June 2008

Leonard J. Buck Garden, Far Hills, NJ

Few perennials are as popular and easy to grow as daylilies, and through the years their natural beauty lent themselves to centerpiece plantings, cottage gardens and more.

Daylily species were originally found in Manchuria, Mongolia, and northern India, as well as China, Japan and Korea. In their natural habitat daylilies are found in swamps, seashore meadows, and forest edges.

The daylily is a monocot related to orchids, hostas and grasses. They are in the lily family and are related to true lilies. They belong to the small genus Hemerocallis. Hemerocallis, the botanical name for daylily in Greek, means “beautiful for a day.” Each flower opens for one day and after it is spent is succeeded by the next day's blossom.

These adaptable landscape plants can survive many harsh conditions that other plants cannot including: polluted city environments, slopes, poor and dry soils, near pavement salted in winter, and under black walnut trees (unaffected by juglone). Insects and diseases are rarely a problem. They are heat and drought resistant and will grow in any well-drained fertile soil in full sun or partial shade.

The flower consists of three petals and three sepals, each with a midrib in the same or contrasting c0lor. The throat of the flower usually has a contrasting color. The funnel or trumpet-shaped flowers come in a variety of colors, a few are scented, some are night blooming and many are cultivated as food crops. The flowers are borne on branched stems from spring until late autumn. Established clumps bloom vigorously for weeks and weeks. With over 60,000 registered cultivars you should be able to find the daylily that’s just right for you.

While the colors of most species are orange, yellow or rarely pinkish there are now daylily hybrids in shades of red, purple, near white and more! Some of the daylilies that you can see at the Leonard J. Buck Garden are: Hemerocallis citrina, H. lilioasphodelus, H. ‘Carolyn Criswell’, H. ‘Forsyth Lemon Drop’, H. ‘Happy Returns’, H. ‘Hyperion’ H. ‘Joan Senior’, H. ‘Rosy Returns’, and H. ‘Strawberry Candy.'

Hemerocallis citrina This fragrant daylily is a nocturnal bloomer. The soft yellow blooms open in early evening and last until noon the following day. The fragrance of H. citrina smells a little bit like citron – the reason for the species name. The very tight trumpet-like blossoms are 5-6 inches across; plants grow to 40-45 inches tall. The flowers of this species are edible and are sold (fresh or dried) in Asian markets as golden needles. They are harvested shortly before they open and used in dishes such as hot and sour soup, Buddha’s delight, and moo shu pork.

Hemerocallis lilioasphodelus Known as the lemon daylily, it was one of the first daylilies introduced into the U. S. This early bloomer has a somewhat spreading habit. The rhizomes spread rather widely and vigorously from a compact crown of many short branches. Held high above the foliage, the clear lemon yellow flowers are slightly reflexed with a delightful fragrance. Lemon daylily will grow to 30-36 inches tall with an 18-inch spread.

Hemerocallis ‘Carolyn Criswell’ This daylily has soft yellow petals that are heavily ruffled over deep blue-green foliage. The flower is 4 ½ inches across with a canary yellow eye. ‘Carolyn Criswell’ blooms for over 8 weeks beginning in early summer.

Hemerocallis ‘Forsyth Lemon Drop’ Voted top-ten favorite choice by the American Daylily Council. The flowers on this daylily open in the evening. The small 3-inch lemon-yellow flowers bloom continuously on 20-inch stems for nearly two months, beginning in spring.

Hemerocallis ‘Happy Returns’ and H. ‘Rosy Returns’ are two dwarf varieties of truly ever-blooming daylilies available to gardeners in northern regions. Both are easy-to-grow, vigorous and drought-tolerant. ‘Happy Returns’ has a canary yellow blossom 3 inches across and consistently blooms from May to frost. ‘Rosy Returns’ the first-ever pink re-bloomer, has a 4-inch bright rose flower with a deeper pink eye and yellow throat and blooms constantly from June to frost. ‘Happy Returns’and ‘Rosy Returns’ grow to a height of 18 inches.

Hemerocallis ‘Strawberry Candy’ A highly performing plant with exceptional bloom performance. The 4-inch strawberry-pink flowers have a bright raspberry-red eyezone notched at the midribs. The flowers last at least 16 hours. Plants are winter hardy in northern zones with a vigorous habit. ‘Strawberry Candy’ is one of the best daylilies available.

Hemerocallis ‘Joan Senior’ The best of the near white daylilies. Its 6-inch petals are heavily recurved and deeply veined with a lime-green throat. It reaches 2 feet in height.

Hemerocallis ‘Hyperion’ One of the best known hybrid daylilies. The fragrant pale lemon-yellow flowers grow in picture-perfect clumps. The 5-inch blooms are held high above the foliage. ‘Hyperion’ grows over 3 feet tall.

Older varieties of daylilies do well if planted in partial shade, but some newer introductions need full sun for best performance. Daylilies can be divided every 3-4 years by digging up the entire clump and dividing it into smaller pieces with a minimum of 3 eyes each. This can be done in either spring or fall.

Daylilies are some of the easiest perennials to grow and are a good choice for any gardener, from the beginner to the professional. Come to Somerset County Park Commission’s Leonard J. Buck Garden and see some of these indestructible plants.

- Tricia Scibilia, interpretive gardener
**All photos by Tricia Scibilia unless credited otherwise