Yard and garden: Understanding daylilies

Daylilies are one of the most popular garden perennials. Their easy care and beautiful flowers make them useful in most gardens.

Thousands of varieties are available, and new varieties are released every year.

The scientific name for daylily is Hemerocallis, which means "beautiful for a day" in Greek. The name accurately describes the one-day bloom period of individual flowers.

Types of daylilies

There are over 100,000 registered cultivars of daylily, showing significant diversity. Their flowers, borne above grasslike leaves, range from two inches to more than 12 inches in diameter on stalks (called scapes) 15 to 60 inches tall.

Flowers vary in shape from trumpet to star to triangular and come in every color except true white and blue. Some have attractive eyes and throats, often with fragrance

While individual flowers last only one day, each scape has many blooms, and each plant produces many scapes, allowing for a succession of blooms over three to four weeks.

While most bloom early to midsummer, some cultivars start blooming as early as late May, and others start later but stay in bloom until frost.

Reblooming cultivars bloom for 10 weeks or more. Proper variety selection will allow flowering from spring until frost.

Caring for daylilies

Daylilies are low-maintenance, thriving in full sun or partial shade. Pastel varieties should be placed in partial shade to prevent bloom fading. They tolerate a wide-range of soil conditions but prefer well-drained soil rich in organic matter.

Avoid excessive fertilizer to prevent abundant foliage growth at the expense of flowering. Clean up dead foliage in late fall, and remove damaged or yellow foliage and spent blooms and scapes throughout the season.

Propagating daylilies

Daylilies can be propagated by division or seed. Daylilies are most commonly propagated by division.

Divide plants in early spring (as new growth emerges) or late summer. Dig up the entire clump with a spade. Then, carefully pull the clump apart. Often, a sharp knife is necessary to divide large, dense clumps.

Each division should have two or three fans of leaves and a good root system. When dividing daylilies in late summer, cut the foliage back to a height of six to eight inches.

Replant the divisions as soon as possible, spacing plants at least two feet apart. Place the crown (the area where the shoots and roots meet) approximately one inch below the soil surface.

Water thoroughly. Newly divided plants may take one to two years to bloom well.

Daylilies propagated by seed will not be identical to the parent but can result in new or interesting flower colors and forms. For successful germination, seeds require a moist-chilling treatment, or stratification.

Bury the seeds in a lightly moistened medium and place them in the refrigerator for six weeks. After stratification, place them at 60-70 °F, and seeds will germinate in three to seven weeks.

Are daylilies edible?

In addition to their landscape uses, daylily leaves and flowers are edible. Edible materials should be gathered from only those plants that have not been sprayed with any pesticides.

Three-to five-inch-long young foliage can be simmered or stir-fried. Flower buds and blossoms can also be eaten at any stage of growth.

The tight buds can be used in salads, boiled, pickled or stir-fried. All stages of bloom, from half open to day old, can be eaten deep-fried with a light batter.

Petals can be eaten raw right off the plant and have a buttered lettuce flavor. Since daylilies can act as a diuretic, it's best to eat them in moderation.