The Not So Common Day Lily

Writen by Kenneth C. Hoffman

For many people, when asked to name their favorite flower, it will be the rose. Roses bloom for about a month in June, then in September they will re-bloom at about half strength. Roses are beautiful and last a long time when picked but require a lot of TLC. The special attention they require include frequent fertilization, spraying for insects, pruning back in fall, the removal of half dead blooms, and don't forget the thorns. On the other hand, there are hemerocallis, better known as day lilies.

These are not the common roadside variety usually called tiger lilies, but the hemerocallis hybrids from the mountains of China and other places around the world. Tiger lilies grow on 40 inch stems that tower above most garden plants. The individual four inch blossoms are open only for two thirds of the daylight hours. Often a good rain will lay them down on the ground and their roots have a nasty habit of growing sideways into other parts of your garden. Originally, they were planted by the American settlers to hold back the banks of soil along the roads. Hybrid hemerocallis are available in many different plant habits and colors. The delicate pastels and exotic combinations are especially beautiful.

Initially, day lilies are planted in groups of three to five root clumps since every year they will double in size. Twelve years will go by before they have to be separated for more breathing room. Dawn will find most varieties starting to open, the sun making diamond reflections on their wide spread petals. Some blooms measure eight inches across and stay open until midnight. Every well grown stem will carry up to forty blooms, each one with its own day of glory. While not strictly necessary, I liked to snap off the previous day's blossoms, just to make the plants look neater.

No special care is needed for day lilies, just a single annual feeding and a raking up in December. Perennial day lilies love the heat and are hardy all the way into Canada. They are not on any bug's menu, either. When planting, loosen the soil twelve inches below the roots. Plant them in late fall or early spring six inches below the ground. Twelve inch height miniatures go well in the borders, sixteen inch clumps make a beautiful midaccent grouping and taller varieties fill in the background nicely. Hybrid varieties come in pink and yellow bicolor, deep velvet red, pale banana yellow, bright orange, and many striped and delicate pastels. Day lilies bloom from July first until mid September. Some even rebloom in October. An arrangement of day lily buds is a breath taking sight when they open on your dining room table with the first rays of the sun. Think of the joy you would bring to a convalescent in the hospital or an elderly friend on her birthday with these diamonds of the garden.

Retired portrait photographer. I sometimes like to hybrid new colors of hybrid day lilies.