My Daylilies Have Never Bloomed

Question:

I have had daylilies for about 3 years now, planted in full sun. I've never had them bloom yet. Any suggestions?

Hardiness Zone: 3b

Deb Tilbury from Manitoba, Canada

Answer:

Deb,

Several things could be going on here.

1. Are they planted too deep? Daylily plants should be set in the ground so that their crowns (the point at which the foliage and roots join) are about 1 inch under ground. Bulbs should be planted 6 to 8 inches deep.

2. Are they getting enough sun? Most varieties bloom best in full sun. More sun equals more blooms with daylilies.

3. Are you fertilizing them? Depending on your soil, a light fertilizer (and plenty of water) will help improve performance.

4. Are you growing the right lilies for your growing conditions? Your short growing season is best for early or mid-season bloomers. Late-season lilies may not have enough time to set buds.

5. Did you plant tissue culture or garden (field) grown daylilies? In recent years, there has been some controversy surrounding nurseries selling tissues culture daylilies. These lilies are produced in a laboratory by taking a few cells from the mother plants and developing a new plant in test tube. This is a fast, inexpensive method of developing lilies that allows more expensive varieties to be priced more reasonably. Unfortunately, there have been problems with most of the offspring. They aren't true to the parent plant and often produce poorly. Sometimes they fail to ever bloom again after the first year!
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   Some unscrupulous retailers (usually garden centers and mail-order nurseries) have marketed their plants as field grown, when actually they were originally tissue culture plants. If you see a normally expensive lily being offered at rock-bottom prices, it's probably a good idea to steer clear. You can't tell the difference by looking at them, so you need to rely on a trusted nursery to sell you true, field-grown lilies. For more information on this, email the Manitoba Daylily Society. http://www.daylilies.org/AHSreg1.html

Hope these ideas help!
Ellen