Rita - It's hard to believe you've acquired 600 daylilies in just six years. It took me 10 to get up to that number. But we're in the same boat now. I did gain some suitable space for new beds when my neighbor had his walnut tree cut down this spring. But the daylilies already living in pots will go there. I don't forsee buying many new ones in the future unless I get rid of current residents and have space available. Moving 50 pots around when I mow is hard work, and I'd rather not have to house any in pots in future years.

I also find myself wanting to add other plants to my gardens. I originally had perennial gardens, and got rid of most of the perennials when the daylily addiction took over. I've found it very hard to part with daylilies, even those with low bud counts. I did sell/give away about 30 last year. I find it very hard to part with the old ones, even though buying new ones is so much fun.

Debra

I actually have been adding other plants back to my garden this spring. Plants that used to be here but died out and never got replaced when I was having the hardscape done these past three years, raised beds and terraced walls. And it has been only 3 years since 2007, not six. So you see, I really have gone overboad. And I started with the southern evergreens. If I had to do it over, I would have never bought them. I am much more into northern grown these days. But they are lovely and good daylilies so I can't get rid of them, do too well and are too pretty to give up.

I don't have this problem in my roses. I know what I like, I know what doesn't work in my garden and I stick to it. I don't feel bad removing roses. But if I think of removing daylilies I get the advice to give it afew years to see how it does. Why if its a poor preformer? There are plenty out there that do excellenty from day one. Then there are the daylilies I should like but don't. Ones everyone said are so beautiful but I look at it and think yeck. I am going to be looking at them come bloom season but if the verdict is still yeck, they are going to have to go.

I am in this pickle because I can only seem to part with so very few. I need to get real. I have so many daylilies that I just love. Its like seeing old friends when they bloom again each year. But others just fill up space. But there is nothing 'wrong' with the space fillers. That is the problem. There is no clear reason to part with them.

That is an astonishing number - 600! It sounds like your daylilies are taking up more space than you would like. I don't know how you can manage this many. But I agree that the daylilies look beautiful in a bed with annuals and other perennials. If it's just daylilies, I think it begins to look like a 'crop', not a garden. Having said this, I bought way too many on the LA this winter and now have turned over half of my veggie garden to daylilies. So I now have a 'crop' of daylilies. In my future I see an ever shrinking lawn. Christine

There is no lawn left to shrink. And in the past few years as I got the daylily crazies I had to do the hardscape projects in order to have planting beds. As these things were done, things that used to be here got moved and when replanted mostly died. I was so focused on daylilies that I did not buy new ones. But this spring I started to bring lots of used to be here things back. I think of my garden as very much cottage garden. I don't want it too look like a daylily farm.

I do like some daylily beds to be nothing but daylilies. I like that look. But not for all of them.

It just all hit me this spring as I had too many daylilies new, even more than the spots in what was left and used to be my veggie garden. The lawn is long gone around here.

Wow! 600 is a lot. No, I don't know how many I have. I did laugh at DH when he said, "you must have over a hundred daylilies." Yeah, that part is easy to tell.

kay

You do have a lot of daylilies acquired in just 3 years. I started buying in 2006 and I now have 808. I have a spreadsheet with them all listed, so I can keep up with them and where they are. Otherwise, I would go crazy looking for something. There are a lot of daylilies that I would be willing to give up for "better" ones or other perennials. But it is hard. Even the older ones that I'm not particularly fond of, I think.....maybe next year I'll like it better. lol I know what you mean about having old friends return every year. Describes it perfectly. But we do have a lot of land and we started buying so many so that in the future we might actually have a daylily farm. I know there's no way that I can NOT buy anymore daylilies and still log onto this website. :O) And there are so many daylily sellers locally, it makes the temptation worse. Iron Gate opens tomorrow and I've been thinking about it since last week. I know what will happen when I go, but I just love visiting there. And school will be out next Thursday so I have to go before then so I can "look" by myself. lol
Good luck with deciding what to remove from your garden. I will be losing a few after this season also. It's a lot of work taking care of them.
Michelle

WOW Rita, That is great!!!! I'm only half way there and looking for places to put them. Only have one last bed that I think I can still widen a bit. HA I have said that before!!! I do love the way you 'pack' them in and add so many other flowers. Afterall, you can always stick a lily bulb in between the daylilies, right!!???
cindy

If I had the room I would just keep right on adding. But I just don't have room. So I thought I had a lot with 600, 800 is even better or worse, depending on how you look at it. And I didn't even do a spreadsheet. I have a folder with pieces of paper from my orders. I know, not very organized. My actual gardens are organized, my records aren't.

