The daylily is a decorative flowering perennial whose colorful funnel-shaped flowers are even edible. But not only that, the perennial is also very easy to care for.
Perennials are indisputably particularly decorative bright spots in the garden. Their flower colors and shapes are immense and surprise the hobby gardener every year with the season. Quite a few of them are even edible and enrich numerous salads and desserts with their subtle aroma or decorate the plate of wonderful dishes. The daylily (Hemerocallis) also develops flowers with such advantages. This grass tree plant is an undemanding yet popular perennial for the garden and planter.
Short portrait of the daylily
The daylily currently has around 65,000 different varieties. This is thanks to the creative ability of the breeders. Depending on the variety, the first flower stalks emerge from the grassy eyrie in May. Long branched flower buds then sit on the stems, which unfold like a funnel. Depending on the variety, the flowers can be one color or multicolored. The color palette ranges from yellow, orange to red and violet.
The name daylily suggests that the single flower does not shine for more than one day. However, because new buds break out every day, the overall flowering time is longer. This can last up to six weeks. If you skilfully combine early and late flowering varieties, the flowers will continue to bloom until September.
The best spot for daylilies
A place in the sun is ideal for the daylily. The plant also accepts a semi-shady location well. However, you should then make sure that it does not get too little sunlight. Young daylilies develop with difficulty in such locations or die entirely.
As far as the garden soil is concerned, the daylily is quite frugal. The soil should be loose and permeable. If you then enrich the soil with some compost, the planting site is perfect.
How to plant the daylily
You can plant the daylily from April to October, whether in a bed or in a bucket. Spring is advantageous for planting, when the danger of frost has already passed. After all, the perennial offrom this time until autumn and develop vigorously.
Plant the perennial so that its roots only go about 2 centimeters into the ground. Then press the planting site and water your young plant well. In the first few weeks, make sure that the soil does not dry out. But only water it moderately. Too much moisture can be harmful because waterlogging can form, which leads to root rot. To keep the moisture from evaporating too quickly, apply a layer of bark mulch to the planting site.
How to properly care for the daylily
Casting:
The daylily also tolerates dry periods and gets by with the weather-related precipitation. However, the perennial develops a particularly strong bloom if you water it regularly from April to June, as soon as the rain is a long time coming. In addition, more buds form on the flower stalks. It doesn't matter whether you use rainwater or calcareous tap water.
Fertilize:
You are on the safe side if you have enriched the soil with compost before planting. This completely covers the daylily’s nutrient requirements in the first year. From May to mid-June of the following years, gently fertilize the location of your flowering perennial. Compost or an organic long-term fertilizer for flowers are suitable for this. It is best to follow the dosing instructions on the fertilizer packaging. Daylilies in tubs are fertilized with a liquid fertilizer for flowering balcony plants. Here, too, the dosage must be observed.
From the end of June the fertilizer bag stays in the shed. If you fertilize later, it damages the plant because it cannot optimally adjust to the winter.
Pruning:
In a nutshell: you don't need to cut daylilies. You should only pluck wilted and dry flowers or damaged leaves. You should also pull the withered leaves off the ground in spring before new growth begins.
Hiberation:
The perennials outdoors survive the cold season without winter protection. Only the potted plants need to be protected from the freezing cold. On the one hand, you can pack the planter with fleece, straw mats and jute bags so that the earth does not freeze through. On the other hand, bring the bucket to a protected place, for example in a frost-free garage. But then you should make sure that the soil in the bucket does not dry out.
Important: In a frost-free phase shouldGently water your perennials in the covered planters.
Detecting and combating diseases and pests
Most maintenance errors are the cause of diseases on the plant. So it happens every now and then that daylilies in the tub are attacked by root rot. Act beforehand and only water the plant moderately. If the disease occurs, remove the affected root parts and change the substrate.
A voracious pest has it in for the flowering bush from time to time. It's the daylily gall midge. She lays her eggs in the flower buds. The larvae then eat through the delicate plant tissue, deforming and destroying the bud as well as the desired flower. Remove infected buds immediately and dispose of them with household waste.
Summary:
The daylily with its flowers is a decorative perennial in the garden. Its edible flowers are also used in cooking. The flowering plant loves the sun both in the garden bed and in the bucket. It thrives in loose, well-drained soil.
You should water the daylily regularly during its development phase. She will thank you with strong flowers. Otherwise it is frugal and gets by with weather-related precipitation. During the cold season, potted plants need winter protection.