Daylily
Daylilies are easy to grow, long-lived, low maintenance, and relatively pest free. More than 32,000 varieties (cultivars) have been registered. Over 12,000 are available commercially.
The botanic name for daylily, Hemerocallis, means “beautiful for a day” in Greek. The individual flowers last only one day but a succession of blooms are produced over a period of three to four weeks. Some reblooming cultivars, such as ‘Stella de Oro’, will bloom for 10 weeks or more.
Daylilies normally have 22 chromosomes and are referred to as diploid (2n). Tetraploid (4n) varieties have double the number of chromosomes or 44. In most cases the chromosome number is important only for those interested in plant breeding. However, many tetraploid varieties have flowers that are larger and more intensely colored than diploid varieties.
Most daylilies are deciduous (the foliage dies to the ground each winter) while others are semi-evergreen or evergreen. Deciduous varieties are commonly referred to as dormant varieties. The arching foliage consists of long linear leaves that grow 1 to 2 feet in height. Leaves are a rich green color.
The erect, leafless flower stalks (scapes) rise from the crown of the plant and extend above the foliage. The scapes of most varieties range in height from 18 inches to 5 feet; however, some can grow to a height of 8 feet. Five to nine flowers are present on each flower stalk.
Early flowering varieties bloom in late spring and early summer. A large percentage of varieties bloom early to mid-summer. Others bloom late summer to frost. Of these late blooming varieties, many are reblooming after flowering earlier in the season.
Flowers range from less than 2 inches across for the miniature varieties to over 8 inches. Flowers are available in virtually every color of the rainbow with the exception of true blue. Some varieties have attractive eyes and throats.
The root systems of daylily plants vary from an almost fibrous type to the common fleshy type. Some root systems consist of rhizomes and/or stolens that spread rapidly through the soil.
Copyright 2006 Iowa State University Extension
Original Text can be found here: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/publications/rg303.pdf |
