Hemerocallis daylilies come from East Asia, where they mostly inhabit wet meadows. They cover a huge area: from the Amur in the north to the south of China and from the Japanese islands in the east to the Caucasus in the west. Daylilies of the Hemerocallidaceae family of daylilies should not be confused with Lilium lilies.
Daylilies are beautiful and elegant perennials that have perfectly adapted to our part of Europe.Thanks to their short rhizome and fleshy roots reaching 60-80 cm deep into the soil, they tolerate drought very well.Their beauty is mainly determined by magnificent flowers clustered in a few pieces on one shoot.Older specimens that bloom profusely are especially effective.
Leaves also have decorative value - even, arched, forming large clumps of "disheveled hair". development in spring: at the end of March, they reach a height of 15-20 cm, constituting a beautiful background for early flowering bulbous plants.These leaves are not attacked by snails, but our deer and deer became familiar with their taste.
Unusual features of daylilies
- a single flower only lives one day and is open for a maximum of 16 hours. There are known species whose flowers open only for one night. When composing a flowerbed, remember that flowers always face the sun.
- long flowering: daylilies flowers can be enjoyed for almost four months.Most varieties develop in June and July, but some, incl. Middendorff's daylily H. middendorffii and 'First Blood' bloom already in May, others bloom again in autumn.The flowering of a single variety lasts 4-8 weeks.Large clumps form up to several hundred flowers and may bloom for several weeks.
- fabulous colors: the varieties have an almost full range of colors - from almost white, through various shades of yellow, pink, red, to so saturated reds that they seem almost black.Some petals are also two-colored (with a stripe or with a contrasting eye in various color combinations).
- variety of shapes: flowers usually have 6 petals. Apart from the classic funnel-shaped and bell-shaped, there are star-shaped, spider-like, spider-like, full and semi-double forms (they have 8-12 petals each).Additionally, the edges of the petals can be serrated or framed, sometimes they form a kind of frill or resemble garlands. Some smells nice, such as 'Chicago Queen', 'Strawberry Candy' or lemon day lily. The flower aroma is particularly intense at night and in the evenings.
- the great variety of forms allows you to apply them in any garden. You can choose miniature plants from 20 cm high or giant plants up to 150 cm. The size of the flowers ranges from 3 cm in diameter to almost 40 cm. Many varieties have semi-evergreen leaves, but those in our climate are much more delicate.
- incredible resistance to many elements of the environment. The reason is probably their archaic features that refer to the ancient ancestors of monocotyledons.They bloom in the shade as well as in full sunBasically they do not suffer from any diseases or pests and have little cultivation requirements. They adapt to various climatic conditions and tolerate a wide variety of soils - from light sandy to loamy and peaty. Many varieties on moderately fertile soils require virtually no treatment.
- longevity unusual for perennials. In south-eastern Poland there are specimens growing among dense turf in places of villages that no longer exist.
- ease and speed of reproduction: they can be divided at any time of spring, summer or fall.Flowers are actually not necessary for them to reproduce, because thanks to storage roots, they also reproduce in the soil, making them almost eternal.
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Liliowiec Lilium (Photo: Fotolia.com) |
Colorful varieties of daylilies
The fabulously colorful flowers of the new varieties do not resemble any existing Hemerocallis species. In nature, only daylilies with yellow, orange and yellow-brown flowers, characterized by a delicate petal structure, are known. Thanks to the great variability of these plants, the ease of crossing them and, above all, complicated laboratory breeding procedures, new original hybrids were obtained.They widened the range of colors and forms of flowers enormously. The result was livelier, more saturated colors and a much stronger structure of leaves, stems and petals, thanks to which the plants withstand wind and rain better.
Daylilies perfect for the garden
Which daylilies should I recommend for growing in the garden? Designers of modern gardens, promoting naturalistic flower meadows, more willingly choose species of daylilies, which they most often compose with moisture-loving plants: bloodworm, trefoil, valerian, daredevil or geranium.Traditionally, however, varieties are mainly planted along the paths or banks of ponds.You can then combine them with irises, cranberries, garlic, garden lupins and peonies. In shadowy places, they are nicely combined with clumps of ferns, funkias, tongues and rodgers, guaranteeing not only the effect during flowering, but also an interesting contrast of foliage, when the perennials have already bloomed.
