Daylilies are a popular perennial flower known for their hardiness, low maintenance needs, and ability to thrive in full sun with little water. They come in a wide variety of colors and bloom forms. Over time, hybridizers have developed many new cultivars with intricate blooms, ruffled petals, and other distinctive characteristics. While some varieties like Stella D'oro are overused, exploring different types can widen one's appreciation for daylilies. Their cultivation requires amending soil, planting in spring or fall, mulching, and minimal fertilizing. Dividing clumps and removing seed pods helps propagate plants true to the parent. Daylilies make beautiful additions to gardens when combined with other sun

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2. Daylilies create a portrait of beauty in the sun garden. They thrive in the full
sun. They offer exceptional colors, tolerate drought and require little care.
Daylilies are often referred to as the perfect perennial.
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3. Hybridizers register hundreds of new cultivars yearly. Now – 72,095
During the 18th and 19th century daylilies came from Asia
In the 1930’s began hybridization in America
References go back 2000 years
Modern dayliles are hybridized from species (species meaning the daylilies created in nature)
The new hybrids – have almost every color in the rainbow with the exception of a true blue
Orange colored tawny daylily – know as the “ditch lily” – the Hemerocallis fulva –
naturalized – Please give homage to this plant. Yes – it is aggressive BUT it is one of the great, great,
great, great grandparent of our modern daylilies.
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4. Hemerocallis is a Greek word meaning beauty for a day
Notice the foliage formation – leaves appear on opposite sides giving a
flattened appearance that is referred to as a “fan” – commercially - plants are
sold in the language of “fans”
Spent bloom (yesterday’s bloom)- remove each morning; Seed pod remove unless your are hybridizing; Crown – solid white core between the
roots and the leaves; Proliferation – leafy shoot that is identical to the mother
plant (not all daylilies proliferate)
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5. Daylilies have recognizable flower forms
Velvet Eyes is an example of a single form.
Also notice the three petals (ones on top), three sepals (ones on the bottom), 6
stamens – male part with pollen, 1 pistil – female part with ovary
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6. Condilla is an example of a double flower form – great daylily – a rebloomer very vigorous
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7. Spider forms have petals four times the petals width or more. The length is
measured with the petal fully extended. Red Ribbons is a good example.
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8. Unusual form is based solely on the shape of the petals or sepals.
include pinched, cascaded or twisted. Fire Arrow is an example.
Shapes
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9. Polymerous is a flower form with more than the normal number of petals or
sepals. This example has four petals. Fuchsia Four
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10. A few color patterns – Self - Satanic Majesty– everything is the same color –
petals, sepals, stamens.. Bitone - Asian Sky – same basic color but darker on
the petals and lighter on the sepals. Can also have reverse bitone.
Polychrome - Little Rainbow – intermingling of three or more colors –
stamens/throat different colors. Bicolor - Howdy– petals and sepals different
colors – petals are the darker of the two colors – can also have a reverse
bicolor. Diamond-dusted – surface color appears as silver or gold sparkle
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11. Foliage habit refers to habit during the winter months. The leaves of dormant
daylilies die completely back as winter approaches. They stop growing and
form resting buds at the crown, and the foliage dies down naturally and
gradually.
Evergreen daylilies retain their leaves throughout the year. They do not form
resting buds. Instead, they continually produce new leaves unless cold weather
prevents growth. In mild climates, the leaves of evergreens remain green all
winter. In the coldest climates, the foliage of evergreens nearly always is
frozen back, but the crown survives if it is hardy (or well mulched)
Today, the term semi-evergreen is used to describe any foliage behavior which
is not readily classed as simple evergreen or dormant
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12. Hybriziders create new daylilies by cross-pollination of two different blooms.
What is the difference in a diploid and a tetraploid?
(read notes on slide)
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13. Diseases and pests usually do not kill the daylily plant They do cause us concern,
however.
Aphids – mild systemic pesticide – daylilies have their own specific aphid
Spider mites – hose off
Thrips – pesticide
To get true identification of these very small pests, take foliage and/or insect to the
Extension Office.
