Daylily Care?

Several years ago, I established a daylily bed in my back yard. It gets morning and early afternoon sun, yet the plants have declined over the years. I mulch and water the bed along with all the others, and the plants grow, but fail to bloom. Out of the 8-10 plants in the bed, I probably got only 2 or 3 blooms this summer.

What should I do to get these plants growing?

Maybe they need dividing? They do multiply, and if you let them get too crowded they won't be happy.

Ah, I was wondering about that, when should they be divided?

Fall is best. So... now. :)

Analog, I agree with Pony that dividing might help. I have hundreds of daylilies (most have been in the same places for 7 or 8 years), and so far I have only divided the ones that I want to share, but I have noticed that some are getting a little stingier with their blooms, so I plan on using a couple as test pilots and seeing if dividing them makes a difference. I was very disapointed with the performance of my oldest daylily bed in the summer of 2008, and I asked a similar question on the daylily forum. A suggestion that I got was to ammend the bed well and see if that made a difference. I bought a couple of bags of alfalfa pellets from the local feed store, and dumped them at the base of each of my plants this spring. It was inexpensive, and they seemed to love it. The same bed was stellar this year with no divisions. Good luck!

Very interesting. I was going to divide them, but they are only 2-3 years old, and I was wondering if they could use some better nutrients, the use of alfalfa pellets seems pretty interesting. I wonder what it provides that is so good for the plants?

Alfalfa, huh? *takes notes*

Tinkers garden is my favorite place for daylily info. Here is their posted "care" for daylilies, including the alfalfa pellets:

http://www.tinkersgardens.com/daylilies/daylilycare.asp

Alfalfa is an organic fertalizer that is supposedly best if you make it into a "tea" combined with epsom salts. Both rose and daylily growers rave about it. I don't have the time and my garden is too big to mess with the whole "tea" thing... I was told that tossing the pellets would be almost as effective, and in my opinion, was well worth the effort it took.

From an organic gardening site:

Alfalfa Pellets (50 lb)

Primarily a plant source of nitrogen (approx. 5%), Alfalfa Pellets also contain trace minerals and triacontanol, a plant growth promoter. Broadcast 25-50 lbs. per 1,000 sq. ft. before planting, or apply as a side dressing later in the season for plants requiring additional nitrogen.


Hope this helps!

That is one great explanation of what its all about. I will be getting some for everybody this spring.

We will be anxious for a report next summer.
By the way, the pellets are most available at feed stores, and are pretty inexpensive compared to some of the other choices for plant nutrients. (They are sometimes sold as bunny food, I believe.

Cool. Thanks much.

Just a suggestion, soak the pellets before you apply them around your daylilies. They mix in with the soil better and deliver their 'load' softer to the surrounding soil. If you dig/divide or just lift your plants this fall, a 'scoop' full of soaked pellets covered by some soil works best to not burn the feeder roots.

Love to see pictures of your daylily bed too.

Rob - as LBF suggests, soak first. I have used Alfalfa pellets for years, mostly in the vegetable/cutting garden. The easiest way (if you're going to use a lot) is to dump the sack into a wheelbarrow & spray with water. The pellets will soak up the water & crumble. It is much easier to mix this with other amendments, or leaves & such, then to incorporate this into your existing beds, OR - mulch around plants you don't want to dig up. A little goes a long way.
I wouldn't keep a sack of the stuff around too long - like over the winter: it can mold, and, you might be opening a 5 star restaurant for small critters. Been there........

Yep, alfalfa pellets are great. Be sure you get the kind with no additives. Read the label. Another thing they are good for is adding nitrogen (greens) to your compost pile if you need a quick fix due to too many dead leaves. Works great. Roses love them, too. I've never bothered to soak mine. I just put them around the base of the plant and sort of scratch them in as though they were fertilizer. Here's another tip about them: occasionally they will create a bit of a microclimate as they decompose in the soil. It warms the soil a bit when that happens.