Daylilllies

 

Hi,
Does anyone know what to do and what to use to revive growth in
daylillies.  I have beautiful plants that grow but do not bloom.  What
can I do to see them again and have them bloom and rebloom

 

Maria wrote:

They probably need to be divided and replanted.  Once the clump gets too
big they stop blooming.

gloria p

 

On 3/25/10 6:18 PM, gloria.p wrote:

I have some large, undivided clumps of daylilies that still bloom well.
 A few are just now starting to bloom.

Sunset's "Western Garden Book" indicates that they should be divided
once in 3-6 years.  Mine are at the 6-year mark.  I might divide them
this fall.

Flowering plants need phosphorus in the soil.  Since this nutrient does
not dissolve well or leach through the soil, it must be placed where
roots will find it.  Take a length of 1/4-inch steel rebar.  Poke it
into the ground at least a foot very close to a clump of daylilies and
then remove it.  Fill the hole with bone meal or superphosphate.  Repeat
around the clump for 3-4 holes.

If you divide a clump, stir a handful of bone meal into the bottom of
the planting hole.  Before you set a division, sprinkle a little plain
soil above the portion with the bone meal so that the disturbed roots of
the division are not in direct contact with the bone meal.

Sunset says to divide in the early spring or late fall in my climate.
In cool-summer areas or areas with short growing seasons, divide in the
summer.

--
David E. Ross
Climate:  California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening diary at <http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary>

 

Maria said:

Has the area become more shady over the years as trees have
grown?  (This is a common problem as landscapes mature.)
Daylilies flower best with full sun.

If they are still getting plenty of sun, then the answer would
probably be to divide the clump and amend the soil to improve
fertility.  Phosphorous being the key nutrient, as David mentioned.

--
Pat in Plymouth MI
    
"Vegetables are like bombs packed tight with all kinds of important
nutrients..."     --Largo Potter, Valkyria  Chronicles
 
email valid but not regularly monitored
  

 

Maria, you got good advice already from others.  I will just add the
remark that most daylilies bloom only once each year.  The exceptions
are so-called rebloomers.  Do you have rebloomers?  They need even
more phosphorus than regular daylilies.

    Una