How to Deadhead Daylilies

Daylilies, also known as Hemerocallis, provide lush, vibrant flowers that can transform the dullest of landscaping. There’s just one catch–each bloom only lasts for one day. These hardy perennials make a significant impact when planted as ground cover or as a border along sidewalks and fences. Though these plants require minimal care once established, you’ll still need to groom them regularly. Grooming daylilies involves deadheading blooms and trimming back dead foliage as it occurs to promote re-blooming and to keep them looking their best.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Things You’ll Need

• Pruning Snips

1. Allow daylilies to sprout and grow scapes, long leafless flower stalks with branches that hold the blooms.
2. Deadhead the daylily once a flower has wilted. Gently twist off the expired bloom at the base closest to the scape branch.
3. Cut the wilted scapes down to the base of the plant with pruning snips when all the flowers on the stalks have bloomed and wilted.
4. Prune your daylilies in the fall. Remove any remaining empty scapes and dead foliage from each clump. The clump, also referred to as the crown, is the base of the daylily plant out of which grows the foliage and scapes.

Tips & Warnings

• Deadheading promotes re-blooming by allowing nutrients and water to feed active blooms.

• Plant daylilies in an area that receives adequate sunlight. Too much shade will produce more foliage than blooms.

• Do not pull the scape out of the crown by hand. This can result in uprooting and destruction of the entire daylily plant.