Plant How to Guide: Daylily Care

A popular landscape plant, cheery Daylily (Hemerocallis) are a lovely sight blooming for weeks in the summer! An easy care perennial, Daylily are ideal for the gardener that wants to plant it and forget it, but there are a few tips for keeping daylily looking their best. Read on for our Daylily Care guide!

Maintenance:

To stay healthy and look their best, Daylilies require some maintenance throughout the growing season

In the Spring:

• Prune out old and decayed foliage from last year

In the Summer:

• Remove spent (withered) flower heads to encourage more flower production
• Remove brown or damaged foliage to maintain plant vigor

In the Fall:

Like many perennials, Daylily benefit from division every frew years. Division simply means breaking up a large mass of a plant into smaller parts. With division, you revitalize old plants, and get to spread your extra plants out around your garden (or even give them away as gifts). Dividing Daylilies can always be done in the early Spring or Fall after the plant has finished blooming. 

Note that division can be done every two years, but after 5 years, flower production diminishes because of overgrown roots. For the best blooms, try to divide at least every 2-4 years!

To divide a Daylily clump:

• Cut into the soil around the plant with a spade and then lift the entire clump out of the soil with a garden fork
• Separate the plant into individual fans (a grouping of leaves with roots attached)
• Shake the fans to remove as much soil as possible.
• Finally, plant your new fans to new areas of your garden

Watering:

• Most daylilies are drought-tolerant, but some watering may be required during those hot summer months
• Watering encourages better quality flower production

Mulching:

• Use bark or compost as mulch to ensure moisture retention and weed suppression

Fertilizing:

• Fertilize a few times a year to maintain healthy Daylilies
• Daylilies should be fertilized with:
  • Espoma Garden Fertilizer (5-10-5) or Garden Tone (4-6-6)
  • Mix with Espoma Potash (0-0-60)
• Use compost to promote a good level of organic matter
• Use low level nitrogen fertilizers to promote flower production
  • Nitrogen will increase foliage production and decrease flower production

Pests/Diseases

Daylilies are usually pest and disease free with a few exceptions, what to watch for in your garden:

• Daylily Rust
  • Daylily Rust is a fungal disease that affects the leaves and flower stalks (scapes) of your daylilies. An infected plant will develop brown and yellow spots, which spreads throughout the plant. Rust affects the ability of your Daylily to put out blooms, and is very unnatractive. The disease is spread through spores in the air and soil and is common in many parts of the United States. If you suspect that you have Daylily Rust, we recommend you contact your local cooperative extension to discuss treatment.