Daylilies are not doing so well (flowers, growing, yard, spring)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My daylilies began the season full throttle with numerous long stemmed blooms. Now the blooms are peetering out and they are only about 4-5 inches from the soil. Some of the leaves are turning yellow and then dry up. Not enough water? They all get full sun. How do I tell if they need dividing?
when was the last time you divided you are supposed to do it every 3 or 4 years and it really does make a difference. obviously you have some soil issues as well. is it clay like environs? I would dig them up even this time of year since you aren't enjoying any blooms, divide and prepare the soil with good drainage and add bone meal when you replant. you are supposed to wait until fall but as i learned in horticulture school- you learn the proper time to do things and in reality you do it when you can. Get out early in the a.m. and you can get in about 2 or 3 hours of good work befoere it gets too hot and humidity is way up. I was in full gardening regalia here at 5:30 and was tired and ready to come in by 8:30./ I'm in chapel Hill, n.c.
I love day lillies- they are the best buy for the money as they multipy with so little effort and there are endless colors and combinations and blooming times and some even re bloom. Goodluck.
Probably not a bad idea to pull them apart, to give more growing room .. more soil. Just a thought, someone with expertise will come to your rescue I'm sure.
cstleddy--a neighbor and I were just discussing this the other day. I was looking in her garden and saw a few daylily stems budded very close to the ground. I pointed it out to her and told her I had a few plants doing that as well. Now I have a lot of different daylilies, I fell in love with them because of my other neighbors who have a touring garden (there are TONS of picture on my profile page) and I have NOT had this happen to me in the 8 years that my yard has been planted. The short stems are something new and I have been trying to figure it out as well. I dont think it is about dividing them as the plants are divided, moved and shared and I KNOW its not my soil because, well the soil is the best part of my yard lol. And the leaves WILL turn yellow and dry up, that is normal. Every morning I deadhead all my flowers from the day before and occasionally pull the dead from the base of the plant...but I just do that because I like the focus to be on the bloom and nothing else.
Interesting, I had an Amaryllis Lilly that bloomed on a very short stem this year. (this is an older plant that has been blooming regularly for years. The second flower stalk on the plant was "normal height". . . . I would not panic about this, just normal care and keep an eye on it. So long as the leaves are green (well with daylillies, at least half of them ) you should be fine.
If I might piggyback off this thread I have a question about daylilies. Once dayliles complete their blooming cycle should I cut them down for re-bloom?
They won't re-bloom this year. You can snip off the stems, mostly to inhibit seed pod forming, but let the foliage brown (the dried out leaves disappear in the fall/winter). That sends energy to the roots for next year's flowers and the plants will spread. Every 4-6 years you'll need to dig up and divide them after flowering, gentle doesn't always work at that time.
No, don't cut back the foliage for rebloom. Your daylily is either a rebloomer, like Stella De Oro, or it's not. The plant needs its leaves to store energy and retain vigor. In the south, some daylilies are evergreen. Up here in NJ, though mine die to the ground every winter, the leaves hang around till quite late in the season. I remove the dead foliage after we've had a frost or in early spring. In the meantime, you can deadhead them, remove flower stalks after bloom and remove any dead leaves during the summer to keep them looking tidy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by citydweller
If I might piggyback off this thread I have a question about daylilies. Once dayliles complete their blooming cycle should I cut them down for re-bloom?
I think what we have is day lily's (Orange). Tall skinny stem, small pointed leaves, will have black seeds (I'm guessing on stem). Ours actually grow in our shade garden. They get very little AM sun, they are getting ready to bloom. This year there are a LOT of them.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
) you should be fine.
