Evening star., 1941-06-07

'er. Hemero-for day, and kallOS.
beauty; while daylily turned around
is lilly for a day" The flowers of
most varieties open in the morning
and close in the evening. Some of
Citrina, are evening bloomers. There
are so many buds on each flower
spike that they provide color for q
week or more. A vigorous clump,
oftentimeS, will produce q dozen or
more flower spikes and remain in
flower for two to four weeks.
The daylilies range in height from
II inches to or feet. The low
growing varieties are we'll adapted
to the foreground of the perennial
border while the taller ones NAV be
used toward the back. Most of the
common varieties seldom exceed 3
feet in height and 2 feet across.
If spaced according to their height
one would plant the dwarf varieties
IL to Is inches apart and the tallest
ones nearly 3 feet apart.
The daylilies are very tolerant as
regards soil and exposure Their
ability to survive under unfavorable
conditions is well known. The Tawny
daylily III. fulva), sometimes called
the Tiger lily and Roadside lily, is
often thought to be a native wild
flower because it is to be found
growing wild along many roadsides.
There it successfully competes with
grass and weeds. 1t is true that
many varieties are really strong
growers and can take care of them
selves. Fulva. and the variety,
Margaret Perry, spread by under
ground shoots which makes them
exceptionally aggressive. and hence
of doubtful merit in the small peren-
NAL border. In spite of their vigor
daylilieS repay good culture with
stronger growth and increased quail
ity of bloom, but they will do well
in ordinary soils with little or no
care. Perhaps, we should qualify
this by saying that they need a soil
having some humuS (decayed vege-
table materials to hold moisture.
Otherwise the flowers may be rather
small and disappointing. This ap-
plies especially to the late summer
Towering varieties.
An occasional hoeing does benefit
the day lily, and during periods of
prolonged drought thorough soak
ing at intervals of one to two weeks
will prove beneficial They some
times drop the smaller flower buds
for lack of moisture Day lilies are
vigorous growers and will need di-
viding every three to five years. The
soil should be reworked and food
and humuS to last for several years
incorporated Well-rotted manure.
if obtainable, is very good Other
wise use compost and any standard
garden fertilizer such as 4-12-4 or
4-8-5. In resetting the day lily, try
to plant them only as deep as they
were growing. Ordinarily gardeners
dig and reset day lilies in early Sep
tember, but this chore may be done
at other times. 1t is well to remove
a half or more of the foliage when
reSetting.
Local gardeners report that some
varieties sunburn when grown in
full sun and that light shade Is
really ideal for them. Most gar
deners however, have them in full
sun. They will grow in deep shade
and provide rather attractive
ground cover, although they will
seldom bloom in such a situation.
So far no reports of winter injury
or losses have been received. The
dying foliage, if left undisturbed.
covers the crown and furnishes all
OF the winter protection needed.
The most surprising attribute,
however, is that they do not need
to be sprayed. They are free from
disease and insect pests (the home
gardener will doubt this), but so far
there is not single report men,
tioning a disease or insect enemy.
And now word about season of
bloom. Of the less expensive va
rieties, one may select the following
to provide long season of bloom:
Flava Lemon day lily), Fulva
(Tawny), Luteola, Citrina and Anna
Betscher. OF the newer and more
expensive varieties one might choose
the following: Winsome, Wau-bun,
Vesta, Soudan, Gypsy and Gay Day.
Or if you prefer the month of
bloom-May: Apricot, Flavana, Gold
Dust. Sovereign and DIR. Regel. Early
June: Aureole, Queen of May, Sou
dan and Florham. Mid-June: Win.
some. Late June: Lemon King,
Mikado, Wau-bun and Goldeni
July: Mrs. A. H. Austin, Bay State,
Calypso, j. A. Crawford, Hyperion,
Ophir, Margaret Perry, Princess,
Sonny. Star of Gold, Sunny West
and George Yield. August: Anna
Betscher. Kwanso (double), Thun-
bergi, Gay Day and Mrs. w. H.
Wyman (reported by many to be the
last to bloom.
Any perennial that is so accom-
modating as the day lily should be of
interest to every gardener. Disease
free, tolerant of soil and shade, free
Towering and good both as a land
scape flower and for cutting, sounds
too good to be true and must read
like the usual flower catalogue de-
scription. Nevertheless, the day lily
fans wear by these virtues. Better
plan on ordering a few varieties
for fall delivery.