New to daylilies here... What do you mean by live-heading? Do you mean that you remove the flowers at the end of the day before they've died off?

Oh I just dont have the heart to remove mine before they have died .I love the blooms too much for that. I just grab the pruners the next morning when I go out and snip them off then,and dont have a mess in my fingers.

Jean

Whiteforest, yes, live-heading is taking the blooms off in the evening as opposed to waiting to the next day.

Always glad for a convert! Yes, I have live-headed for years. IMHO, there are several advantages - first, if you like to photograph your garden, you have a clean palate each morning, which is the best time for garden photography. No dealing with those slimy spent blooms with purple juice.Ugh! Secondly, live heading helps to control earwigs, as they like to feast on the spent blooms. Finally, live heading is much cleaner. I really hate dealing with the purple slime, and how some blooms have the oooie-gooies that keep other blooms from opening. If you live-head, you can always save a few favorite blooms to take inside and enjoy for the rest of the evening. I do that frequently! However, to each his or her own! Live-heading is just my preference. .

I read several years ago where one hybridizer live-headed every day at 5 P.M. That's a great idea, but with my luck, I'd snap off some fabulous cross that I had just made that day! (LOL)

Nancy

Yeah, unfortunately, if you make a cross, you have to live with the mummy (thanks Daylily Journal) for a day or three.

Nate

It's great Kay. I have always pinched of the blooms in the evening so everything is fresh and beautiful the next morning.. I've done it for years but don't know who told me about it. I think it was a friend who pasted about 6 or 7 years ago...Ellie

Lots of work to live head but just as much work to deadhead them. I am just too lazy. I deadhead whatever I am about to take a picture of and thats it. I must admit if I was a multi millionare though, I would hire someone to deadhead my daylilies.

It takes me almost 2 hours to do it each evening and the wheel barrow would be full of blooms. Some nights I skipped it if I got too tired and just waited till the next morning while taking photos. Waiting till the next day has its disadvantages as you get that dripping on other blossoms like Kay mentioned. I've done the unthinkable and accidentally snapped a bud in my rush to get done.

My husband did not like the idea of my taking off a live bloom. LOL.

Julia

I am a convert. the blooms will be toast the next morning. and I have dripped the purple daylily "dracula" blood onto a bloom and spoiled it for pictures. (Think cream or light). It is just so much neater.

I have an elderly neighbor (older than me even) who hated to see me livehead, but it is so much cleaner, it seems to take less time, and, I admit, a bloom or two usually make it indoors.
kay

I live head daily also. Love going around looking at blooms and then tidying up. Too messy to do it in the morning when I want to take pictures.