Daylilies Come in Different Flower Colors, Sizes and Shapes

If you have not added daylilies to your garden you are missing a great perennial.

I am not talking about the common orange daylilies that one sees growing along the roadsides of the Midwest in June. Rather, I am referring to the many new cultivars, which seem to be added to the market yearly.

The daylily genus name is Hemorcallis. The genus name Hemorcallis comes from the Greek words "hemera" which is "day" and the word "kalos" which means "beautiful."

The flowers of most daylilies opens at sunrise and whither at sunset. A new blossom opens on the same flower stem or scape the next day.

Though blooming time is seasonal and lasts about one month, with careful planning, a gardener could have an early blooming variety (about the time of the daffodils) and a later blooming variety which goes well into an Ohio or Midwest September.

With over 60,000-registered daylily cultivars, there are many varieties to choose. Some daylilies:

• Bloom through out the season and are generally smaller flowered varieties. The most popular is the Stella d'oro variety which blooms heavily in the early summer and then sporadically through the summer and early fall.
• Are dwarf varieties only obtaining 5-6 inches in height with smaller flowers
• Are fragrant.
• Have two sets of flower petals

The best attribute of daylilies are that they come in a variety of colors, shapes, and sizes and grow well with minimum care in a sunny or partially sunny area.

As for the pocket book, daylilies are relatively inexpensive and can be easily divided and your favorite divisions can be added to many different locations in the gardens.