Daylilies are available in joyful colors such as yellow, red, orange, pink, etc. They have three petals and three sepals, together knows as tepals. Planting them is easy due to their adaptable nature, little care, vigorous growth and surviving abilities. To grow daylilies in your garden, take a look at these instructions.
Daylilies are one of the easiest flowers to plant in your garden and they can also survive in the winters with only little injury. Before discussing their planting, let's first see the classification of the daylily flowers.
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Asparagales
Family: Hemerocallidaceae
Genus: Hemerocallis
Daylilies Planting Guide
Planting: Before planting the daylilies, choose an area in your garden that receives sunlight for at least 5 to 6 hours everyday. After you choose the area, remove the roots of unwanted plants that may be present in the soil earlier. Dig out a hole in the ground that is a little bigger and wider, so that the roots can easily sit in. Mix the fertilizers in the soil. Place your plant in the hole, gather the soil around it and then, water the plant. Here are a few things that you should know before planting them. Make sure that soil, watering, fertilizers and other instructions are followed so that you can grow a beautiful mattress of these flowers.
Soil: Daylilies need soil that is well drained. These plants grow best in soil that contains pH between 6.5 to 7, but they are so adaptable that they can actually grow in soil containing any pH. They will also grow in a variety of soils, for example, sandy soil as well as heavy clay soil. If your garden has heavy clay soil, you can add manure, peat moss, good compost, gypsum, etc. to make it suitable for your flowers. Adding compost or another organic material to the soil increases the nutrition value of the soil, which results in the vigorous growth of daylilies and they also give more flowers. If there is a drainage problem, raising the beds is the easiest option available.
Water: Daylilies grow best in early spring. But if you buy them in other seasons, save them from droughts. Watering will ensure big and bright blooms. Water sufficiently in spring, when the plants grow the most, and also in summer, which will help boost their growth. These plants are capable of withstanding drought, but obviously less water is going to make them dry off and wither away. Pour water up to an inch every week, so that the soil soaks it up deeply.
Fertilizers: Fertilizers will make the daylilies grow healthy. But if you want to know what exact nutrients your soil needs, get a soil analysis done. The soil should be fertilized every two to three weeks, after the daylilies are planted. If you are fertilizing the soil with chemical fertilizers, doing this twice a year is sufficient. Chemical fertilizers should be added in early spring, as that is the time when the daylilies are starting to grow. Mulching is one of the best ways to make the soil more fertile.
Insects: Insects such as aphids, thrips, spider mites, snails and slugs feed on the blooming flowers and buds. These can be killed by spraying some insecticide or by simply watering with force. These insects cause discoloring of leaves, holes in the leaves, etc. Though, the insects may do minor damage to these plants, it might be difficult to tell what exactly causes the plant diseases. Hence, it is better to consult an agricultural agent, or a local nursery.
Controlling the growth of weeds: It is very important that the weeds growing around the daylilies should be removed when the plant is still growing, as these weeds absorb the nutrition that is given to them. Removing weeds will help the daylily plants get better nutrition and more area to spread.
Apart from their use in landscaping, daylilies are also used as wedding flowers, in bouquets, or in a flower arrangement inside your home. If you follow the instructions as related above, in a month's time, you will notice that your flower garden is full of healthy, beautiful blooms of bright colors.