Slugs –pesticide – ½ water and ½ ammonia sprayed on them – will whiten out the leaves
Leaf scorch/streak –Yellow streak begins at the leaf tips and moves down the midvein –
small reddish to brownish spots on foliage. Do make sure to rule out stress due to lack or
water or nutritionally deficient. A fungicide can help.
Rust –noticed in 2000 - orange spores – run hand down have orange powder – fungicide
as appropriate – discard leaves showing this problem
Leaf miner – in 2011 it was noticed that a small, pale yellow larvae travel up and down
in leaf blades, leaving long mines which become progressively wider as the larvae
grow. It becomes a fly and adults may be seen walking up and down daylily leaves or
resting on blooms. There may be one to several generations per season. The species
might overwinter as pupae in crowns or dead leaves. Research is currently being done to
determine the best control for leaf miner.
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14. Daylilies can be grown in decorative pots. Don’t be hesitant to do this. They
will do just fine for a few years depending on the size of the pot.
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15. Make sure to have a large enough container, and you have to keep them wellwatered (every day in the summer heat). For smaller plants (typically the ones
with smaller blooms), you'll want at least a 12" diameter pot, 15-18" will be
better. Larger varieties will need larger pots.
With winters in zone 7 - Place the pots next to the house or in a somewhere
that will get some protection from wind and elements.
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16. Long Tall Sally is a large bloom measuring 14 inches across. (read notes on
slide)
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17. This miniature bloomer is less than three inches across. Baby Tiger Paws has a
purple eyezone. (read notes)
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18. Divide any daylily clump that has two or more plants (fans), but you typically
would want to wait until the clump was large enough to make at least two
good-sized units with at least 3 fans each Use a garden fork to lift and dig out
the plant to minimize root damage. Soaking the clump in a bucket of water
overnight can aid in the separating. Separate fans with your hands or a shovel
if tightly bound. Trim the plant to 5 inches. This is one way to share with
friends. Be sure to label the plant.
Proliferation is the second way to have a daylily plant that is true to the mother
plant. The photo shows a small plant forming on the scape. Trim it away from
the scape and place the end in water to develop roots. Plant in soil when roots
are formed. Not all daylilies form proliferatons.
Seeds are not true because most daylilies are hybrids. Hybrids – meaning that
they are the combination of different plants that have been cross-pollinated.
That’s why you need to pinch off any seed pods you see….this sends strength
back to the roots.
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19. Place garden art with your daylilies. This will make your garden interesting
and provide focal points.
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20. Other ways to feature daylilies – with a bird feeder - along a fence - raised
beds – note the mass planting in front of the shed. Daylilies can be used on
slopes or hillsides for erosion control.
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21. How are daylilies cultivated? Soil test done with the help of the extension
office. Daylilies like a soil PH of 6 – 6.5 – mildly acid. Amend the soil as
needed. Daylilies need 6 hours minimum of sun. Fall good time to plant –
plants can develop over the winter. Mulch – 2” Fertilize at the appropriate
time. Plant correctly. Keep weeded!
Joan Senior daylily – a nearly white bloom – great plant to grow.
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22. How do you plant a daylily? Prepare the Soil so it’s already amended. Dig a
hole larger than the root mass.
Make a mound in the center of the hole.
Do not set the crown more than 1 inch below the surface of the soil.
Spread out the roots over the mound.
•Work the soil around and between the roots as you cover the plant.
•Firm the soil and water well.
Daylilies should be spaced no less than 18 to 24 inches apart on each side.
Mulch 2” –pine straw is good and label immediately. The ‘value’ of the daylily
diminishes if the name is lost.
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23. Daylilies aren't picky about their fertilizer, and usually do well with any
balanced fertilizer.
Apply in early spring – being careful not to get on the leaves. 10-10-10
balanced fertilizer is good.
The primary nutrients are nitrogen, phosphate, and potash.
Apply at the rate of 2 pounds per 100 square feet of growing area (note
directions and quantity for use on fertilizer container)
Second application can be done in July or August.
