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Full Sun:
For the best quality plants & flowers, daylilies should be grown in
full sun, though they will tolerate light shade. In heavier shade,
the plants will flower very little and may even decline and wither
away.
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Water:
Although daylilies can tolerate drought, they perform best when they
receive a deep watering of an inch of water several times per week.
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Planting Beds:
The unpotted daylilies may be planted directly in an hole excavated in
the existing native soil of the installation site. However, with
South Florida’s generally poor soils, for long-term success, it is
much better to make a 6”- high raised bed of a water-retentive
topsoil. Form the bed, excavate planting cavities and plant the
unpotted plants in the bed above the underlying native soil. Daylilies
are strong, aggressive
growers and the roots will quickly grow into the topsoil and below.
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Soil: Daylilies grow best in
slightly acidic, well drained soil which has a high organic content
and a pH of about 6.0 to 6.5.
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Nutrition: Daylilies love nitrogen (the first of the three
fertilizer
numbers). Once a year apply a long-lasting (12 or16-month)
timed-release, high nitrogen fertilizer, such as an 18-6-12 mix,
a small handful per plant. Fertilizer may
be safely applied at any time of the year.
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Plant Spacing: Plant the daylilies about 16”-18” on center, which is about one
plant for every two square feet of planting bed.
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Planting Level: Do not bury the crown of a daylily plant. Plant the
unpotted daylily
so that the level of soil in the pot is level with (or even a bit
higher than) the finished grade of the planting bed.
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Mulching: A good mulch of wood
chips or bark will help to preserve the moisture in the summer, as
well as helping to control the weeds.
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Long-term Success:
Daylilies may be
divided every three to four years. The best time to transplant or
divide plants is in the cool months of the year. Dig up the entire
plant, lay the clump on its side and cut the root mass in
quarters with a shovel or a large serrated knife and individually replant the four
resulting clumps.
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