Hello Fellow Gardeners!

Two years ago I went on a garden tour in my area with a few of my garden buddies and I just fell in love with daylilies! Naturally they became my new passion! After doing a ton of research I determined that Daylilies are a must have! Why? Well, simply put, they are one of the most trouble-free plants in the garden. If chosen carefully they can give you a whole season of blooms, with very few requirements besides dead heading, watering and fertilizing! Not to mention the visual appeal they bring to the garden! They are very pretty and come in different colors, shapes, and heights. In other words daylilies can be the star of your garden!

A Great Diagram of a Daylily

What to look for when buying Daylilies…

You should look at the plant as a whole. Beginners often make the mistake of being blinded by the flower color or size. While these characteristics may be important, you should also consider foliage, vigor, re-blooming capabilities, stamina, scapes, branching, and finally, bud count for lasting color in your garden.

Foliage: Foliage should be attractive, the right choice for your zone, as well as fit in with the rest of your garden plan.

Vigor: You are looking for a plant that can establish itself quickly and thrive during the first season, as well as one that grows stronger every year and will be easy to transplant.

Scape: See diagram link above. The framework of the plant that supports the flower and the side buds should be in good proportion with the height and size of the flowers. The thickness of the scape is important, so the plant is allowed to branch out, and the buds don’t all end up at the top, but rather well distributed along the stem.

Flowering: You want to look for an extended bloom period rather than a burst and suddenly nothing to look forward to. Well some plants may be worth a single bloom time, I prefer plants that I can enjoy all the way through the season! If you are careful in selecting your daylilies you can have them bloom all season long, and even from early morning to evening.

Color and Texture: Think of what appeals to you as far as color and texture. Texture may not seem very important, but there is a noticeable difference between the look of satiny, smooth, velvety, waxy, and some may even have a very fine crepe look to them.

The dark color daylilies may require less sun exposure, keep this in mind when designing your garden!

Where to Buy Daylilies…

I would seriously recommend that you buy your daylilies from companies that specialize in them. I had the misfortune to order from a regular nursery and was very disappointed in the end result!

I’ve had very good luck with these places…

Paradise Gardens

Oakes Daylilies

For many more locations you can also check out the American Hemerocallis Societie’s list here.

Daylilies for Zones 3 and 4…

Left: Jean Middle: Holiday Delight Right: Ed Murray

Left: Double Firecracker Middle: Happy Returns Right: Christmas Ruby

Left: Mabel Nolen Right: Carolyn Hendrix

For More Information…

For more information on daylilies check out Daylilies.Org

Stay tuned for Daylilies 101 Part 2 for information on the where, when, and how of planting daylilies!

Happy Gardening,

Marie Suzanne!

Hello Fellow Gardeners,

We have a new contest ready for Father’s Day (didn’t think we’d leave you out did you!?). We also have fabulous brand new prizes!

To enter our contest, simply answer the following question in the comments…

What is your favorite gardening moment and why?

We will choose three lucky winners!

The Grand Prize

The grand prize winner will receive a $50 gift certificate to Gardener’s Supply Company. This website has tons of great tools that will help you get the job done right and in record time!

Second Place Prize

The second place winner will receive one large English Tip bag from Gardener’s Supply Company! It’s a $29 value! This may seem like a rather odd prize, but I have one of these, and I have to say– I LOVE IT! It’s so versatile! I haul weeds, leaves, and other debris away, keeping my garden looking spic n’ span! The size is also just right to have it right next to you where it’s easy to pick up and doesn’t get in your way! All in all, it’s one of my favorite garden helpers!

Third Place Winner

Finally, one third place winner will receive my absolute favorite rose– the Nicole Rose! Not only is this rose special to me because my daughter is named Nicole, but it is also highly disease resistant, wonderfully fragrant, and quite frankly, it’s the most beautiful rose I’ve ever had the pleasure of growing!

The Rules

Three winners will be chosen, and one prize given to each winner. If any of the aforementioned prizes are not available, a gift certificate of an equal value will be provided instead. Contest is open to everyone! The lucky winners will be chosen at our sole discretion. The contest will end on Monday, June 18th. To enter you must answer the question above.

Good luck to all who enter!

Come visit us at the Daily Weeder because we have lots more fun gardening to talk about!

Happy Gardening,

Marie Suzanne