My daylilies were just getting started during the first half of June and most are finishing up their season during the early days of July so I thought I'd take this opportunity to share them as a group. Daylilies like more water than I generally give them so they're not spectacular summer blooms here. My sandy soil, which provides excellent drainage for drought-tolerant plants, probably isn't optimal for growing them, especially when the the rain generally comes to an abrupt end in March and they have to make-do with what my irrigation system provides from there out. This year saw heavier-than-usual winter rain and some precipitation as late as early May so I thought I might get a better than average show; however, it was a mixed bag. Some daylilies bloomed better this year but others just put in a so-so performance and a few failed to make any appearance at all.
I'll start off with my favorites.
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| This is Hemerocallis 'Spanish Harlem', the most consistent performer in my garden and, with one exception, the most profuse bloomer |
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| The plants line our front walkway, framed by Gomphrena 'Itsy Bitsy' on one side, shown on the left. The photo on the right is the last of these flowers, in bloom on July 4th. |
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| 'Persian Market' is another favorite, although it hasn't bloomed as strongly since I relocated the plants 3 years ago |
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| 'Plum Perfect' was a new introduction last year but it really took off this year. The flowers are small relative to the rest of my daylily crop but they keep on coming and the flowers last longer than any others in my garden. |
My most profuse bloomer is
'Sammy Russell', a winter dormant variety I inherited with the garden. It's not a favorite but it's reliable.
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| The plants were dormant when we bought the house and moved in. They were a nice surprise in early summer when the foliage appeared but, in a climate with year-round gardening, I think an evergreen variety might have been a better choice. |
Most of the others in my garden produce a bloom here and there without making a significant display.
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| The blooms on 'Apollodorus' are huge but, thus far, the flowers appear one by one on few scapes. However, this one was also added just last year so it may gain vigor in time. |
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| This is 'Double Impact', the only double-petaled variety I have. I don't love it but it also blooms reliably. |
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| I bought 'For Pete's Sake' mainly for the name. It reminds me of my father, who died in an accident when I was 6. I moved it last year and it hasn't entirely settled into its new location. |
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| 'Indian Giver' was perhaps my most expensive acquisition. It's color is less vivid this year than in prior years for some reason. Nutritional deficiencies perhaps. I'm bad about feeding my daylilies. |
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| 'Joan Senior' was a gift with purchase last year. She's a shy bloomer thus far but I love the color. |
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| 'Pandora's Box' was also a gift with purchase several years ago. It disappeared for awhile (possibly because it's been engulfed by Acacia 'Cousin Itt') but it surprised me with several blooms this year. |
'Elizabeth Salter' (not shown here) bloomed back in May. She's not a favorite but she's always the first to bloom. No shows thus far this year include
'Cordon Rouge', 'Dallas Star', 'Prairie Moonlight', and
'Russian Rhapsody'.
That's it for me this week. I hope you enjoy a pleasant weekend. For the record, if you've heard news of Southern California's recent earthquake, we were unaffected here. The 6.4 quake hit yesterday morning in Ridgecrest, about 182 miles northeast of us. It was widely felt, including by friends and family somewhat north of us. SoCal's earthquake expert, Lucy Jones, says there's a 20% chance of an even bigger quake within the next few days. Although the 6.7 Northridge quake
20 25 years ago caused tremendous damage and cost 72 people their lives, the Ridgecrest quake in a rural and much less populous area hasn't had as disastrous an impact. My fingers are nonetheless crossed that they don't experience an even bigger quake.
All material © 2012-2019 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
Thanks for the quake update. I did wonder, but figured there might have been something from you on Instagram if the news had been bad. I hope there isn't a worse one to come.
ReplyDeleteMy daylilies here are just starting. I bought a bunch when I first started my garden here because I love daylilies, but I've since lost track of what most of them are called. I've dug and divided them and no longer know for sure what's where. I also have Pandora's Box and Indian Giver somewhere. I love the yellow with the soft pink tips on your double. I have one that's supposed to be double, but isn't.
