Daylilies

What bad can be said about daylilies? They are prolific and colorful bloomers. Few pests show any interest in them. Daylilies will grow in sun or shade, dry or wet soil, can tolerate both flooding and drought, and produce beautiful flowers throughout Texas. You can find tiny flowers and large flowers, compact plants and tall plants. You can even create your own varieties with relative ease. It is no wonder that every gardening expert recommends daylilies for the home landscape.

Daylilies are available at nurseries, plant sales and through catalogs. There are thousands of color and size choices. Once you have selected your daylilies, plant them in soil that has been augmented with compost and other organic material. Although daylilies will tolerate poor soil, you want them to bloom well, so take some time to prepare the soil. Daylilies require good drainage. The plants will rot if they are planted in a spot where they constantly have wet feet. Plant only to the base of the crown, the area above the roots on the plant where it is white in color and gradually goes to green. Plant no deeper than where it turns green.

For best growth and bloom, select a location that has full morning sun and some protection from afternoon sun. All-day sunshine in Texas is hard for most plants to take, and daylilies appreciate afternoon shade.

The best time to plant is early fall or early spring, but they can be planted year-round if you take care to water in a dry season.

Water plants thoroughly after planting and continue to deep soak them until they are well established. Although they are drought-tolerant, consistent watering while budding and flowering produces better quality flowers.

Blood meal, cottonseed meal, agricultural molasses, composted manure, sludge compost and compost are all good organic amendments for your daylilies and will keep them at the peak of health. Be careful not to mulch heavily around the crown of the plant to avoid rotting and maintain air circulation. In the spring, a good blend of fish emulsion and seaweed is a fine tonic to get them growing.

You can find varieties that range in height from 8 inches to 5 feet and flower size can be as small as 2 inches across or as large as 8 inches. Although daylilies may bloom the first year they are planted, they will reach maturity in three to four years. They multiply relatively quickly and live long productive lives.

There are thousands of named cultivars of daylilies. Houston daylily enthusiast Bill Jarvis (see page 6), says "Daylily flowers are very easy to pollinate. All the parts that must be manipulated to pollinate are fairly large and can be easily handled." As a result, you have many choices of color, flower form and growth habit. Here are a few terms used in describing daylilies:

Color patterns: Self - Flower is the same color throughout; Blend - flower is blend of two or more colors; Polychrome - segments have an intermingling of three or more colors; Bitone - petals and sepals differ in shade or intensity of the same color; Bicolor - petals and sepals are different colors; Eyed - flower has an area of different color between the throat and the tips; Edged or Picoteed - edges of the flower segments are either lighter or darker than the segment color; Midrib - center vein of each flower segment may be different in color from the rest of the segment.; Diamond Dusting - flower has a sparkling appearance as if sprinkled with gold. Flower Form: Circular, Triangular, Star, Ruffled, Recurved, Trumpet, Spider, and Double. Flower size: Miniature flowers less than 3 " in diameter, Small 3" to 4 1/2", Large 4 1/2" and over.

The Six Step Beginner's Approach to Hybridizing
by Bill Jarvis
www.ofts.com/bill/daylily.html

Step 1 - Selecting the flowers you want to cross
When just starting out, there is basically only one thing you should be aware of: There are 2 types of daylilies, diploids and tetraploids. They are very hard to tell apart and pollen from one type will not set seed on the other. If you do not know which type you have, plan on crossing several different varieties in case some turn out to be different types and don't set seed. When asked how she decided which daylilies to cross, the late Elsie Spalding, a famous hybridizer noted for her excellent form and pastel colors, replied, "I just put pretty on pretty." Just select daylilies that you like and make your crosses.

Step 2 - Make your crosses
Now you need to fertilize the flower to make seeds.
Coming from the center of the daylily flower are typically six stamens and one pistil. The powdery substance at the ends of the stamens is the pollen and it should be taken from one flower and placed on the tip of the pistil of the other flower. The best time of day to do this is just after the pollen has dried and become fluffy, usually about mid-morning. The later in the day you apply the pollen, the less your chances are for successful pollination. You may want to keep records of the crosses you make as this will help you identify what works and what doesn't. Do not remove the old bloom after applying pollen, let it fall off on it's own accord. If the cross was successful, there will be a tiny green pod right at the spot where the flower was attached. This pod contains the seeds and will continue to grow during the next few weeks.

Step 3 - Harvest the seeds
Typically, the seeds take between 40 and 60 days to mature to the point where they can be harvested. You can tell when it's time to harvest, when the seed pods begin to split open. Remove the seeds from the pods and let them air dry overnight. Then put them in air tight containers and place in the refrigerator for at least 4-6 weeks. While it is not necessary to refrigerate prior to planting, it seems to improve the germination rate in most cases. In any case, if the seeds cannot be planted right away, they should be refrigerated to preserve their freshness. Don't freeze your seeds.

Step 4 - Plant the seeds
Seeds can be planted directly in the ground, or started in either flats or pots and later transplanted. Remember that seeds require fairly warm soil temperatures for good germination. Plant your seeds between 1/4 and 1/2 inches deep. The best time to plant depends on where you live. Here in Houston, I plant in early September. That gives me three months for germination and seedling growth before the cool weather sets in. Plant spacing is dictated by the amount of space you have and the number of seedlings you wish to grow. As I have only limited space, I plant fairly close together - plants are 4 inches apart in rows about 8-10 inches apart. If I had room, I would plant about 12 inches apart in rows about 12 inches apart.

Step 5 - Wait
Actually there is more to this step than just waiting. While you are waiting, you need to keep the beds weeded and water them regularly. Applying a balanced liquid fertilizer on a regular basis is also beneficial. Those that don't bloom the first spring will usually bloom in the second. Many consider waiting the hardest step because we want to see the results of our efforts immediately instead of waiting 2 or 3 years. To help combat this problem, I have 3 seedling beds. One bed contains plants that have been planted the previous fall. The 2nd bed has plants that will bloom for the first time next year.The 3rd bed has plants that bloomed for the first time last year. Often, a new seedling will be much better the 2nd year it blooms. I leave them undisturbed until they have bloomed for 2 years.

Step 6 - Enjoy
Now comes the time you've been waiting for. As the bloom season draws near, you will probably want to watch the progress of the bloom scapes, checking for good branching and bud production. The day before the first buds open will be filled with anticipation as the buds swell in preparation for their first display to the world. Early the next morning you will want to be at bedside to see your new creation. For many of us, this is the grandest moment of all, seeing these new daylilies for the first time; they all will be your creations.