Daylilies have long been a favorite with gardeners – they are SO easy to grow, dependably producing their bright blooms despite heat, drought, excess rain, poor soil, and downright neglect! All the selections on this site will grow and thrive over a wide range of climates (Zones 4-9) and soils, even clay.
But the small orange blooms of our grandmothers’ gardens have been superseded by large blooms in pretty much every shade in the rainbow. The modern Daylilies from today’s great breeders have broad petals that open wide for the maximum show of color, they have spectacular ruffling that adds to their visual interest, and they have gorgeous color combinations to delight the eye. They also have a variety of sizes – from petite minis to huge, broad blooms as much as 7 inches across, and the new spiders (varieties with thin, extremely long petals) can reach as much as a foot across! Plus, the most vigorous Daylilies will bloom more than once a season, and a few even give us continuous blooms.
We have selected some of the best of the modern Daylilies for the home gardener. There are several characteristics that make a Daylily outstanding:
1. They not only have superior bloom form and colors, they also are outstanding having a multitude of blooms per stem (referred to as a bud count), and a high bud count means they have a lot of flowers blooming over a long period. Most older Daylilies have 5-8 blooms per stem, but NONE of our Daylilies have less than 10 blooms per stem! In fact, the vast majority has over 15, with some stellar performers having over 20 blooms per stem, and a couple having an amazing 40-50!
2. They have well-branched scapes (many branches on a stem means a lot of blooms open at one time).
3. They have great vigor. This means they have healthy, robust foliage, unlike many older Daylilies, and it also means they are easy to grow!
We invite you to take a few moments to browse through the gorgeous varieties here and choose some of these fabulous Daylilies for your garden – they will bring you beauty and enjoyment for many years!
Be sure to check out our friends at Spring Hill Nurseries on Facebook and Twitter!
Leave a Reply