Daylily Care

There are several reasons you may not be getting good blooms from your daylilies. They are as follows:
(1) Not enough sunlight. Daylilies will grow in full sun to partial shade, but will not consistently grow in shade. They require 6 hours of full sun per day. If they are not getting this amount of sunlight, they may produce for one or two years and then fail to bloom the next year.
(2) Compition from plant roots. If they are planted near trees, shrubs or other large plants, the plants may be robbing the moisture and nutrients from the daylilies. This will also cause them to bloom for a year or even two and not bloom very well after that. If this is the problem, you may have to dig the bed every year or two and remove all the roots from other plants that have grown into the daylily bed.
(3) Not enough organic matter in the soil. Daylilies will grow in a wide PH range, but they do require organic material. They love composted cow manure. Spread 2 to 4 inches of composted cow manure over the bed every year and work it in. This should be done at the time you would normally plant the bulbs.
(4) Drainage problem. It may be that you have a drainage problem. To check this out, dig a hole about 12 inches deep in the bed area and fill it with water. If it has not drained completely after 24 hours, MOVE the bed. Another method would be to grow the bulbs in a raised bed if you wanted to keep them in the same area.
(5) Daylilies do improve when they are dug, the bulbs separated and replanted every 2 years. This should be done in the fall in the south. The rule of thumb is plant at least 60 days before the first hard freeze, or not later than 60 days before the daytime temperature consistently reaches 90 degrees.
Byron