FLIMBY: Daylilies are perfect for water-wise gardens (and a lot more)

This is another installment in our Flowers in My Back Yard series, devoted to blooming plants.

This perennial may be the Sacramento gardener’s dream plant. It’s easy to care for, thrives in almost any soil (with limited water) and blooms like crazy all summer long.

It’s only drawback? Each flower lasts only a day. That’s no problem, since each stem of these bulletproof plants are packed with buds.

Daylilies, a familiar sight in California landscapes, offer a rainbow of color (in countless combinations) for the water-wise garden. They’re resilient as well as relatively pest free and super-easy to propagate.

Daylilies reflect their botanical name, Hemerocallis, a combination of the Greek words for “day” and “beauty.” True to its name, each flower stays open for only one day, but each of the flower stems has 10 to 15 buds and mature plants produce at least four to six flower stems each summer. (In theory, that’s up to 90 daily blooms – what other summer flowers can do that?)

Although they don’t need deadheading, removing spent flower stems after all the buds have bloomed can prompt the plant to produce more stems – and more buds.

Despite their flower shape, daylilies are not actually lilies – and that’s a good thing. True lilies (members of the Lilium genus) are toxic to people and pets. Daylilies are not. Their buds and flower petals are edible. (They taste vaguely like asparagus; unfortunately, deer like them, too.)

Daylilies are native throughout Asia and central Europe. More than 80,000 named varieties trace back to China and Japan. Yellow daylilies originally came from Eastern Europe.

No daylilies are native to the United States, but they sure like it here. The common orange daylily was brought by early European immigrants to North America and rapidly naturalized. (It’s now considered invasive in Eastern states.)

In fact, daylilies may be the hardiest of all perennials. Depending on variety, they’re hardy from USDA Zones 2 to 11. They can withstand brutal winters as well as intense summer heat and drought. They thrive in hot, dry climates as well as cool (and rainy) coastal zones.

They’ll grow almost anywhere – in heavy clay, rich loam, rocky slope or cramped pot. Their thick underground tubers form a web that can hold soil in place – great for erosion control on slopes.

Although they prefer good drainage (to avoid rotting those tubers), daylilies can withstand soggy conditions for weeks or longer, which makes them an excellent choice for rain gardens and landscaping around ponds.

Among the many thousands of daylily varieties available, the most common in the Sacramento region is ‘Stella d’Oro’ (which means “gold star”). It’s a warm golden shade and constant bloomer. Once established, it comes back summer after summer with little thought or attention.

Now – while daylilies are in bloom – is the time to shop for these beautiful plants. Their flowers range from almost creamy white to dark purple with loads of sunny yellows, oranges and reds in between. Over generations, hybridizers have toyed with petal shapes and patterns, creating almost infinite combinations. Flowers may be single, double or triple; ruffled or plain; rounded or pointy; single shade or multi-toned. “Spider” varieties have long, thin petals like spider legs. The plants themselves remain compact, usually under 2 feet tall and wide.

Whatever the flower shape or color, all daylilies have the same basic need: Sun. They prefer at least six to eight hours a day to bloom consistently.

When transplanting, dig a little compost into the planting hole; the daylily will be growing in that spot for a long time. Transplant so the tubers are covered by about an inch of soil. Water after transplanting and then once a week or as needed through the summer. Once established, cut back to twice monthly irrigation.

Daylilies need very little if any fertilization. If plants lose their vitality, refresh them with a little aged compost in spring.

Lack of daylily vigor usually means its time for division; the tubers are competing for space. Like other perennials, daylilies benefit from division, usually every five years after the plant has finished blooming in early fall.

Dig up the entire clump and break apart the tubers into three or four new clumps, leaving a few strong roots and leaves on each new clump. Replant (or pot up) and water.

Expect daylilies to die back after blooming. That’s totally normal. Remove the dead foliage to keep plants looking tidy. (Just remember where they’re growing.)

Some varieties stay evergreen and keep their lush appearance all winter.

Amador Flower Farm

Want to see a lot of daylilies – and take some plants home, too? During June, more than a million flowers greet visitors to Amador Flower Farm, a daylily mecca in the Sierra foothills.

Located in the heart of Amador wine country in Plymouth and surrounded by vineyards, the 14-acre flower farm invites visitors to take a garden break from wine tasting and relax under 300-year-old heritage oaks. Besides the vast daylily fields, see four acres of landscaped demonstration gardens with examples of how to incorporate more water-wise daylilies and other perennials into suburban gardens.

The farm’s nursery offers more than 1,000 varieties of daylilies for sale and many more varieties grow in the fields.

In past years, the farm hosted its annual Daylily Days in mid-June, a tradition that lasted more than 20 years. But with the permanent closure of the Deaver family’s wine tasting room, this year’s Daylily Days was canceled.

Instead, visitors are welcome to roam the property on their own, picking out their favorite daylilies from the thousands of examples. The farm and nursery are open seven days a week, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission and parking are free.

Amador Flower Farm is located at 22001 Shenandoah School Road, Plymouth, about an hour from downtown Sacramento.

From Sacramento, take Jackson Road (Highway 16) east towards Plymouth, merging onto Highway 49 for 2.4 miles. At the roundabout, take the first right onto E16/Shenandoah Road. Continue 4.2 miles and turn right on Shenandoah School Road. Call 209-245-6660 for more information (or if you get lost).