Dogs in my garden, diamonds in yours.

15 years ago

This recent thing of my digging up my AWESOME BLOSSOMS and CHOCOLATE CHERRY DREAMS had me thinking about how a daylily can be such a dog, dog, dog in one place and a star of the garden in another.

I doesn't even have to be that far away either. For instance Francois Verhaert, which almost never fully opens for me, looks great and never has any problems in a local garden less than 20 minutes from me that I visited on this years garden tours. And you can be sure that I asked if it ever had any problems. The garden owner looked puzzelled when I asked if it had problems opening, as if he couldn't immagine that happening. So my dog is a diamond 20 minutes down the road. Go figgure.

So if a daylily has problems, garden conditions are mentioned. Like when I was complaining about the problems opening I got asked about how much sun it gets and such. Well, there is plenty of sun for everything planted around it to open so I can't blame doggyness on location. Although Bill Maryott did advise me to move every daylily that is doing poorly or I am having problems with. Under the theory that sometimes a particular daylily just does not like a certain spot even though there seems to be nothing wrong with that spot. Who knows, it might work. I know on the rose forum it is always suggested with any rose that just isn't doing well for no apparent reason to move it to a different spot. It is quite surprising how many times this results in the rose thriving in the new spot.

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Comments (11)

Nancy
15 years ago
That is very true. One of my early daylilies was Baby Darling. I planted it along my driveway in pretty good soil, nearby plants did well, full sun, all it should need. It languished there, getting smaller & smaller, by late summer of the following year it was near death. I moved it a few feet farther down, same conditions still next to driveway, soil very similar, only difference was I had more problems with persistent weeds where I moved it. Within a week it became visibly better, by the following year it was perfectly healthy with lovely blooms despite the weed problem I did not get a handle on.
I know lots of people complain about muddiness in Always Afternoon. I'm not sure what muddy looks like, maybe I like muddy, but I definitely like Always Afternoon. Strawberry Candy is always very orange for me, but I've seen pictures of a beautiful pink, some of those in my state & zone.
fairysoapgirl
15 years ago
Oh yeah, I have about 10 I need to move around this fall. Some are in too shady spots, some don't like the amount of water (too close to a sprinkler head), some have the bushes too close. In fact, Cantique up and died on me... even though it went through fall, winter, spring, and a full bloom cycle... it just decided it didn't like it there anymore. Weird. My Forsyth Frostbound HATES where it is, I am digging that tomorrow, because I am afraid I am going to lose it. Going in a pot.

I'll be sure to post pictures of those babies if they become stunners here. (Crossing fingers)
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Thanks so much for the responses! I knew I could count on you guys :) It seems like, based on what I'm reading at those links, the tomatoes (either green ones or maybe the leaves sticking through the fence?) are a possibility but probably not likely. I think only one morning glory actually sprouted, so probably not enough of that plant to be harmful. My dog is a 24 lb. papillon mix. She does have a bad habit of eating things she shouldn't though. Before I had a secure fence around my garden she would pick the little baby watermelons and carry them around and chew on them. I think she thought they were balls also. Helen, your comment about toads really caught my attention because last night the dogs were all barking at this huge toad in my garden and trying to get at it through the fence. I found him in there a long time ago and let him stay thinking he probably ate a lot of bugs (he's HUGE!) The dogs always bark and try to get him when he ventures over on that side of the garden where they can see him. I knew toads could make a dog drool but never dreamed it could get any worse than that! I don't know how she would have gotten hold of the toad since it was inside the chain link fence, but it does make me wonder, especially with the vomiting, etc. starting shortly after that. Does anyone know if there are cane toads in Oklahoma? I was just reading about those and they sound awful! I'm also wondering now about my homemade composter made from a plastic trash can. I have it sitting out there in the back yard, and I put my scraps in it. It has holes drilled in it for air but to be honest I don't roll it around or otherwise aerate it like I should. With all the rain lately, I noticed there is some goo running out the bottom. I also noticed that the dogs had been digging in that area (which they do because the ground there is soft and sandy). I wonder if she could have come in contact with something that had washed out of the composter into the soil? Helen, are you thinking some kind of bacteria or fungus or something that was in that lump your dog ate, or that the plant scrap itself was toxic to dogs? Neither one of these things has ever crossed my mind as being a hazard to my dogs! I need to put the composter inside the fenced garden area, and relocate the toad as well just in case. My backyard is starting to look like a minefield of potential dog dangers lol Thank you all for the responses and for opening my eyes to some hazards I was not aware of. If anybody else has ideas or experiences please do mention them.
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bruz
15 years ago
If you can move a plant a few feet & it picks up im sure there is something in the soil at that spot. Maybe someone buried their dog there at some stage. If you dug out 12-14 inches of soil & replaced it with a good composted loam Im sure you will have the same effect
newyorkrita
Original Author
15 years ago
More thinking by me about the diffence from one garden to another. Yes, I know all this thinking is taxing to the brain but I don't have alot of daylilies blooming so I can not amuse myself taking lots of pictures. Therefore I sit and think or think while I am out in the garden working, about the daylilies.

