Upgrading Your Daylily Bed

One of the easiest flowers to grow is the daylily. There are hundreds of varieties of this widely adapted perennial. Some have deciduous leaves, while others have evergreen leaves. The flowers come in a wide range of shapes, colors, and sizes. Some flowers are double, while others look like spiders. There are also everblooming varieties that bloom repeatedly throughout the growing season.

Offering so much variety and such a long track record of success, daylilies are popular choices for gardeners. But the benefits of daylilies also can be a detriment. Because daylilies live so long and can be divided so easily to make more plants, gardeners are rarely motivated to try out new varieties. That’s a shame because the new daylily varieties produce more flowers per plant than older varieties, feature better flowers that hold their color even in full sun, and offer foliage that remains attractive all season long. Some have a strong fragrance too. These new hybrids have thick, well-branched scapes with twenty to thirty buds per scape. While traditional daylilies may bloom for two to three weeks in summer, some of the new varieties bloom for two to three months. With these new types, there’s no need to try to hide daylilies that are past their prime, since the plants stay attractive for so long.

Daylilies are a perennial garden must-have.  After trying some of the new varieties available, you may decide that it’s time for the older varieties to take a backseat to modern hybrids.