Daylilies - Hemerocallis

Lavender with Yellow Center

Daylilies (Hemerocallis) are in bloom now, and they come in lots of colors that are not orange.

Now's the time to document their color and mark their placement in your garden, especially if you're a Franklin County Master Gardener, and might be dividing your specimens for donation to the plant sale in 2013 (or later years).

In May, at the time of the plant sale, they all look alike, so it's difficult to convince folks they're not the plain old orange ones.  So, here's an opportunity to display their assets and hopefully, some of the experts in our group will be able to identify the cultivar.

That way, we'll be able to market them better to the general public next May.

So, send me pictures of your daylilies in bloom, and we'll keep track that way. 

In the meantime, here are mine - acquired over the last 10 years from the Franklin County Master Gardener Plant Sale.

Lavender with Yellow Center en masse

Cream Colored with Lemon Yellow Center

Three Varieties with the Rudebeckia and Eryngium

From left to right - Salmon Colored with Yellow Center Ringed with Red, Red Stella D'Oro, and Ivory with Yellow Center (slightly lighter than the cream colored above)

Salmon/Pink Colored with Yellow Center and Light Yellow Streaks Blending into the Petals

Red with Yellow Center

Double Orange

These double orange ones were on the property before I became a Master Gardener, and not acquired at the plant sale.  Although the same color as the common ones, their double blooms make them unique enough that folks may not know about them.

Here are some facts sheets about growing Daylilies:

University of Minnesota
North Carolina State University
Illinois University

And here's a delightful article from Illinois Horticulture Educator Jennifer Schultz Nelson with some interesting history and anecdotal echoes from my own experience, especially this part:

...described me as a plant addict—I explained it's hard not to be when you're surrounded by Master Gardener volunteers that act as enablers, encouraging my latest plant "fix".

So to my fellow addicts, here's a link to the American Hemerocallis Society to help satiate the craving.