PLANTING FOR SUCCESS - 4 Easy, No-fail Steps: 1. Soak (roots & all) before planting 2. Choose sunny location 3. Plant shallow 4. Regular watering & weeding 1st year Site: Daylilies like sunny locations, but can tolerate light shade if there are no closely overhanging tree branches. Provide full sun for best results. If your plants are shy on bloom after the second year, move to a sunnier spot. If already in full sun, check to make sure the fans are not set too deep or that the mulch is not thick against the base of the plants. In cool coastal areas, plant daylilies in the hottest, sunniest section of your garden for best results. Planting: Set 18" to 24" apart, plant shallowly, spreading roots into hole, with the crown (junction of root and shoot) only one inch below soil surface. Water well after planting to settle the roots and keep weeded and/or mulched to allow establishment without competition from aggressive plants. The occasional high wind or midsummer hailstorm is not a problem with the versatile daylily. If flowers are damaged by unusual weather, the next flush of bloom will revive appearances and restore order to the garden. Fertilizer: Use 10-10-10 fertilizer, well-rotted manure or compost; feed in early spring and again after peak bloom. Alfalfa pellets scattered around the plants after spring growth begins will give plants a boost of nitrogen. Water: In abundance the first season! Daylilies grow new roots right away, and bloom sooner, if deeply watered each week. After the second summer, established clumps are OK for several weeks without harm if well-mulched, but the number and size of blooms will be greatly reduced. When you return to regular irrigation, plants will respond happily with fresh foliage and the flowering scapes (stems) will sport larger flowers. Dividing Established Plants: If you wish to share plants with a friend, Daylily plants are very forgiving; they can be dug and divided Spring through Fall, even during full bloom, without harm. Carefully dig under the root ball, divide by cutting so each division has green leaves (fans), a section of the crown, and its own set of roots. Trim foliage to 3 or 4 inches, follow checklist for planting, and within two weeks (spring through summer) you will start seeing new green foliage emerging from the center of each fan. Keep well watered the first summer. DAYLILY - Planting Checklist ___ (mailorder) Unpack and check plants. If any part of your order is missing, or was damaged in shipping, call immediately with your invoice handy. Your plants were sent bare root and dried to prevent any mold from forming on the roots. The outside leaves will continue to dry and yellow as new growth will emerge from the center of the "fan" after planting. This is normal with all transplanted daylilies and is not a cause for concern. ___ Prepare I.D. labels Small plastic labels, with cultivar name and current date, written in pencil, and buried with only the top half-inch above ground, will last for years and provide a good record. We also like to bury a second plastic label under the plant which will give a clue to its identity should the exposed label be lost. ___ Choose FULL sun if possible Daylily plants (Hemerocallis) need full sun or at least 6 hours of bright light to grow and flower well. They like heat and are suitable for planting along driveways and parking lots. ___ Determine soil composition and amend if necessary Daylilies like even amounts of moisture and will bloom better, with larger flowers, if given about one inch of water per week throughout summer. Established plants can survive on less water, but will have a reduced number of flowers. Daylilies tolerate and can thrive in much wetter conditions than most Lilium bulbs. ___ Add fertilizer to soil in bottom of hole New planting sites should be amended with 10-10-10 fertilizer, well-rotted manure or compost, or try our new Easy-To-Use Fertilizer Tablets. (This step can be omitted for well-fed, established beds.) Alfalfa pellets scattered around the plants after spring growth begins will give plants a boost of nitrogen, plus help to add humus to the soil. ___ Soak daylily roots before planting. Place the entire plant in a bucket of water to soak for a few hours or overnight before planting. This will plump up the roots and give your plant the signal to begin growing. ___ Plant shallow Daylilies like to be planted with only one inch of soil against the crown of the plant. The roots may be buried deeper, but all new growth emerges from the crown, and if buried too deeply, flowering may be inhibited. ___ Water & Mulch Provide regular watering the first summer of growth, keeping soil moist but not soggy. You may wish to lightly mulch around the plants to reduce weeding and watering. Keep mulch at least four or five inches away from the crown of the plant, with only 2 to 3 inches of mulch covering the roots for best results. Keep in mind that the depth of mulch counts toward the total depth that the roots are buried. Print out a one page Cultural Instructions with the Planting Checklist by clicking on the download below. |
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