Daylilies: description, classification of varieties, cultivation, care and reproduction (Photo & Video) + Reviews

Daylily is a very peculiar plant. A huge number of its varieties is simply amazing: in the last half century alone, about 30 thousand new varieties and daylily hybrids have appeared. Descriptions of daylilies occupy many sources, and these catalogs are constantly updated.

Despite its very extravagant, one might say, tropical appearance, the daylily is a rather unpretentious plant, the care of which is simple. This plant combines beauty and hardiness, which is a rare combination for most flowers.

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Brief description of the species

From the point of view of biology, the daylily is a member of the Asphodel family, and it really has a tropical origin. This perennial a herbaceous plant with a powerful root system, often forming pseudotubers, the so-called "stolons". It has two-row leaves, moderately wide and long; leaves can be either straight or curved.

Daylily variety All Hooked Up

The plant has large flowers, collected in several pieces in beautiful sprawling inflorescences; most often there are 6 flowers in an inflorescence, but sometimes giants of 10-12 flowers are also found. The diameter of the flowers is the most diverse - from small 5-6 cm to giant, reaching 20 cm in diameter. The height of flowering stems can also be different: from 25 to 100 cm.

Daylily Yellow Giant. Inflorescences with several flowers are visible

Flowers bloom 2-3 at a time, flowering is short-lived, from 12 to 20 hours. However, taking into account the number of peduncles on a bush and flowers in inflorescences, the duration of flowering in a plant can reach up to 15 to 25 days. Some species bloom at night.

The daylily is able to withstand temperatures down to -40°C in winter., however, because it is an early plant, its leaves may suffer from late frosts.

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cultivation

The agricultural technique of this plant is quite simple and easily repeatable in almost any region of the middle lane. However, the further south the daylily grows, the better it will be.

On the other hand, according to numerous reviews of flower growers, the plant from year to year has an increasing adaptation to the climate in which it is grown. For example, vegetation, in order to avoid the death of leaves from frost, begins a little later, and flowering occurs in the sunniest periods of summer, and so on.

The use of daylilies in landscape design

Such changes are typical for a large number of perennials, so this "behavior" is not unusual. But this should not be abused, since the normal life and flowering of the plant will occur under growing conditions that completely satisfy it.

Planting site and soil

Where exactly you can plant a particular daylily depends on its color. Light daylilies (white, yellow, pink, and others) prefer sunny places.They love direct sunlight; according to the recommendations of breeders and nursery owners, on a summer day, the daylily needs at least 6 hours of direct exposure to sunlight.

Daylilies of this color can grow in partial shade, and in the shadow, however, while its flowering will not be as abundant as if it grew on the sunny side. If the color of the daylily is red, purple, violet, and generally dark, then such a plant would be best in partial shade.

Daylily "dark" colors. Sort Jockey Club

Daylily grows best on loams of moderately loose structure, the layer of which exceeds 40 cm. Heavy clay soils require dilution with sand or compost, since the plant's root system, although powerful, does not like too dense soils. Naturally, loose soil necessarily implies good drainage.

The acidity of the soil should be close to neutral or slightly acidic. Strongly acidic soils are limed with chalk or lime. The introduction of ash is impractical.

Alkaline soils require "acidification" through the addition of peat and other substances that increase the level of acidity. The soil must be rich in organic matter; Chernozems are best suited, of course, for the daylily, however, in the absence of such, it is recommended to apply organic fertilizers to the soil in the form of compost or humus.

Blooming "dark" Spanish daylily. A small number of flowers in inflorescences indicates low soil fertility.

For a plant, stagnant water is critical, as it leads to the death of the root system. It should be avoided in every possible way, but with some reservations.

Therefore, stagnant water is especially dangerous after melting snow or heavy rain, when the plant is flooded with water 2-3 cm above the soil surface.. To avoid this, it is best to plant daylilies in raised beds.

Stagnant water critical for daylily

However, if your climate does not have this kind of "flooding", it is better not to do this. Since the stay of the plant on such a bed leads to overheating and overdrying of the root system, which automatically entails an increase in the number of waterings.

Planting a plant

After purchase, the plant is inspected for damaged roots and leaves. Dead and weakened roots should be completely removed.

Before planting, it is advisable to soak the daylily roots in a fertilizer solution for several hours. If the roots are very dry, such a procedure can last up to 2 days.

In this case, the soaking procedure must be done in a dark place, at a temperature not higher than + 23 ° Cotherwise the fertilizer in the solution will damage the roots.

