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| General Information | Situation | Planting |
| Fertilizer | Water | Dividing |
| Terms | Abbreviations | Hybridising |
| Selecting for Environment |
The Hemerocallis, better known as the Daylily is one of the worlds most popular plants. With over 50,000 registered cultivars world wide, you are bound to find one that appeals to you. There are doubles, miniatures, spiders and large flowered varieties aplenty. All colours are available except a true blue. The Daylily originated in Asia, and in fact the Chinese have been using this particular plant for centuries, as food or for medicinal purposes. That's right! You can eat the Daylily. All parts of the Daylily can be eaten and are quite tasty, even the roots are used as a remedy for certain ailments. Few plants are more beautiful and rewarding to grow than Daylilies. Their elegant form, long flowering habit, pest and disease resistance and their tolerance of neglect are just a few of their many attributes. The Daylily can be grown in most garden situations, but try and give them at least 4 - 6 hours sun each day. This will ensure strong healthy foliage and lots of lovely blooms. Although as the name suggests the flower of the Daylily only lasts one day, each scape can carry as many as 50 buds. So you will have many blooms opening over a long period of time. The flowering season is mid October to May, depending on the variety chosen. When Daylilies are mass planted they make a true spectacle. They also look great as special feature plants in your garden. These wonderful plants come in many shapes and sizes and suit all types of gardens from the professional to the weekender. Many commercial properties have begun using Daylilies for their feature gardens because of their hardiness. Daylilies are an absolute pleasure to behold and an even greater pleasure to grow. Once you plant a few in your garden you will be hooked for life. You will find yourself passing on plants to friends and neighbours so that they too can appreciate the wonder of these special plants.
Daylilies can be grown in almost any situation. They will tolerate the hottest sun and grow extremely well in part shade. Although they will continue to grow in full shade, they will not flower well. Daylilies can be grown in large pots successfully but they will need to be well watered. Self watering pots are ideal and allow you to have a mobile garden as well.
If planting out Daylilies from a pot, simply remove the pot, gently tease the roots out and place in a hole slightly larger than the root ball but no deeper. Backfill with soil and gently tap down. These freshly planted Daylilies will need to be watered every couple of days in the first few weeks as it takes this amount of time for the roots to grow out into the surrounding soil. Once settled in, normal watering can commence. If planting bare root Daylilies, spread the roots out flat or over a small mound in the bottom of the hole, cover them with 3 to 5cm of soil, and water well. Daylilies may be planted as far apart as desired. If a border or closed bed is desired, then 30 cm is a good spacing to use. Daylilies can be planted most months of the year, however, it is best to avoid the hottest months for planting bare root plants.
Like most plants they do like a little feeding annually. We use and recommend slow release fertilisers such as Apex Gold or Evergreen as well as quick acting and liquid fertilisers. Preparing your soil prior to planting by adding Blood & Bone and a good organic compost eg. mushroom compost or Sheep Manure as well as Sulphate of Potash which will ensure vigorous growth and abundant blooms. We recommend a slow release fertiliser be added at the planting stage, under the plant and covered slightly with soil. May or June are good months to fertilise established clumps and a little added after the first flush of blooms in October or November will encourage good rebloom later in the year. Liquid fertiliser can also be applied during the bloom season at fortnightly intervals. Keep plants well mulched to keep down the weeds and slow down water evaporation. We have listed below several fertilisers we use and recommend at our Nursery: LIQUID: Thrive, Aquasol. SLOW RELEASE: Apex, Osmocote, Nutricote. MANURE: Sheep manure. GENERAL FERTILISER: Nitrophoska Blue Special, Garden Master Lawn & Garden, Tropic, Q5.
For best blooms, water well at flowering time. Twice weekly would be sufficient at this time. Watering can be reduced during the Winter as Daylilies do not require large amounts of water during their quiet time. Daylilies are extremely drought resistant but bloom size, quantity and quality will be adversely affected if water is withheld for long periods of time. This is our recommendation for Daylilies planted in the ground, if you have potted Daylilies you will need to water more frequently during the hotter months.
