ALABAMA A&M and AUBURN UNIVERSITIES

AUBURN, JUNE 4---Daylilies can add color to your landscape all summer long -- without demanding a lot of time and care.

The days when the old-fashioned orange daylily was your only choice are long gone.  Daylilies now come in a wide variety of colors, including yellow, orange, pink, red and purple, as well as shades of these colors.

"These tough, reliable plants are hardy throughout Alabama and are an ideal choice for many gardeners," says Dr. David Williams, an Extension horticulturist with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. "They aren't bothered by pests, have few disease problems and minimum fertilizer needs."

Daylilies vary in the part of the summer they bloom. Some bloom in early season while others bloom in mid-season or in late-season. By selecting a combination of the three kinds, you can have daylilies blooming from May until September.

"Properly established daylilies can survive environmental challenges such as hot weather as well as both dry weather and very wet conditions," Williams adds.  They need full sun to bloom best.  They prefer well-drained soil, and young plants need adequate water to thrive.

Differing daylily petal and flower shapes also add interest to the landscape.  You can find daylily petals that are wide, overlapping, crinkled, frilled or ruffled. Some flower shapes include trumpet, cup and bell.

Daylilies can be grouped into three categories by their foliage.  Dormant types lose their foliage after the first frost.  The plant dies to the ground each winter and produces new foliage in the spring.  Semi-evergreen types may die back to the ground in a very cold winter or annually in the Northern half of Alabama but will grow new leaves in the spring.  Evergreen types retain their foliage year-round.

Daylilies can fit into many spots in the landscape.  Compact, evergreen types are effective as ground covers.  They can be used as the framework of a perennial border or used as specimen plants.  Smaller daylilies will even be at home in large containers.

The only work most people find with their daylilies is the plants must be divided periodically.  A good guideline for dividing plants is to lift and divide them when the number of blooms has decreased since the previous year. Make divisions in the fall and replant the new plants as soon as possible after dividing them.
 
SOURCE:  DR. DAVID WILLIAMS, Extension horticulturist, Alabama Cooperative Extension System (334) 844-3032.