Daylily

(Liliaceae - Lily Family)

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• Form
  • small- to medium-sized herbaceous perennial
  • generally about 3' tall by 2' wide when in flower (but some dwarf and many taller forms abound; foliage is about half to two-thirds the height of the flowering stalks)
  • upright arching growth habit (of foliage, with stiff vertical flowering stalks)

• Culture
  • full sun to partial shade
  • grows and flowers best in full sun in well-drained soils of average fertility that are not especially rich (nutrient-laden soils promote lush foliage growth with relatively little flowering)
  • however, Daylily is a very urban tolerant and adaptable perennial, being very tolerant of heat, drought, poor soils, compacted soils, dry soils, permanently moist to wet soils, soils of various pH, and also to Winter salt deposition
  • propagated primarily by clump division
  • Lily Family, with virtually no disease or pest problems
  • abundantly available, primarily in container form, but also sold in bare root form (either dried or freshly harvested); many cultivars exist
  • Daylilies may be interplanted with Daffodils (Narcissus), and as the latter's persistent foliage is dying back in June, the former is in lush new foliage and just about ready to bloom
  • most Daylilies are diploid in genetic makeup, but tetraploids exist which are bred for their much larger flowers

• Foliage
  • several bright green linear blades emerge together in an upright vased form, displayed in a single plane from each crown segment
  • strap-like blades then expand, radiate, arch, and intermingle with blades from other crown segments in the clump, to form an overall wide clump that foliages from the base
  • foliage is about 2' long and 1" wide, arching back to the ground, and about half as tall as the flowering scapes, turning to a medium or dark green by late Summer

• Flowers
  • each flower has three outer sepals and three inner petals, with long curving central filaments and a single style
  • solid white, yellow, pink, purple, orange, and red shades are commonly available, with bicolored flowers (usually with a different colored throat) also common
  • each inflorescence is on a stalk (scape), with five to nine flowers per inflorescence and several scapes per clump
  • flowers on a single inflorescence open consecutively about every other day, with several flowers in bloom at one time in the clump, with each flower persisting for one or two days (hence the common name)
  • many cultivars bloom consistently for one to two months, and sometimes sporadically thereafter; a few are everblooming
  • total flowering time for all cultivars combined is from late May until frost

• Fruits
  • ornamentally insignificant scattered pods (deadheading and deadstalking sometimes promotes more flowering, but this is usually not done, except when used as cutflowers)

• Twigs
  • not applicable

• Trunk
  • not applicable

• ID Summary
  • light green foliage emerges fan-shaped in a single plane from each crown, expanding to lush, medium to dark green arching long blades of cupped foliage, and central flowering stalks appear in June or July, flowering profusely for about a month, with each inflorescence having many floral buds, with the large, trumpet-shaped flowers opening sequentially, each for a day or two, with a wide range of floral colors and bicolors to choose from

• Function
  • group or mass plantings, beds, borders, entranceways, foundations, wide edgings, planters, fence rows, roadsides, or naturalized areas
  • focal point perennial when in bloom (due to upright stiff flowering stalks and large showy flowers)

• Texture
  • bold texture
  • open density at the floral top of the plant, but thick density at the foliage base

• Assets
  • urban tolerant perennial
  • if several cultivars are used together, a long Summer bloom period can occur
  • Winter salt spray tolerant
  • hundreds of cultivars are theoretically available
  • basal mound of arching bright green foliage
  • easily propagated in large quantities by clump division

• Liabilities
  • hard to get rid of once established, due to bulbous roots breaking off when the clump is dug up, and its tolerance to many herbicides
  • mildly invasive from the constantly spreading clump; as a result, clumps may need to be divided every three years if placed in sunny sites
  • spent flowers close up and wilt, but usually do not abscise for several days after their bloom

• Habitat
  • zones 3 to 9
  • usually available in hybrid form, but the parents are often native to Europe, China, or Japan

• Alternates
  • vigorous mid-Summer-flowering perennials (Coreopsis verticillata, Echinacea purpurea, Leucanthemum x superbum, Lilium, Heliopsis helianthoides, etc.)
  • perennials noted for their foliage in addition to their showy flowers (Allium tuberosum, Coreopsis verticillata, Eupatorium maculatum, Miscanthus sinensis, Tradescantia x andersoniana, etc.)

• Variants
  • hundreds exist, selected for floral color(s), floral size, overall height or compactness, and time of peak bloom period
  • Hemerocallis x hybrida 'Black Eyed Stella' - this newest rage in Daylilies has a dark burgandy eye in the center of golden-yellow 2.5" wide flowers, with blooming from late May until frost, 2' tall and wide
  • Hemerocallis x hybrida 'Catherine Woodbury' - pale pink 3" wide flowers have a chartreuse throat, blooming in July and August, 3' tall and wide
  • Hemerocallis x hybrida 'Happy Returns' - lemon yellow 3.5" wide flowers open in the evening, blooming from late May to late July, 1.5' tall and wide
  • Hemerocallis x hybrida 'Hyperion' - slightly fragrant canary-yellow 4" wide flowers bloom in July and August, 3.5' tall by 3' wide
  • Hemerocallis x hybrida 'Pardon Me' - bright red flowers with a yellow throat are 3" wide and bloom in July, 1.5' tall and wide
  • Hemerocallis x hybrida 'Prairie Blue Eyes' - vivid lavender 5" wide flowers have a small yellow throat, blooming in July and August, 2.5' tall by 2' wide
  • Hemerocallis x hybrida 'Stella D'Oro' - (translated as "star of gold"); prolific golden-yellow 2.5" wide flowers occur in abundance from late May through June, with several rebloom periods during the growing season until frost; the standard cultivar by which all others are compared, a "dwarf" form that is 1' tall by 1' wide in youth, but slowly becoming twice that size with age

• Translation
  • Hemerocallis translates as "beautiful for a day", referring to each individual flower's lifespan.
  • x hybrida refers to the hybrid origin of the modern cultivars of this genus.

• Purpose
  • Daylily (along with Hosta) is one of the top two selling perennials, noted for its outstanding Summer floral display on stiff flowering stalks held above the solid green, arching basal foliage.

• Summary
  • Hemerocallis x hybrida is a popular, urban-tolerant perennial effectively used along borders, wide edgings, or in mass plantings, commonly planted in sunny sites but also used in partially shaded areas, noted for its showy Summer-blooming, trumpet-shaped flowers available in an array of many warm and cool colors.