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My day lilies have no lilies!

ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9

16 years ago

Hello everyone, this is my first time here; I normally post on the rose and antique rose forums so please forgive my abysmal ignorance about daylilies, which I think are wonderful plants. Mine are probably Stella d'Oro and then a more lemon colored type, name unknown. They bloomed in the spring and looked wonderful with my old roses. Then - nothing. I know we had a terribly hot summer but I watered every day and the roses kept on blooming, while the daylilies stayed nice and green, quite decorative, but no flowers. What am I doing or not doing? I thought they were easy-care and would bloom without too much coaxing. If I didn't water them often enough the leaves would die. My soil is very porous with good drainage.

I'd very much appreciate any and all advice. Thank you.

Ingrid

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Comments (5)

carmen_grower_2007
16 years ago
Daylilies got their name because each flower opens up for one day. Some, such as "STELLA D'ORO" will re-bloom after a rest of about a month, but some years even the re-bloomers don't make a second attempt.

The secret, I think is to have early, mid-season and late bloomers in the same bed so you have a nice display for several months. I don't know about Z10, but here in Northern Il. my daylilies start blooming the end of May and different varieties put up scapes and blooms right through September. Actually, right now "PAPER BUTTERFLY" has put up numerous scapes but unfortunately, they will get frost bite before they get a chance to re-bloom.
Nancy
16 years ago
It was a really bad year for my daylilies, and my Stellas didn't rebloom as much. But mine also need to be divided. Stellas multiply quickly, & don't rebloom as much when they are in need of division, I think. Just thought might be the reason for your lack of bloom also.
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I love lilies for their stately appearance and scent... but hate the red lily beetle battle. We live along a river and worry about pesticide run off. So there are only two clumps in our yard. However, we do have many varieties of daylily. These are one of my favorite flowers... but my DH is not crazy about them. He thinks the long slender leaves and the same green tones look boring. The compromise was to place them among plants with different leaf textures and colors. And I have to agree with him that this helps to hide the ratty look of day lilies as they mature. (You're so right about that, Kevin.) A favorite new day lily is H. 'Light the Way' which I found at Bloomingfields Farms in Gaylordsville, CT. These are magnificent! The stems are very tall, which means the plant can be tucked behind shorter plants and the whitish blossom will peek out above its neighbors. Here is what LtW looked like the other day in our gardens. The flower color is more like the second shot...green and white tones. One "problem" ..... day lily clumps can get enormous and crowd out other things, even when divided. That happened in our small yard. The 6 tiny Hemerocallis 'Malaysian Monarch' fans that I planted years ago spread like the plague. We gave most of them away to a friend with lots of property. Molie
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ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
Original Author
16 years ago
My daylilies are new this year so division is probably not the reason. Also, I see Stella D'Oro blooming in front of coffee shops and on center strips in town. Very annoying! I was under the impression that this variety bloomed for most of the growing season but mine gave up after a few months. Do they need fertilizing? I have alfalfa meal, would that help?

Ingrid
organic_tosca
16 years ago
Ingrid - dont feel bad. I have 3 that I planted Sept. '06. one bloomed not at all, and the other two gave just a couple. I, too, am new to daylilies (and gardening in general). My plants seem healthy, but no flowers. I asked a relative who gardens a lot if she had any ideas, and she said that she thought they had probably just been getting used to the place and getting established. She said they would probably be fine next year, so I'm relaxing and waiting for Spring.
-Laura
okbt
16 years ago
Could be as Laura said,transplant shock.You can also check to see that they are not planted too deeply. I have had some potted daylilies that you couldn't see the "v" where the leaves meet.The crown should be no more than 1" below the soil.

Betsy

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