Daylily Division

This is the year I discovered the daylily. I have always known about daylily having several 'Stella D'Oro' that I was not impressed with and had seen many, many varieties that I felt were equally unimpressive. It started with Linda's 'Frans Hals' and progressed to Alison's Red and my unknown above. Somehow, these bright colours from the Fall palette have converted me to a daylily lover. This week, I came upon an article in a recent issue of Canadian Gardening on the daylily and learned two very interesting facts. One of which turned out to be critical for the survival of my daylily since my new found fondness has got me determined to divide them this year so they will spread throughout the Sun Gardens next year.

Fact one is that some daylily are nocturnal, opening in late afternoon and remaining open until the next morning. This would be more interesting were I planning an evening wedding in my garden but is still a fun fact I am glad they included. Unfortunately, there were no nocturnal varieties listed.

Fact two is much more helpful for my garden because I tend to divide when I find time rather than following the old adage that I can never remember about spring blooming and fall blooming division times. According to the grower (who, from the photographs, clearly knows what he is doing with daylily), you have to divide Daylily at least one month prior to the first hard frost in your location. This is so they can have enough time to build up their sugars before they go into full dormancy. This is a critical fact in my garden because frost comes early and I work right up to it.

I am so glad I found this article now. For me, this means I need to start daylily dividing today. The fact that Canadian Gardening saved all the daylily I have out in my garden, more than justifies my regular over-spending at the magazine stand :)