OMG, I started my response to your comment just now and felt a quake! I thought I must be imagining it at first but it intensified. The news has only preliminary reports but they're talking about a 7.1 quake centered near Ridgecrest again. Neither my husband not I felt the quake yesterday at all.
DeleteThanks for the gallery of your daylilies! Quite a few of the ones you grow are here. My best news from the season is that the deer have apparently given up their regular raids after I caged and netted my favorites. Among those is 'Indian Giver', which is having its best season ever. If there's one daylily worth feeding (and pampering with a bit of extra water), this one's it. I may be over-reacting because last season the deer ate every single bud, so I'm enjoying a show from two maturing clumps that I haven't seen in a while, but the clear color and white edge, and the profuse bloom (15-plus bloom stalks in each clump) make this a show visible from afar. It's echoed by smaller-flowered daylily 'Little Grapette' and drumstick alliums, with white liatris and white salvias to bring out the edge, and it's backed by frosty light green Miscanthus 'Morning Light'. For once, a section of the garden is just how I pictured it!
ReplyDelete'Apollodorus' isn't growing in an ideal spot here, too shady, but I think I can safely say that even in better light it will never be one of those that really puts on a show, with a multiple-bloom display. It was a bus plant giveaway from the 1995 national daylily convention where I met several online garden friends in person for the first time, so it's still here partly from nostalgia. And partly laziness.
Glad that quake wasn't any closer to the biggest population centers; 6.6 is *strong*. Here's to only the mildest of the inevitable aftershocks.
We just got another quake, Nell, and I definitely felt this one. Also centered in Ridgecrest, CA, it's already been downgraded from 7.1 to 6.9 but that's still a very significant quake. There's no evidence of damage here but the Ridgecrest area is the real concern. Still, there's no significant damage reports from there yet. Selfishly, I can't help worrying that a major quake could seriously complicate our in-process home remodel, which is already plenty complicated!
DeleteUpdating to say that 'Joan Senior' will reward feeding/watering; it's a reliably good show, but needs careful placement because it's so short, and the blooms are all at the same height and entirely upfacing. My kind of daylily is taller, with blooms at different heights and outfacing; two of the best here are lavender 'Swallow Tail Kite' and later-blooming pale moonlight yellow 'So Lovely' (which is also fragrant, and a deer favorite -- which reminds me I need to net it this afternoon; it was another total loss last year, and I'm taking no chances).
ReplyDeleteI'd planted 'Joan Senior' at the edge of a bed so she should do well there. I definitely need to make a point of feeding all of them in advance of flowering. I hope you can head off the deer, which is thankfully not a problem here. Although I've never eaten a daylily myself, I've heard they're pretty tasty.
DeleteYou have a nice collection of daylilies, Kris. I'm impressed you've kept track of the names. I used to be so good about that, but over the years the labels degrade or disappear and I haven't mapped my garden in ages. The bed where most of them are has been let go, so I just enjoy what comes up.
ReplyDeleteGlad the epicenter of the quake was far away from you. I've been through 2 quakes, one when I was in a hotel in Irving. Scared the living daylights out of me!
The first big quake in my recollection occurred when I was in high school. At the time, I was certain I was going to die but, once the shaking stopped, I got dressed and ready for school, which was subsequently cancelled. That quake was a 6.5 but we were much nearer the epicenter. I had a similar reaction to the Northridge quake in 1994, which was a 6.7 and also closer than this one. My family experienced damage from the latter event but my husband and I were only badly shaken (no pun intended). I felt the one this evening, variously classified as a 7.1 and a 6.9, centered in Ridgecrest again. The newscaster just said this quake was 10x more intense than yesterday's 6.4 quake, now classified as a foreshock of tonight's event.
DeleteAs to my daylilies, I've divided and moved a lot of them around so, although I have an Excel file showing what, when and where I originally planted them, I haven't been good about updating the file to show changes. So, hunting names of some of the smaller, more obscure specimens is a bit of a puzzle.