We recommend that you divide your Daylilies every 3-5 years during the cooler months of May, June and July. Dividing your Daylilies regularly will promote vigour and encourage good blooming. Use a digging fork to lift the entire clump and use a sharp knife to systematically divide the clump into pieces. Trim the foliage and roots and replant as instructed above. Within just a few weeks new foliage will replace the trimmed leaves and your Daylily will be well established for the next bloom season.
| BUD COUNT | The number of buds held on a scape. 15+ is an acceptable bud count. 30+ would be considered a high bud count. | MINIATURE | Blooms with a diameter less than 3'' |
| EYED | A band of a different or darker shade of colour at the throat. | SPIDER | Spiders must register a ratio of 5.0:1 or more, that is the petal length must be at least 5 times as long as its width. |
| NEAT PLANT HABITS | Indicates the plant has attractive foliage and presents a good garden picture. | SPIDER TYPE/VARIANT | Spider types or variants must register a ratio of at least 4.0:1 that is, the petal length must be at least 4 times as long as its width. |
| BRANCHING | The scape should branch so that all of the buds are not concentrated at the top. 3 way branching is acceptable. 5 way would be considered outstanding. | DOUBLE | A double has more than 6 segments, which can take several forms. Formal doubles or Hose in hose are doubles with the extra petals aligned on top of the standard petals, and informal doubles with the extra segments appearing as tufts in the centre. Other varieties are classed as semi-doubles when they only have a few extra petals |
| HALO | A feint or only lightly visible band of colour at the throat. | BUD BUILDER | As the scapes age new buds are formed on the existing scape. |
| WATERMARK | A wide strip of a lighter shade where the petal colour meets the throat. | LONG BLOOMER | Cultivar reblooms several times throughout the season. |
| BICOLOUR | Petals and sepals are a totally different colour eg. Purple petals and yellow sepals. | SCAPE | The flower spike where the buds and blooms are carried. |
| REVERSE BICOLOUR | Sepals are a darker or stronger colour and the petals are lighter. | PROLIFERATION | Small plantlets that form on the flower scape. |
| SMALL FLOWERED | Blooms have a diameter of between 3'' and 4 1/2'' | PICOTEE EDGE | A definite and distinct edge to the petals, often a different colour. |
Selecting Daylilies for your Environment
Daylilies have three types of foliage habit:
(1) DORMANT - These Daylilies lose their leaves completely after frost, and in the Spring new foliage appears.
(2) EVERGREEN - These Daylilies retain their green foliage throughout the year.
(3) SEMI-EVERGREEN - With these Daylilies, the foliage dies back part way. After a brief rest during coldest months, they begin to grow again.
As a rule, evergreen Daylilies grow well in all parts of Australia, as do semi-evergreens. Dormants are ideally suited to colder regions, and can be grown in areas with a few winter frosts, but do not thrive in tropical climates. Some cultivars are susceptible to bacterial crown rot in areas of extreme heat and humidity. This bacteria is usually active in late Summer and Autumn. We have marked the varieties that may be affected with NSHC. Use this as a guide when choosing your plants.
| EV- Evergreen | RE - Rebloomer | SEV - Semi Evergreen | EXT - Open 16hrs | DOR - Dormant |
| NOC - Nocturnal | TET - Tetraploid | NSHC - Not Suitable for Hot Climates | E - Early | FR - Fragrant |
| M - Midseason | L- Late | HYB - Recommended for hybridising | EM- Early to Mid |
Daylilies are easy to hybridise with, as many of our customers have discovered. With a basic understanding of genetics and a good eye for colour and form, anyone can enjoy the challenge of creating something new and unique. Ask Neale when you visit the nursery or check out the following website for more information on Daylilies:
www.daylilies.org