So what is the best way to care for daylilies after they bloom?
Is it possible to keep them blooming longer? And can they be divided in the summer as well as the spring and fall?
With the ever-growing popularity and use of daylilies in the landscape, many home gardeners are looking for answers on how to best care for their daylily plants.
And we have you covered with today’s article!
Daylilies are a fantastic choice for the landscape. They are low-maintenance, hardy, and are also easy to split and divide into multiple new plants.
Even better, you can now find many varieties, such as the Stella D’oro daylily, that are re-bloomers. And that means they will bloom and re-bloom all season long!
We have a little over 200 Stella’s planted all over the farm. And, as we approach the end of June, they are just now hitting their first big blooming cycle.
It certainly makes for quite the splash of color!
And with just a little maintenance, those colors and blooms will keep on coming throughout the summer and early fall too.
How To Care For Daylilies After They Bloom
If given a just a little bit of in-season care, daylilies, no matter the variety, will not only have more blooms, but bloom for longer periods as well.
Daylily Care 101 – Bloom Maintenance
After the first initial onset of blooms, remove any flowers that begin to fade past their prime.
By doing this, you keep the plant’s energy focused on producing new blooms, and not on trying to maintain their old ones.
This can be done by hand, or with a sharp pair of scissors, or landscape pruners.
One of the nice things about daylilies are that their blooms tend to last for long periods, so you have plenty of time to enjoy them before having to take them off.
An entire blooming period can extend anywhere from a few weeks to as long as 45 days depending on the variety of daylily.
Removing Daylily Scapes & Seed Heads
Once the plants stop their initial bloom, they begin to form seed heads.
These seed heads, or scapes as they are sometimes called, are not necessary for the plants health or growth. But they do use the plant’s resources to form and grow.
Because of this, they should be cut back to the base of the plant as they appear.
This, like removing spent blooms, forces the plant to use it’s energy on new blooms and plant strength.
And, if you have re-blooming varieties like the Stella D’oro, this practice also helps create a second bloom cycle much more rapidly.
Dividing Day Lilies In Mid-Summer
Another big advantage of growing daylilies are that can be divided quite successfully right in the middle of the summer.
If plants have become too large, it is a great way to keep them in shape and create a few new starts.
Simply dig up the plant, and divide through the roots with a sharp shovel.
When dividing in the summer months, we use a sharp pair of scissors or hedge clippers to remove all of the foliage down to the base of the plant.
This spurs on a faster rate of growth for the new transplant, and encourages the plant to re-leaf much quicker. See : How To Divide Perennials With Ease In The Summer
Division can be done at any time, but we always wait until our lilies have finished their first main bloom to dig up.
In many seasons, we have had many of our mid-summer divisions and transplants flower again by fall!
It’s not only a great way to keep plants a manageable, but a wonderful way to add new plants to your landscape for free.
Here is to taking care of your daylilies after they bloom, and enjoying them all season long. Happy Gardening! Jim and Mary.
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