I am just coming into daylily season here. We are at that stage where I walk around every morning peering into daylily foliage looking for flower scapes. I planted a lot of new daylilies last year, and I'm eager to see how many of them actually make flowers this year.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I always have some that only make a few flowers or don't bloom at all. The one variety in your list that I also grow is 'Prairie Moonlight,' and that one has been a very reluctant bloomer for me.
I jumped on the daylily bandwagon when I moved here, Jean. My former shady garden was utterly inhospitable for them but there's plenty of sun here and the fact that there were already daylilies here encouraged me. Their performance has been uneven but I felt inspired to plant more last year, heaven knows why as last year saw the lowest rainfall since I became an active gardener. Maybe if I start feeding them on a reliable basis, their performance will be better, rain or no rain.
DeleteSomething a big commercial grower said has stayed with me, and proved to be so: For daylilies, water is the best fertilizer.
DeleteWhat a lovely collection of daylilies. After you started by saying you didn't have the right soil or rain amounts, I wasn't expecting much. They are beautiful and so many more than I have.
ReplyDeleteMy expectations of everything I plant are often hugely unrealistic, Cindy. I want to see large swathes of flowers from everything I plant and I tend to view anything less than what exists in my imagination as disappointing.
DeleteThey are gorgeous! I can't pick a favorite. I have a few Daylilies, too, and they're just about to bloom. High summer is Daylily time. :)
ReplyDeleteOur plants often deliver their blooms ahead of the schedule of those of you with colder winters, Beth. A good many, if not most, of my flowering plants shut down production entirely during the hot, dry period from July into September.
DeleteI have never provided much water to my Daylilies though we probably get rain a bit later into spring here (except for this year!)so maybe that is the key. My biggest issue with them is how crappy they look after blooming, so now I cut them back to the ground and that improves the look considerably. My biggest issue is that the colors are often quite different from what they appear in other regions. Very interested in 'Joan Senior'-I have been looking for a reliably white DL for years.
ReplyDeleteI really like 'Joan Senior', Kathy. She appears whiter to the naked eye than the color shown in my photographs, which emphasize the yellow touches to the flower. I like its shape and petal texture too.
DeleteIt’s a little eerie to read you write of yesterday’s quake and know a 7.1 has occurred tonight. I hope you’re safe.
ReplyDeleteIt was eerier still to be replying to Alison's message above at the very moment the second quake hit, Loree. I felt that one! the Richter magnitude scale is deceptive. 7.1 doesn't sound that much greater than 6.4 but that was 10x the intensity of the 4th of July quake.
DeleteJoan Senior is gorgeous, I love the colour and the seersucker petals. An earthquake must be terrifying. Stay safe.
ReplyDeleteAs earthquakes can't be predicted much in advance, they're always startling and scary. This one was far enough away to have little effect on LA other than shaking people up (literally) but Ridgecrest is feeling the impact.
DeleteOh what a fabulous array of daylilies Kris. I will be back with pen and paper to note names. Mine have only just started to flower in the last few days. There has been coverage of the earthquakes on our news here. I hope that all is well with you xxx
ReplyDeleteWe're far enough away not to be significantly impacted, Anna. Here, the quakes have felt mainly like being on a boat in choppy seas.
DeleteI don't intentionally give fertilizer to the daylilys but some get it from being near a rose. Seems to make for bigger flowers and more foliage, and maybe a scape or two extra. Not a huge difference.
ReplyDeleteRoses--fertilizer makes a big difference.
As Nell said, water is probably the principal "fertilizer" daylilies need. I'd have to corral all my daylilies in one general area in order to promise them more than they get now. But who knows? Maybe Mother Nature will gift us with another good winter in the coming year.
DeleteYour daylilies are so pretty. I am amazed you remember all the names of them.I have all the names of mine written down but am not sure of what name goes with which daylily. I am pitaful with bookkeeping. I do enjoy them. I rarely feed my daylilies.
ReplyDeleteI try to be good with my on-line plant recordkeeping, Lisa, but I regularly find gaps. For some reason, I'm especially bad at recording bulbs. I should take a photo of every new plant (and bulb and seed packet) as soon as I get it planted - that might help!
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