Planting a daylily in open ground

After soaking in fertilizers, the roots are taken out, dried for a day, and then dipped in water with chopped willow branches for 4 hours. After that, the root is treated with a fungicide and planted in a hole 30-40 cm deep so that the root neck sticks out of the soil by 2-3 cm.

As such, the daylily has no planting dates - it takes root well and spring, both summer and autumn. The only thing that distinguishes autumn planting from others is the need to mulch the soil, as preparation for further sheltering the plant behind it for the winter.A month after planting, the first top dressing is introduced; it can be mineral or organic fertilizers dissolved in water.

Their nomes are standard for perennials (for example, up to 20 g superphosphate per 1 sq. m).

Watering the daylily

Without watering, the daylily is able to stretch almost all summer. Its root system is quite capable of coping with providing the plant with water, which is enough even for some kind of flowering. But in order for the daylily to “open up” to the full, it must be watered in sufficient quantities.

The amount of water for irrigation will depend on the composition of the soil, its friability and climatic conditions. In areas with an average amount of precipitation, it is enough to water the plant once every 3-5 days. The main requirement for watering - penetration of water to a depth of at least 50 cm.

Sandstones require additional watering. Watering must be done after any fertilization.

Daylilies will be a great addition to your garden.

During active vegetation, watering is carried out by irrigating the whole plant, and closer to the time of flowering, the daylily must be watered under the root, since water drops that fall on the buds can change their color to brown-spotted.

When purchasing this or that variety of daylily, you need to make sure what kind of daylily it is - “dry” or not.

top dressing

The plant perfectly tolerates various types of fertilizers and readily reacts to them. And vegetation, and budding, and flowering are perfectly enhanced with top dressing.

In top dressing of these plants, the standard fertilizer application scheme is also used:

It is preferable to apply fertilizers in an already dissolved form. At the same time, it is conditionally considered that 10-20 liters of water are required for one daylily, in which fertilizer is diluted.

Another way to apply fertilizer is as follows: fertilizers are applied under each bush, simply pouring them onto the ground, which is subsequently watered. Irrigation rates for fertilizer in this way are 20-40 liters per 1 sq. m.

This method is not very good, because it can lead to high local concentrations of fertilizer in the soil, which can cause chemical burns to the root system of the plant.

A separate problem may be the deficiency of certain microelements in the plant. Daylilies on poor soils may experience iron and boron deficiencies. Copper and other elements. Each of them has its own peculiarity, but they all appear in approximately the same way - the leaves, and especially the veins on them, characteristically change their color and appearance.

Manifestation of chlorosis. Daylily iron deficiency

In this case, it is recommended to use special fertilizer complexes containing the entire set of microelements necessary for the plant. It can be purchased at any flower shop.

Soil care around the plant

Daylily needs soil mulching. Since he is still a guest in our area, he needs to create conditions as close as possible to his relatives. This is especially true of its evergreen varieties in the first years of their acclimatization.

The main function of mulching is to retain moisture in daylily hybrids of recent decades and its evergreen forms. In addition, mulching prevents sharp temperature fluctuations in the soil in summer, protects the root system from frost in winter.

Soil mulching left over from last season

And another important function of mulching is to protect the daylily from weeds.

Usually, the following materials are used for mulching:

The first mulching in the warm season is done in late spring, with well-warmed soil. Here, the main function is also thermal protection, but not from the cold, but from the heat. Additional features are moisture retention and weed control.

In addition, mulching helps to avoid excessive splashing of water when watering, and prevents the formation of an earthen crust, allowing air to freely enter the roots.

reproduction

Daylily reproduces in almost all available ways. They include vegetative and seed propagation.

All of these methods (except the meristem method) have proven themselves excellently at home and can be used at the request of the gardener.

Propagation of the daylily by dividing the bush. Divided bush before planting

Reproduction by dividing the bush is carried out when signs of a clear growth of the root system are observed. The plant is dug up, if possible, its root system is preserved as much as possible, it is divided, and damaged and dead roots are removed.

The further procedure is similar to the previously described planting, with the only difference being that pre-soaking the plant in fertilizers is not necessary at this stage. You can plant plants at any time from April to October, with the exception of the period of budding and flowering.

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Daylily classifications

By genes

Daylilies are unique plants in their own way. One of their unique properties is ploidy, that is, the ability to form hybrids that can carry more chromosomes than normal plants.

Daylilies from the point of view of the gene structure are of the following varieties:

Thanks to such genetic variability, it has become possible for the birth of about 45 thousand species of daylilies over the past hundred years. The main breakthrough began in the 50s of the last century, when the first tetraploid hybrids were obtained.And since then, almost any cross-crossing of daylilies gives more and more new varieties that have stable characteristics from the first generation.

