Plant Image Data Base                                         

   Hemerocallis

                                                        Daylily

• Form
  • herbaceous perennial
  • generally about 3' tall by 2' wide when in flower (but some dwarf and many taller forms abound)
  • growth habit consists of arching clumps of foliage with stiff vertical flowering stalks
• Culture
  • full sun to partial shade
  • grows and flowers best in organic, well-drained soils that are not especially rich (nutrient-laden soils promote lush foliage growth with relatively little flowering)
  • however, Daylily is a very urban tolerant perennial, being very adaptable to heat, drought, poor soils, compacted soils, soils of various pHs, and especially to Winter salt spray
  • Lily Family, with virtually no disease or pest problems
  • Daylilies may be interplanted with Daffodils (Narcissus), and as the latter's persistent foliage is dying back in June, the former is in new foliage and just about ready to bloom
• Flowers
  • 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, 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 ever blooming
  • total flowering time for all cultivars combined is from late May until frost

• 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)
• 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
• Purpose
  • Daylily is one of the top-selling perennials, noted for its outstanding Summer floral display on stiff flowering stalks held above the solid green basal foliage.
• Summary
  • Hemerocallis 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.

  Top