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| For Those New to Daylilies |
For Those New to Daylilies
Variety:
There’s no morning more exciting than those during bloom season! It’s then that I rush through the paper before first light in order to see what palate of colors may be awaiting me outside! People who scoff at a flower which only blooms “for a day” haven’t yet experienced the extended beauty of the 10 – 30+ blooms borne on a single scape of the more recently introduced cultivars. A “scape” is the vertical daylily “stem” that branches and yields buds and blooms. If you want to go by the numbers, just 5 plants with 2 fans each could yield 50 to 400 blooms. The over 60,000 different registered cultivars offer a never ending variety of size, color combinations, and forms for the beginning and experienced gardener alike. The elusive true blue or true white daylily has yet to be registered but hybridizing trials are never ending.
Pricing:
The longer a daylily has been in circulation the lower the price. You will see a range of prices in any daylily catalog. The higher prices are seen on the most recently introduced. One of my goals is to retain daylilies that are great performers for the Tampa Bay area. By the time they prove themselves in my garden (which consists of over 3 years) the price is significantly reduced.
Newly introduced cultivars are usually priced from $50 - $100 + but every year the price will be reduced due to their demand and supply. Each year when visiting commercial gardens my eyes are usually larger than my pocketbook and I find it necessary to make a “Wish List”. Each year this list is revisited and most prices will be decreased. In my garden I have many “keepers” from $5 - $10 that have proven themselves in Tampa and make great starter plants for new folks interested in daylilies.
Bloom Season:
Daylilies are seasonal bloomers and in central Florida usually begin blooming in April. Peak bloom is in May. Those that rebloom will send up fresh scapes through June and July to extend your viewing pleasure. I have had blooms almost every month of the year, but this is not expected and the bloom is never as pretty as it would be during the season.
Daylily Rust:
Daylilies are resistant to the vast majority of plant diseases but daylily rust continues to be present in the US after its initial introduction in 2000. It doesn’t kill the plant unless it is otherwise in poor health but it is easily spread by the wind and does occur in most all states. We are state inspected and licensed and follow an active spray program using a combination of systemic and topical fungicides every 7 – 20 days. The problem is under control in our gardens but we cannot guarantee that daylilies from our garden will remain free of rust after purchase. If you need any more information, I would be glad to share knowledge of my spray program with any of you who may be interested.
Created on 01/20/2009 08:32 AM by linda
Updated on 01/12/2010 10:27 AM by linda
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