Did you know that what you do with your daylilies after they bloom can not only help them stay healthy and strong all summer – but actually give them a great chance to rebloom again?
Daylilies are one of the most popular flowering perennials for home gardeners to grow. In addition to producing long lasting blooms that can light up a landscape, they also happen to be one of the hardiest and lowest maintenance perennials around.
Daylilies are one of the most drought resistant of all perennials – surviving through the driest conditions without the need for watering. And even better, they also have the luxury of being quite pest resistant as well.
But perhaps best of all, with the slightest bit of extra care – not only can you keep the foliage of your daylilies lush and green for the remainder of the summer after they bloom – you can also get them to bloom big once again!
What To Do With Daylilies After They Bloom – And How To Get Them To Rebloom!
Once the first flush of daylily flowers begins to fade from your plants, there are three simple tasks to perform that will help your plants keep their foliage bright and give them the best possible chance to rebloom.
The first and most important of those chores is deadheading. The second is to remove any seed heads that form on your plants. And the third and final chore is to give them a little dose of power with fertilizer. Here is an in-depth look at all three tasks – and how to perform them with ease!
Deadheading Blooms – What To Do With Daylilies After They Bloom!
One of the best ways to keep your daylilies strong and healthy all summer long is to regularly deadhead spent blooms. Deadheading is the simple task of cutting off blooms that have peaked and started to fade. And it helps your plants in more than just one way!
Depending on the variety, daylilies will usually bloom anywhere from a couple of weeks all the way up to well over a month. But what you do with those blooms as they finally start to die off will have a big impact on your plants.
First and foremost, by removing old flowers, your plants conserve more energy to help the remaining blooms last longer. The simple fact is, as long as an old bloom stays on the plant, it continues to take energy from it.
As blooms start to fade, the plant naturally continues to burn nutrients and power to try to repair the bloom. Even though no amount of energy will ever save it.
Instead of this energy going toward producing new blooms, it’s wasted on the spent blooms. And the longer the blooms are allowed to stay on the plant, the more precious resources are wasted.
That is exactly why as soon as blooms start to fade, it’s time to snip the bloom stem back to the base!
Removing Seed Heads – What To Do With Daylilies After They Bloom
In addition to deadheading blooms, you also need to prevent daylilies from forming seed heads. Seed heads also begin to form as daylilies stop flowering. And if left in place and allowed to form, they can keep your daylilies from reblooming.
Sometimes called scapes, the stems are not required for plants to survive. They are instead a way for the plant to produce seeds to create new plants. The problem is – they wind up using even more precious energy and resources from plants as they form.
To help plants have enough power to push out a second bloom, it’s always best to remove these seed heads as quickly as you can.
Once you start to see a seed head form, simply follow it back all the way to the ground. Cut it off as close to the soil as possible using a pair of clean pruners. Product Link: Fiskars Bypass Pruning Shears Garden Clippers
Why is it important to cut back all the way to the base of the plant? Because if you only remove the top of the scape and leave behind the long stem, the plants will still continue to send resources to it. Once again, it will continue to drain nutrients from your daylilies.
Feeding Plants To Rebloom – What To Do With Daylilies After They Bloom
Even though daylilies don’t use a lot of nutrients from the soil, they still benefit greatly from a dose of fertilizer after blooming. Especially if your goal is a second bloom! This nutrient boost helps plants recover from blooming while also keeping the foliage looking healthy.
Feeding your plants a fertilizer after they bloom also helps plants start to store energy and nutrients for the following season as well. That, of course, helps to have an ever stronger bloom set next summer.
Use an all-purpose, balanced granular fertilizer around the base of plants. Simply sprinkle it around the foliage, making sure to brush off any granules that remain on the foliage. Affiliate Product Link: Natural Alternative 5-5-5 All-Purpose Starter Plant Food
After fertilizing, it’s a great idea to water plants to wash any off fertilizer residue from the foliage. If left in place, it can burn the foliage. Alternatively, you can use worm castings to accomplish the same fertilizing task naturally. About 1/8th of a cup of castings per plant will do the trick. Product Link: Back to the Roots Worm Castings
As you water plants or it rains, the nutrients from the fertilizer or castings will slowly leech into the soil. As it does, it then absorbs easily into the plant’s roots. This provides plants with a steady supply of nutrients for storing or reblooming.
Always avoid applying fertilizer in early or late fall. By this point, any new growth that occurs from the nutrient boost might withstand damage during the winter. See our article: What To Do With Daylilies Before Winter
Daylilies That Can Rebloom – What To Do With Daylilies After They Bloom
Although most can, not all daylily varieties are able to bloom a second time. Below is a list of some of the most popular varieties of daylilies that can quite easily send up a second set of flowers.
Stella De Oro – This is one of the most popular and well-known daylily varieties. It produces bright yellow blooms that can appear to last from May all the way until the first frost. Product Link: Stella D’oro Yellow Daylilies
Purple De Oro. Similarly to the Stella De Oro, the Purple De Oro daylilies produce three inch blooms. But as the name indicates, they are in beautiful purple hues. The second bloom will not be as intense, but will still be full of big flower power!
Miss Amelia. Looking for a daylily that provides blooms for over 100 days? Miss Amelia is the plant for you! Its pale yellow blooms look almost white from a distance and create a stunning border display when planted in groups.
Pardon Me. For reblooming red daylily varieties, Pardon Me flowers are the perfect choice. They produce stunning dark burgundy-red blooms and can rebloom with ease. Product Link: Double Flowering Pardon Me Daylily Root
Here is to getting your daylilies to stay strong and healthy this year after they bloom – and giving them the best possible chance to rebloom and send up a second set of gorgeous flowers this summer!
Simple Garden Life
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