Do I need to deadhead my Daylilies? I did one growing season, and they quit blooming for a few weeks. Could it have been the deadheading or some other problem?
Deadhead daylilies?
Hey... a fellow Nebraskan!
Nothing wrong with deadheading daylilies, as they only last a day anyway. No point in letting it go to seed if you're not interested in seeds. Besides, unnecessary seed production robs a plant of energy.
Welcome to DG, glad to have you!
This message was edited Jun 13, 2008 6:53 PM
Thanks for your reply, Moby. Glad to have discovered DG and another Nebraskan.
I'm kinda new to this gardeing stuff, so I have a lot of questions---hope I don't appear too stupid. I love flowers and plants, but I mainly have annuals, and most of them are in containers. I counted 14 pots or hanging baskets yesterday. Guess I should have put a lot of the money toward perennials so I could get years of enjoyment from them.
Still not quite sure what I want to do in regard to perennials....I'll have to live with my choices for years to come.
You're in good company ~ we've all been plenty stupid (not saying that you are!) at some point or another and we all still learn something new everyday. Everyone here is pretty gracious and like to help newbies.
You might try hanging around the Perennials and Bulbs forums for starters. Then there are plenty of specialized forums for daylilies, roses, shrubs, lilies, etc..
The nice thing about gardens is that they can change as much as you like. There have been many perennials that have come and gone here. :)
I TRY to deadhead my daylilies just to keep the seed production down, but rarely do i manage to stick with it thorough the whole season.
I try to deadhead every 2 -3 days just because the old blooms are unsightly. If I see one gone to seed I snap that one off too. No big deal, they've been surviving long enough without our intervention.
I deadhead for looks - usually daily. The ones I miss I must later remove the whole shoot because seed pods may be forming. I did not do this for years and I now have several huge stands of hybridized daylilies that look a little like one parent - most look good enough to keep for a while.
I also had irises that formed seed pods and new hybridized plants - mostly ugly. I noticed this year that the reblooming (if you are lucky) iris Immortality had giant seed pods. I am more careful now and clean up areas after the bloom.
If you are starting from scratch - I recommend minor bulbs (scilla, muscari, et al) and daffodils for the first flush, dwarf or intermediate irises for the second flush (I have to stake tall ones) that bloom with peonies, clump forming dianthus (i.e. deltoides) and bushy dianthus for the third flush (with roses), then shasta daisies and daylilies for the fourth flush. This season for me starts mid march and ends mid august.
My mini roses seem to bloom much more often that any others. Iris take a while to adjust - usually 2 years after planting for me. Daylilies might too, depending on your supplier. Careful of the dreaded 'ditch lily' - if you plant it you may never be able to get rid of it - it is worse than mint and laughs at roundup.
I do not have good plants yet for fall. I have trouble with mums (do not live over winter for me) and asters (invasive for me). I am currently fighting voles and have problems with tulips (annuals here). They also eat lilies - so I am told.
Carol
The one drawback to daylilies is all of the deadheading you have to do daily to keep the plants looking nice. I go through a ritual every day when I get home from work and spend 20 minutes walking around the yard pinching the spent flowers off. Maybe I should get up earlier and do it before work! LOL
LOL Carol, I know of which you speak! When I first got started I had ditch lilies and mint ~ several kinds! And anise hyssop. And sweetgrass. I've come a long way, baby!
For late summer blooms ~ there's datura, zinnias and I've gone absolutely crazy for hardy hibiscus. I have them backing up lots of lilies because they emerge late, so they don't crowd their bloom time and will later hide those naked stems. They're only about 18" tall right now but will be close to 5 ft with dinner-plate size blooms come late summer. Last spring I bought 2, another 2 by the end of the summer and 4 more varieties this year. I can't wait!
This is Southern Belle
I like them too, Moby - oin fact they're just starting to bloom here. This one is actually pale yellow but looks white in the sun.
Here is is starting to open this AM. Not as pretty as yours is! LOL I have some pink ones, red ones, pale yellow ones, and fuscia ones.
That's gorgeous! I'm not even going to ask you the name ~ I know how you are.... ;)
LOL you funny - but accurate!
You guys crack me up! LOL