves. When I was on the Walk for a Nuclear Free Future in 2010, we stopped by the side of the road and picked daylily leaves, which were later cooked as our vegetable. We did a lot of foraging for food. It was a different kind of culinary adventure.
ReplyDeleteDeer around here is so hard on my flowers, including the deer
ReplyDeleteCoffee is on
I adore day lilies but my hubby worries about them lasting for only one day.I haven't eaten one though
ReplyDeleteBeautiful. I love the merging of the colours. I haven't seen such pretty lilies in our part of the world.
ReplyDeleteOh these are gorgeous. Love the variety.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful flowers. And we can see them longer than a day on your blog :)
ReplyDeleteDaylilies are definitely NOT deer-resistant. This year the deer here are so bad, they even ate my irises.
ReplyDeletePretty. Good to have a flower that works in your climate zone.
ReplyDeleteThe one thing I really miss about the US is the public parks and gardens where you can enjoy the splendour of nature. I first saw day lillies at the Botanical Garden of NYC where the other attraction was the Chuily exhibition
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