How to Remove Daylilies

Daylilies are a quick-growing, wide-spreading perennial plant with a blooming season from late spring until fall. From fibrous roots and bulbs, they produce long, graceful stems dotted with a number of edible buds. Each flower blooms only one day, but the continuous production of buds allows each individual plant to bloom for weeks. Their tenacious root system gives daylilies an invasive nature that can make removing the plants in a way to discourage re-growth an exacting task. If any piece of fiber from the root or any tiny bulb remains in the soil, the plant will continue to reproduce and spread.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You’ll Need

• Hose or watering can
• Garden fork
• Garden gloves
• Newspaper

1. Spray the area around the daylilies gently with water. This will make it easier for you to work the earth and to see contrast between the soil and the daylily roots.
2. Insert your garden fork into the ground and impress a circle around the plant to be removed. Make your circle about 2 inches wider than the base of the plant, to ensure you capture all the root system.
3. Spread newspapers out on the ground away from the removal site. This will help contain any severed root fibers or bulblets that may fall from the plant as you are moving it.
4. Use the garden fork to remove the root clump. Move the captured plant away from the hole and shake off excess dirt over the spread newspapers.
5. Examine the removal site carefully. Use your hands to move the soil around gently and pull out any root fibers or bulbs that were left behind.

Tips & Warnings

• Always use a fork to remove daylilies. A spade or shovel can split the root system and leave re-growth material behind.