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24. •Once the leaves have begun to droop and turn brown/look unsightly after the
plant has bloomed, cut back you’re the foliage using simple garden shears
cutting them off at ground level.
•They will flush back out with pretty green foliage for the remainder of the
growing season until winter.
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25. A sun garden can have more than just daylilies. If it’s not a dayliliy, it is a
companion plant! (or say the connoisseur daylily lovers)
The native phlox is a sun loving plant. These two iris are exceptional– Lullaby
of Spring and Jitterbug. Having companion plants give added interest to a
daylily garden.
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26. Enjoy these daylily photos – each one has such outstanding characteristics.
Orange Velvet – reliable orange self with green throat
Daylilies.org has a database that lists all registered daylilies. All these photos
in this section are from that site.
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27. This is the search page for the daylily database at daylilies.org. Enter the
daylily name. Some descriptions include photos. Daylilies.org is the web
page for the American Hemerocallis Society.
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28. A deep reddish black self with green chartreuse throat is seen here with
Bamboo Blackie
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29. A cameo pink self with a light green throat – Beautiful Melody
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30. Yes a brown blooming daylily – really a novelty bloom – Milk Chocolate
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31. A rose pink with a white mid-vein - Chamonix
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32. A red self with gold edge and green throat – Moses Fire is striking.
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33. A luminescent yellow with black eye and edging on the petals makes Panther
Eyes enticing
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34. Cost of the newer introductions of daylilies can be staggering. If you are an
in-the-trade hybrizider, you want the latest and greatest!
There is nothing like seeing the plant in person. Try to visit a local daylily
nursery.
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35. Some hybridizers in Georgia -- Bill Waldrop – of Marietta, Georgia Kennesaw Mountain Hayride
Tim Bell of Sycamore, Georgia – Love Endures Forever
Joiner family of Pembroke, Georgia - Scatterbrain
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36. Every year - The highest award a daylily can receive is the Stout Silver
Medal, given in memory of Dr. Arlow Burdette Stout, who is
considered to be the father of modern daylily breeding in North America.
Strawberry Candy was the winner for 1998
Dr. Stout was an American botanist and the pioneer breeder of the
modern hybrid daylily.
He worked between 1911 to 1948 at the New York Botanical Garden
with over 50,000 cross-pollination experiments,
When you purchase a Stout Medal Winner, you get an outstanding
daylily. The winners are posted on the AHS site (American
Hemerocallis Society) – Daylilies.org
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37. The American Hemerocallis Society designates any daylily that was
registered before 1970 as historic. ‘Caballero’s long, curling petals are
gold and an intriguing rusty brown that may remind you of saddleleather and sandstone buttes — which is probably just what Stout had
in mind when he named it. Caballeros were the noble “gentlemencowboys”
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38. What does it mean to hybridize a daylily?
It takes several years and many attempts for the hybridizer to cross pollinate
and do trial test for reliability and performance.
Whole books have been written on this process. (read notes from screen)
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39. What are the trends? intricate blooms – many are twisted, pinched, doubled
beyond belief
Wide ruffled petals and sepals – some having the ‘teeth’ effect on the edges
Note the teeth effect on Red Sapphire and the very ruffled Fireworks Finale
and the wild looking Firefly Frenzy
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40. These four will give you a taste of several bloom forms. You can discover
which form appeals to you!
Bertie Ferris –miniature bloom 2 ½ inches – persimmon orange
Paper Butterfly – large bloom 6” peachy pink magenta eyezone
Vanilla Flulff – double bloom – very fragrant
Lake Norman Spider – speaks for itself
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41. Overused by landscapers and builders – it seems like the little engine that
could. The Stella D’oro daylily is everywhere! It does have ‘staying power’
from May – July and beyond! It did win the Stout Medal in 1985. It does
constantly rebloom. But now YOU know of so many other types of daylilies.
Widen out your world!
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42. Study your garden to see what you like and want to change. Take an
occasional walk as a guest in your own garden. Visit other gardens and take a
pad/pencil with you. Attend the local show. Enjoy the beautiful faces of
daylilies. You really can plant a daylily and plant a picture!
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43. Discover your own bit of heaven.
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