Adding the lilies hasn't been a problem. Bulbs are easy to stick in between other things. Like roses and daylilies. Part of the no room for daylilies is because I decided I want more TB iris and am going to do most of the middle of that veggie bed were I am working for them instead of daylilies.

WOW. RITA: you have a lot more daylilies then I thought you had.It just don't look like that many, to me.I wish they would hurry up and bloom, so we get to see more pictures.

Jean

There are lots of scapes so I am sure there will be lots of blooms. Plus there are daylilies all over the place around here. By now most of the backyard is daylilies.

That's more that I thought you had, too! Didn't know you had older ones, just mainly newer intros.

I have (in comparison) ONLY about 170-200 (Mom gave me some of hers last year and they were mixed in the box...not sure which is which). Accumulated (sp?) in about 4 years. There are 25-30 that I have on a list now for evaluation. They'll either get yellow tape (to go to a friend) or the blade of a shovel if I REALLY don't like them! I'm getting more selective now in what I grow. My tastes are a bit more exspensive, too. I'd rather spend decent money on one awesome one than decent money on 10 so-so's. Plus I just don't have as much time as I'd like to dedicate to my garden. I've got 2 little monsters (kids), work full-time and what not. I've got so many weeds right now that I can't keep up! Downsizing is overall a good idea.

I do, on the other hand, have 400 seedlings growing. Yikes! *smile*

Dani

Lots and lots and lots of them are newer intros. Although I have some older ones too. If I like it, I like it. Don't care if its newer or older.

Wow Rita, I didn't realize you'd added so many either! I've enjoyed seeing your garden change the past couple years here, and I knew you'd done some serious hardscape work. I can see where that many daylilies could be overwhelming, especially since your space is limited.

(I had a dream a couple nights ago that I visited a daylily farm with 6 acres of daylilies to choose from. Ahhh, wish I had dreams like that more often, lol!)

Laurel

Well, it's not as if the daylilies are very hard to take care of. Certainly no more so than any other flower and lots easier than most. And I had to do most of the hardscape as I needed a place to plant. By the time I had gotten the daylily crazies all the easier places to do a garden were all filled already so I started on terraces and raised beds. Lots of works (and money) but the results were so worth it.

But I was so focused on daylilies that most of those things that were moved for hardscape projects (and mostly moved back) that died because it was never the right time of year to move things, I just let go. This sping started buying many and bringing back. Not always the exact same. Like I had ALASKA shasta daiseys (tall). I bought SNOWCAP this spring as they are dwarf and work better. I had some plain yellow yarrows and bought some stunning red STRAWBERRY SEDUCTION yarrows this spring. I bought the fancy new hot colors of coneflowers to add to my garden instead of the RUBY STAR and just plain purples that died out. I bought CHEROKEE SUNSET blackeyed susans instead of Goldstrum which I thought was boring. I bought new honeysuckle vines to replace some that died out. Well, you get the picture.

I am not done with everything I want to add or bring back but I made a great big dent in that project.

I also want to grow more zinnias as I deffinately love zinnias. The first year I had zinnias in amounst the daylilies in the 2nd terrace of the terraces garden. Coundn't do it years after. I have decided that I can get the look I want and have room for the zinnias by removing the middle grouping of daylilies from the second terrace and leaving the the ones at both ends. Since these are very favorite daylilies I am certainly NOT getting rid of them.

Then upstairs in the garden that for year one I called the cosmos garden, second year snapdragon garden (as I planted those annuals to fill in) I want the color back. But I am cetainly not doing to dig up the daylilies and hack the clumping fans back to the two that I started with. So it get a look that works for me, I need to remove a daylily here and there in that bed and then put a spot of color in the empty space I left by moving the daylily. Again these are very favorite daylilies up there. They will not be leaving the garden.

I am guessing that by removing and sending away about 50 daylilies I can have the look I want. So I will see what needs to go by evaluating during bloom season.

600 daylilies!! That is a lot. I have a few spots where the daylilies are growing together and was thinking that I kind of liked it when they had some space between them too. Not because I wanted to put other stuff in between them, I just like the space. And because I can walk through those open spots.

I enjoy having a variety of different types of flowers in my beds and you certainly have variety:)

Vickie

You really got bit by the bug! That's way too many for me to deadhead and I am fanatical about keeping them neat.
I can't wait to see the pics of them all in bloom - group shot!

I don't deadhead them. I certainly wouldn't have the time. When I want to take a picture I look and see whats in the frame and deadhead the ones in the shot.