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Daylilies : Getting Through the Dog Days of Summer
In order to bring you new flowers every day during the bloom season, Daylilies need lots of water. While our area is prone to afternoon thunderstorms, they are usually not long enough to provide the moisture your plants need. On a typical hot summer day, the water will evaporate before it has a chance to soak into the soil sufficiently. A long , slow drink of water is in order.
Many gardeners like to use soaker hoses or drip irrigation devices to water their Daylilies. Most prefer to water in the evening as well. Sprinklers are okay but can cause unsightly blotchy spotting on darker colored blooms or on nocturnal varieties (blooms that open the night before). Regardless of your method, water long and gently so the moisture soaks deep down into the soil. A healthy layering of mulch will help your soil to retain moisture.
New Varieties for 1999:The National Garden Bureau
Gardeners are looking for new plants every year. Here are new flowers and vegetables that will be featured in 1999 mail order seed catalogs, seed packets or as bedding plants at garden centers. The varieties are listed alphabetically by class, with the seed source listed in parentheses after the description. The designation ‘R’ means a retail seed company from which gardeners may purchase seed directly by mail order or also in stores that carry the variety in seed packets. A’W’ designation indicates a wholesale seed company which does not sell directly to home gardeners, but these varieties should be available in catalogs or as bedding plants at garden centers next spring.
New Varieties for 2000:from The National Garden Bureau
Gardeners are looking for new plants every year. Here are new flowers and vegetables that will be featured in 2000 mail order seed catalogs, seed packets or as bedding plants at garden centers. The varieties are listed al-phabetically by class, with the seed source listed in parentheses after the description. The designation “R” means a retail seed company from which gardeners may purchase seed directly by mail order or also in stores that carry the variety in seed packets. A “W” designation indicates a wholesale seed company which does not sell directly to home gardeners, but these varieties should be available in catalogs or as bedding plants at garden centers next spring.
Some Like It Hot!
What’s hotter than a red-hot Chile pepper? You guessed it - Red Hot Pokers (Kniphofia sp.). These wonderful, colorful structural plants were one of the favorite plants of Gertrude Jekyll, famous English garden designer. This very hardy plant (USDA Hardiness Zones 5 to 9; AHS Heat Zones 9 to 1) grows in full sun and good garden loam. Do not plant Red Hot Pokers in heavy clay soils with poor drainage or your plants will either do very poorly or just give up and die.
Daylilies : Lovelier Than Ever
Mom’s old Daylily patch was indestructible yet ephemeral. The plants withstood our tiny, trampling feet, but the flowers came and went with the mid-July sun. In the morning, peachcolored buds opened wide, revealing orange petals and yellow throats. But by late afternoon they were gone - shriveled, twisted and rusty-brown. In a few weeks, the blossoms disappeared entirely.
Today’s Daylilies are just as tough as mother’s old ones. But their brief summer show has been extended. Each flower still lasts a single day, owing to both their common and horticultural name. (Hemerocallis in Greek means “beautiful for one day.”) However, instead of flowering for two short weeks, today’s hybrids start blooming in late June and last up to six weeks. Then, after deadheading and an application of fertilizer, some can launch an encore performance that stretches into late September.
A Tisket a Tasket :I’ve got daisies in my basket
There’s something pretty wonderful about having a variety of daisies in your garden. They are user friendly, cheerful and easy to grow. They look charming plunked in a vase - my apologies to real flower arrangers.
As children, all of us have delighted in picking a bouquet of daisies growing along the roadside or in an open field as a special present for our mothers. As adults, these flowers evoke great memories and bring a smile to our faces.
