I bet you can’t grow just one day lily. Forget about those “ditch lilies,” the tall, orange species that spreads like wildfire and makes you think you don’t like day lilies.
That’s a particular species, Hemerocallis fulva, and it’s not the be-all and end-all of day lilies.
SEE ALSO: Day lillies that are more than blooms
With something like 60,000 named cultivars (yes, you read that correctly, sixty thousand), there are all kinds of fantastic day lilies for every garden.
First, a little botanical clarification. Day lilies are not lilies.
Confused? In a nutshell, rue lilies grow from a bulb, with leaves around a central stalk, from which the flower buds also develop near the top of the stem.
Day lilies grow from fleshy roots, have grasslike foliage and produce special stems called scapes, on which the flower buds form. Each day lily flower lasts only a day, which is reflected in the botanical name, Hemerocallis, meaning “beauty for a day.”
True lilies can be plagued by scarlet lily beetle; day lilies are not, although deer find them delicious, unfortunately.
Day lilies come in a huge array of plant heights, flower sizes and colours, with true blue and pure black being the only colours that haven’t yet been developed.
Day lily breeders are always hybridizing and selecting for specific traits, including number of blooms on each scape, flower size, shape or colours.
Some day lilies have fancy edges to their petals, often in a contrasting colour to the main colour; many have gorgeous shadings on their petals in several hues.
You can see why it’s pretty much impossible to grow only one day lily! I had over 100 different cultivars in my previous garden; in my new planting, I’m rather more restrained, with only about two dozen. So far.
Most local nurseries carry some day lilies, but to acquire more unusual types, you’ll have to visit a specialty nursery.
Happily, we have a number of nurseries and hybridizers in Nova Scotia, including Canning Daylily Gardens, Pereaux; Carol’s Daylilies, Newport Corner; Don’s Daylily Hybrids, Petite Riviere; Harbour Breezes, Salmon River Bridge; Nova Scotia Daylilies, Upper LaHave; and Pheasant Gardens, Salmon River.
These are all seriously knowledgeable and enthusiastic day lily growers, dedicated to developing new varieties as well as selling spectacular plants from other breeders.
I haven’t made it to all of these nurseries yet — but the summer isn’t over yet.
To really feed your day lily enthusiasms, consider joining the Nova Scotia Daylily Society, which holds meetings on the second Thursday of each month at First United Baptist Church, 1839 Hammonds Plains Rd.
President Carla Heggie says the club, part of the American Hemerocallis Society, has over 125 members. Each July the club hosts Daylily Daze, an entertaining day of sales, workshops and camaraderie that this year was only slightly hampered by the arrival of post-tropical storm Arthur the same day.
If you need more inspiration, or just want to feed your habit, several of the local breeders are having sales and open garden events now.
•Harbour Breezes’ sale started Friday and continues to Aug. 10
•Canning Daylily Gardens Open House Week (and peak bloom period) runs to Aug. 1.
•This weekend is also open house at Carol Harvey’s in Newport Corner and at Cecil Dunlop’s (Pheasant Gardens) in Salmon River.
JUST ONE OR THREE OR 17...
Picking one favourite day lily is like asking a mother which is her favourite child. Despite that, here is a bouquet of varieties to look for:
Atlanta Full House: Yellow with green throat, long bloom period.
Bela Lugosi: Deep purple with a gold-green throat.
Canadian Border Patrol: Soft yellow petals with deep purple-wine eye and edging. Reblooms.
Creature of the Night: Deep purple, spider form with white midrib and creamy yellow throat.
Destined to See: Cream pink petals, purple edging and eyezone. Fragrant and long-blooming.
First Officer’s Log: My own favourite, soft pink with deep violet-bluish eye and green throat.
Forever the Optimist: Fragrant rebloomer hybridized by Don Longton and named to honour his late twin brother, deep rose with a ruffled cream edging.
Happy Returns: Small, pale yellow rebloomer that blooms until frost.
Lake Normal Spider: Rose pink with cream pink eyezone, green throat, fragrant and long-blooming.
Louise Mercer: Rich rose pink with a white midrib through each petal.
Night Embers: Double-flowered deep red with yellow edging, reblooms.
Orchid Elegance: Wayne Ward of Canning Daylily Gardens says this is his favourite, as there is nothing else quite like it. Orchid pink with lavender blue eye, green throat.
Rocket Booster: Brilliant red with yellow-green throat, reblooms.