How to Keep Daylilies Blooming

Daylilies are hardy perennials that will grow in almost any soil and light condition. Daylilies are not true lilies, but their name is appropriate as their blooms resemble lilies and only last for one day. Because of their ease of growing, daylilies are very popular, and more than 35,000 cultivars of daylilies have been developed. An established daylily planting can produce as many as 400 flowers in a season. Each daylily will bloom for about 30 to 40 days during the summer, and there are methods that will help the daylily keep blooming during that time.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Things You’ll Need

• Plant scissors
• Garden trowel
• Fertilizer, low-nitrogen

1. Put a potted daylily in the sun for at least six hours a day. Daylilies will tolerate the shade, but they flower best when exposed to sunlight.
2. Cut away all dead foliage from the daylilies, and remove any weeds present, in early spring. This will allow all nutrients available to the plant to be utilized for flower production.
3. Water your daylilies regularly. Daylilies should receive at least an inch of water a week to produce as many blooms, for as long a period as possible.
4. Cut off all of the blooms at the end of each day. This process, called dead-heading, prevents seed formation so that all of the lily’s energy can be directed toward blooming.
5. Divide, by digging them up with a garden trowel, clumps of daylilies that have become crowded and dense. Thinning out daylilies allows more sun and water to reach the plants, and they will then produce more blooms for a longer season. You can re-plant the daylilies that have been removed from the clump, and they will bloom in their new location.
6. Fertilize lightly in the spring with a low-nitrogen fertilizer. A 5-10-5 fertilizer is ideal and will increase flowering without increasing foliage growth.