Hemerocallis - Daylilies

Day Lilies are a very misunderstood plant due to their name, which comes from the fact that the flower only lasts one day. However, an established plant will produce several flower stems and each flower stem can have 5-6 flower buds dependant on the variety providing you with several weeks of beautiful flowers. These plants are generally low maintenance and quite adaptable as they will be happy in full sun or light shade. Available in both evergreen and deciduous vairieties ranging from short plants of just 12 inches up to an impressive 6ft in height and also come scented and unscented.

There are two categories for Daylilies that refers to when the flowers open through the day. Nocturnal cultivars flowers tend to open late in the afternoon and continue to bloom until the following day. The second type is referred to as diurnal and these open in the morning and bloom until the evening. Nocturnal cultivars that are scented tend to have a much stronger fragrance than diurnal cultivars and is quite similar to the scent of a Honeysuckle.

When it comes to choosing a Daylily for your garden you may be suprised to know that you really are spoilt for choice as there are over 55,000 official cultivars and many more that are not registered. They come in a glorious range of colours with stunning markings along the petals and in the flower throat. There are many nurseries that specialise in Daylilies allowing you to find very unusual varieties that you don’t find everyday in other peoples gardens but one in particular whom I’ve had a lot of dealings with are Cold Harbour Nursery who offer a stunning range to choose from.

Written by Day Lily on 2007/06/29 | Permalink to this article