How to Grow Daylilies
by Jill Black

Description: Daylilies are a useful plant for herbaceous borders, on banks, around water features, grown in containers or used as a ground cover.

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Daylilies are a clumping perennial with attractive arching sword shaped leaves, tuberous roots and are either deciduous, semi- evergreen or evergreen. Plants come in a range of sizes from small to tall, and flower sizes range from miniature to singles or doubles up to 15cm across.

The daylily has an attractive lily-shaped trumpet flower that stands above the foliage and comes in a wide variety of colours and shades from yellow, orange, red, white, pink, purple and more. Many daylily hybrids are available in duel tones and may be fringed. Some cultivars have fragrant flowers.

Most daylilies do exactly what they say, flower for one day only, but don't let that put you off, because new buds keep developing in succession on emergent stalks to produce a long run of flowers through summer to autumn. Many have 5-9 flowers from each corymb that open day by day over about 2 weeks before another stem emerges. Daylilies make a good cut flower lasting about a week in a vase when the water is changed daily.

Daylilies are a useful plant for herbaceous borders, on banks, around water features, grown in containers or used as a ground cover. In the garden daylilies look good placed in the middle of a garden bed surrounded by perennials of a similar colour scheme. In warm areas the evergreen types are the best and also do well near the coast.

An easy plant to grow, daylilies are generally trouble free and flourish in most types of soil. In summer they like ample moisture while in bloom. Mulch well to provide a cool root run and fed with a complete fertilizer during spring and summer.

Plants can quickly become overcrowded with the soil may no longer able to support the plant. This can cause the plant to produce fewer flowers. To maintain vigorously growing and healthy plants, divide clumps in very early spring by digging up and pulling apart. Replant the sections about 350mm apart in enriched soil to give a new lease of life.

The petals are edible and are very tasty. They are crisp and sweet, rather like lettuce, and go very well in tossed salads providing flavour, texture and colour.

For garden ideas or to learn more about plants log on to http://www.netwrite-publish.com/gardening.htm

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