Daylily Blog September 2, 2011

Hey friends,

I thought it would be interesting to create a blog, as a way of tracking my progress growing Daylilies.  I have a friend who grows daylilies as well, and we enjoy sharing our passion for these beautiful perennials.

This year, I decided to expand my growing area and created a new bed on the other side of the walkway.  This effort turned into a big chore, but the bulk of it was accomplished in a single weekend!

I tilled the area and added forty bags of soil conditioner because the soil in my yard is heavy clay.  After another trip to Home Depot to buy 50 scalloped edging bricks, I outlined my new bed. These interlocking bricks work wonderfully and look good as well.  Several curved bricks were needed, as I expanded the bed further.  Talk about backbreaking work!!

The real fun began when I started planting over forty daylilies in the new bed. I dug holes and added more soil conditioner to make sure each plant would flourish.   

During the summer, my friend and I added quite a few more daylilies to our collections.  Someone should have warned us about the addiction this hobby brings!  Not being able to control ourselves, we ordered even more plants from several well-known growers, both locally and online. 

Daylilies are shipped bare root and each plant is considered a “fan.”  Most of our plants consisted of several fans, so we were able to divide and share them immediately.  My friend and I also dug all of his daylilies and divided and potted them, resulting in over 850 potted daylily plants.  He is currently re-working his daylily beds and hopes to accomplish this before the cold weather kicks in.

Between us, we now have nearly 200 varieties!  It has been a monumental undertaking so far, and we are both still planting.  I ended up putting 85 varieties in my new front bed, and have no choice but to make another. At this point I am mulling over ideas while the plants continue to grow in their pots.  They are doing quite well, and most have sent up new fans!

Like many gardeners, I experience great joy seeing the plants growing in my beds, and I can’t wait until next year to see the new varieties bloom.  I look forward to sharing more of my progress with you in the near future…

Until next time, have fun gardening,

John