Each newly bred hybrid has its own pedigree, which reflects from which varieties and in what way it was bred. For example, Alpine Tranquility was developed by crossing two hybrids: Spectral Elegance and a Michael Miller hybrid.

Tetraploid daylily cultivar Alpine Tranquility

The whole variety of colors, sizes, shapes, types of leaf arrangement, etc. - the result of the excellent intraspecific variability of this plant, capable of accommodating more than two sets of chromosomes in cells.

Tetraploid plants have the following advantages over diploid ones:

But diploid plants also have their advantages:

According to the peculiarities of the vegetation

This classification divides daylilies on the basis of how horses spend winter time and how they then step into growth.

From the point of view of vegetative classification, there are:

Evergreen Daylily Arabian Magic

Naturally, it is deciduous daylilies that are most well adapted to our climate, since they do not need any adaptation inherent in other varieties.

The main problem of evergreen and semi-evergreen daylilies is the vulnerability of the growth cone of the plant to frost. Because of this, they can die in the first years without adaptation.

In order to avoid this, it is recommended to wrap such daylilies well for the first 2-3 years before wintering.

By flowering time

According to the name, daylilies in this classification are differentiated by flowering time:

Late Blooming Daylily Red Autumn

As a rule, a daylily flower blooms for one day, however, depending on the time of day, flowering can be divided into:

According to the size of the flowering stems

Depending on the length of the peduncle, daylilies are divided into:

Tall daylily cultivar Margo Reed

The vast majority of daylilies grown in our latitudes are medium-sized and tall plants. However, there is no direct relationship between daylily growth and its adaptability to climatic conditions.

Both among the tall and among the dwarfs there are a wide variety of daylilies of all other classifications.

By flower size

Large-flowered daylily of the Love Spell variety

Depending on the diameter of the flower, daylilies are divided into:

By smell

There are four groups, some distinguish daylilies by smell:

The aroma of most diploid daylilies is weakly expressed in autumn. It was only through selection that it was possible to obtain plants with a more or less pronounced aroma. They are mostly tetraploid hybrids. But, there are also diploid hybrids that have quite pronounced aromas.

Fragrant diploid daylily cultivar Hyperion

Basically, the aroma of daylilies is similar to either the aroma of lilacs or the smell of citrus plants. As a rule, it has a sweetish tint, not pronounced, without cloying.

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In the shape of a flower

Daylily in the wild

Perhaps the most frequently requested of all. Because daylily flowers have a wide variety of shapes. The easiest way to catalog them is this way. Consider this classification:

single form

Single daylily variety Memphis

The flower consists of three petals and three sepals, the number of stamens and pistils is 6 and 1, respectively. This group is the most numerous and the most popular among flower growers. The main directions of selection are carried out in it, since it is much easier to get some fixed dominant traits from single flowers than from others.

In turn, the single form is divided into:

Double shape or terry shape

Terry daylily type "flower in flower" variety Seyanets Anasenko

Such daylilies have additional petals, which is the main distinguishing feature. The degree of their terryness or quantity can vary greatly. In some cases, the density of the petals is so high that the flower resembles a peony. There are two types of terry daylilies:

Arachnids or spiders

Spider daylily. Grade Green Python

The length of the flower segments is much greater than their width, which creates the illusion of a huge colored spider. According to modern standards, the ratio of length to width for spiders should be no less than 5 to 1. For spider hybrids, this ratio is taken to be 4 to 1.

indefinite form

The shape of such flowers does not fall under any classification, or it has some exotic features. But you need to understand that the features relate solely to the shape of the flower, but do not affect its aroma, color or ploidy.

This class was specifically introduced to produce various extraordinary forms, most of which are spider hybrids that do not meet his standards.

Usually flowers of an indefinite shape have twisted petals, or some structural features. As a rule, this does not affect the aesthetics of the flower, but does not allow it to be attributed to any of the classical forms.

Daylily of an indefinite shape (spider with a non-standard shape of petals). Variety Prague Spring

In turn, the indefinite form is divided into:

polymer form

Resin daylily with four petals

Unlike classical flowers, which have 3 petals and 3 sepals, polymers can have 4 to 6 petals. Polymers can be both simple and terry. Most polymers are diploid. Currently, work is underway to obtain tetraploid polymers, however, success so far leaves much to be desired.

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Daylilies: description, classification of varieties, cultivation, care and reproduction (Photo & Video) + Reviews