Anyway Debra (shrive) said in my post of todays blooms that daylilies from Maryotts do not do well in here garden. What a difference in my garden as my daylily plateau in the back yard is about 90 percent daylilies I bought from Maryotts. If they did not do well here, I really would have been in big trouble this spring as it was most of the daylilies in my garden at that point (before I started planting this springs purchases).
rarejem
15 years ago
Rita,

I have become a firm believer in moving a daylily if it is not doing well. As I've mentioned in several posts, my mother and I live next door (even if it is a country block away) from each other, and have several of the same daylilies. It is amazing the difference in performance from one yard to the next! If Mom's is doing good and mine is not, it goes on my move list. I had a Sabine Baur that had barely bloomed for two years, and what it did show was awful. I moved it last fall, to a place that wasn't prime, but I am running out of room, and it just wasn't cutting it where it was. This year it has been wonderful! The funny thing was, the lilies around it in it's original spot are thriving. I think sometimes they just get fussy about where they are put and will pout until they are moved.

I am becoming a little more ruthless when it comes to plants I don't like, but still very few have made it all the way out into the woods (I have an unlanscaped clearing that I call my burial ground). And I could never (cringing) give one completely away without keeping just a little part. Maybe if some of my seedlings don't improve, but still... ;)

Julie
newyorkrita
Original Author
15 years ago
Well, the people on the roses forums are really big on moving roses if they don't seem to be doing that well. I certainly have moved lots of roses both last spring and this spring but that mainly because I decided I wanted to plant them elswhere. Not that were not doing good in the currant spot.

Then this spring I moved lots of daylilies out front to the relocation garden. Now I have daylilies that need to be moved around some for various reasons. I just keep waiting for some cooler weather as its just too hot. But I think that the moving for anything not doing well is a good idea.
newyorkrita
Original Author
15 years ago
FRANCOIS VERHAERT is one of those dogs in my garden. Had a big clump of it in the front yard daylily garden. Big because even though I planted it last year, I had bought 3-fers from Maryotts. I have been between thinking of getting rid of it completely or just moving it somewhere else. Yesterday I dug up the whole thing as I have given it away and decided to take a nice piece of 4 fans and put it up in the daylily plateau. Thats its second chance and only a small grouping just in case its still a dog in my garden. I will be truely flabergasted if it turns out to preform really well but I decided to give it a amother chance.
njmomma
15 years ago
I find it fascinating that DLs can be so picky about location. I can understand if there is root competition or not enough sun, but otherwise, I don't get it. Ah well, I'm new to DLs so I guess I'll have to see for myself.
uroboros5
15 years ago
I moved a 'Strawberry Candy' that was giving me 'blah' colors from a sweet spot with rich soil to a marginal spot in hardpan.

It loved the hardpan and threw an amazing quantity of true bubble gum pink flowers this summer!

Daylilies are like people, there are a few oddballs out there that like a bit of abuse!

***insert insane-looking emoticon***
uroboros5
15 years ago
Oh, and 'Awesome Blossom' died on me. DEFINITELY - a dead plant is a dog.

I was ashamed to admit it, but hey, it's the truth. Yes, I killed a daylily.
lefox
15 years ago
What a dog that F. VERHEART is here TOO!!!!

I have done everything to make it happy!!!

I really believe that are Dls should be hardy!! If it can't take it,It has got to go!!

great post NYR, thanks cole

Dogs in my garden, diamonds in yours.

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