Planting your daylilies is easy. Loosen the soil about 8 inches below ground level and add compost if your soil is compact. Dig a hole and fashion a cone of soil slightly below ground level. Spread the roots over the cone and then cover them with about 1" of soil. Daylilies should be planted no closer than two to two and half feet apart except for miniatures which can be planted as close as twelve to eighteen inches. You don’t have to water them much during the first month as they send out new feeder roots, but they do need to be watered regularly. An inch a week applied in two irrigation cycles is perfect.

Three year old plants are probably root bound and should be gently dug out of the ground and separated into individual clumps. Over grown clumps may not bloom or grow well. Fall is the best time to divide and replant in the south and spring is the best time in the north. Vigorous re-blooming cultivars like Stella De Oro (and its many relatives) will out grow a site and need to be divided and replanted every two or three years. Wash all the soil from the roots and pulling two, three and four fan divisions off the clump. Let the divisions dry in the shade for several hours or overnight to let the cut surfaces heal and prevents fungal and bacterial infections. Replant the divisions as described above.

Daylilies do not generally have serious disease and pest problems. The few diseases they do have can be easily controlled by proper culture. Always pull summer mulch away from the crown at least an inch in early spring and again in late fall to prevent bacterial and fungal infection. If chemical treatment is necessary, follow the directions of a soil drench fungicide labeled for ornamentals. Daylily pests may include aphids, thrips and spider mites, but they are rarely a problem. If they are, organic or chemical sprays labeled for the particular pest and ornamentals will control them.

It’s no surprise that daylilies are in high demand. They’re easy to care for, grow just about anywhere, and varieties abound in dizzying arrays of colors and sizes. This plant you see everyday just may be the plant you’ve overlooked.

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