Dazzling Daylilies

Dazzling Daylilies By Mary Hirshfeld Horticultural Curator, Cornell Plantations

As the hot days of summer begin to arrive, many herbaceous perennials finish their annual flower display and settle in to endure the heat. This is when daylilies begin to dominate the garden, flaunting a dazzling array of flower colors and patterns. Unexpectedly, the best place to see colorful masses of daylilies at Plantations is in the flowering shrub collection located near the Flat Rocks entrance to the F. R. Newman Arboretum. Here, daylilies are used in large mass plantings among the shrubs. As perennials with stature and heft, they hold their own against the larger woody plantings and their bright colors are set off by the green summer foliage of the spring blooming shrubs.

The potential for flower color and pattern variation in daylilies has so fascinated hybridizers that over 40,000 cultivars are currently registered with the American Hemerocallis Society, and new hybrids continue to come onto the market with overwhelming rapidity. Daylily breeding began in earnest in the 1950s. The 1960s saw the introduction of tetraploid hybrids with their increased vigor, rich flower colors, and enhanced patterns, including darker centers, halos, watermarks, and "pictoee" petals (petals with edges outlined in a darker shade). Many of the hybrids developed between 1960 and 1980 constitute the core of the high quality, reasonably priced daylilies available today. James Marsh, who developed the "Chicago" series of tetraploids and the "Prairie" series of diploids, introduced many lovely lavenders, pinks, and reds that are still considered high quality cultivars. 'Prairie Blue Eyes', although not really blue, is a startling lavender-blue shade considered unusual in the color spectrum of daylilies. 'Chicago Apache' and 'James Marsh', introduced in 1981 and 1978 respectively, remain two of the best rich dark red flowers used for landscapes.

More recently interest in miniature daylilies (those with flowers less than 3.5 inches in diameter) has increased. Pauline Henry, known for the "Siloam" series of daylilies, named for her hometown of Siloam Springs, Arkansas, has introduced some lovely cultivars. 'Siloam Ury Winniford' is an excellent choice for a mass planting. The vigorous plants produce creamy yellow flowers, each with a striking purple eye, for at least two months. A good choice for specimen use is 'Siloam David Kirchoff', whose pale orchid flowers are marked with a darker eye--a combination that makes the flowers appear double from a distance. In the 1980s, cultivars with startling color patterns began to interest hybridizers. Although first introduced 15 to 20 years ago, many of these dazzling, specimen-quality cultivars have only recently become widely available. Another James Marsh hybrid, 'Chicago Pictoee Queen', produces lavender flowers, each with a dark plum-purple eye, and ruffled petals with a dark purple edge. The smaller 'Pandora's Box' produces a 4-inch-wide flower of cream with a rich purple eye.

Considering the wealth of choices, what criteria should you use to select hybrids for your garden? With so many excellent daylilies on the market you certainly want to avoid investing in plants labeled simply as "red" or "yellow." Also steer clear of packages of unnamed daylilies offered as color mixtures. The most important quality to look for is length of bloom, which can vary from 21 days to 120 days. Cultivars which offer prolonged bloom times are referred to as good bud builders, which means they produce a flowering stem or inflorescence which continues to elongate and develop new flower buds for several weeks. Others, like 'Stella d'Oro' and its siblings, grow very quickly, producing new fans with new flower stems throughout the season. On the other hand, daylilies which bloom for a short period of time produce an inflorescence with a fixed number of flower buds, and since each flower lasts only 16 to 18 hours, the bloom time for such cultivars can be disappointingly brief.

Conscientious daylily growers seek to offer only the best performers for sale. Help in identifying and promoting those cultivars is provided by the All-America Daylily Selection Council (AADSC). AADSC has begun a rigorous screening of the 13,000 cultivars that are currently widely grown. They have also created two categories to describe daylilies: "landscape," and "specimen." The former may not have the most exotically colored or patterned flowers, but to make the grade they must have a bloom period of 120 days in zone 5, rapidly develop new fans, demonstrate excellent winter hardiness, and make an impressive and durable display when used in a mass planting. "Specimen" daylilies are selected primarily for the exceptional beauty of their flowers. Flower color, size, and texture are of primary importance, and acceptable bloom periods range from 40 to 80 days. Cultivars selected by the council carry the AADSC logo--a daylily flower on a red and blue background--on their pot label. The first All-America selection was 'Black Eyed Stella', one of the growing family of "Stella kids" derived from 'Stella D'Oro', all of which combine short stature with a three-month season of continuous bloom.

A visit to Plantations' shrub collection in July allows you to see over 43 daylily cultivars, each planted in a mass of 15 to 25. One staff favorite is 'Sherwood Gladiator', introduced by Al Rogers at Caprice Farms Nursery in Sherwood, Oregon. As the name implies, this impressive plant reaches 4.5 feet in height and produces masses of bright yellow flowers six inches in diameter. It's worth a trip to Plantations just to see the 'Gladiator' in action!

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Last modified: 06/16/2003 01:00:09 PM