Deadhead daylilies?
 

Sorry for the elementary question. Should one deadhead daylilies?

Harlan

"HH" wrote in message
...
Sorry for the elementary question. Should one deadhead daylilies?

I do. It puts the energy into developing the plant, not making seeds.

I do not believe deadheading has any effect on providing more energy for the
plant to bloom. If you want performance out of the plant then feed it
properly in spring and water it well. Also, plant it is the sun and a good
soil blend. I intentionally try set seed pods on the daylilies and have not
observed decreased growth of my plants. With good cultural practices in
place the daylily will perform well and will not be stressed in the
slightest because of some spent blooms.

BTW, I do deadhead the daylilies everyday so that I do not have to look at
the spent blooms. I cut them off high enough so that the pod will mature.

Bobby
Happy Moose Gardens
http://happymoosegardens.com

HH wrote:

Sorry for the elementary question. Should one deadhead daylilies?

Harlan

I prefer the term "groom". I remove the seed pods as they form. I
first had to learn how to distinguish them from flower buds since
small pods and small buds look quite similar. I just snap the pods
off their stem.

When a stem is through blooming -- no more flower buds -- I cut it
back to where the foliage hides what remains. Several weeks later,
the stump has dried. Then, I can usually pull it loose.

I don't know if grooming makes the plant more vigorous, but it does
improve its appearance. Other plants do indeed grow and flower
more vigorously if groomed. For example, some roses will stop
flowering if pips (rose fruits) are allowed to form.

--

David E. Ross
URL:http://www.rossde.com/

I use Mozilla as my Web browser because I want a browser that
complies with Web standards. See URL:http://www.mozilla.org/.

In article , "Happy Moose"
wrote:

I do not believe deadheading has any effect on providing more energy for the
plant to bloom. If you want performance out of the plant then feed it
properly in spring and water it well. Also, plant it is the sun and a good
soil blend. I intentionally try set seed pods on the daylilies and have not
observed decreased growth of my plants. With good cultural practices in
place the daylily will perform well and will not be stressed in the
slightest because of some spent blooms.

BTW, I do deadhead the daylilies everyday so that I do not have to look at
the spent blooms. I cut them off high enough so that the pod will mature.

Bobby
Happy Moose Gardens
http://happymoosegardens.com

Possibly a sterile triploid would shopw no difference whether or not
deadheaded, though producing sterile pods probably expends some energy
too. A fully fertile variety definitely will put more energy into its
blooms for a lengthened bloom season, & in its roots thereafter for a
bigger clump with more blooms the following year. Some varieties rebloom
later in the year & will be more inclined to do so if they don't go to
seed the first time, as from the plant's point of view it's "done for the
year" if it already produced seeds. The best way to test this would be to
compare habits of rebloomers & assess the vigorousness of the second
bloom.

It does take a great deal of energy to bring fertile pods to ripeness &
that's energy that could go to the root system. But daylilies tend to be
so vigorous in any case, with the wilder almost invasive, so it might only
be a difference between extremely vigorous & extra-extremely vigorous for
the non-rebloomers, & it might even be a good thing to let them seed so as
to slow them down or they'll need division every bloody year.

-paghat the ratgirl
--
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"In every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to
liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot." -Thomas Jefferson

"David Ross" wrote in message
...
HH wrote:

Sorry for the elementary question. Should one deadhead daylilies?

Harlan

I prefer the term "groom". I remove the seed pods as they form. I
first had to learn how to distinguish them from flower buds since
small pods and small buds look quite similar. I just snap the pods
off their stem.

*****Now that's what I must learn as well. This is my first experience with
daylilies, and I must be sure I'm not removing buds!

When a stem is through blooming -- no more flower buds -- I cut it
back to where the foliage hides what remains. Several weeks later,
the stump has dried. Then, I can usually pull it loose.

I don't know if grooming makes the plant more vigorous, but it does
improve its appearance. Other plants do indeed grow and flower
more vigorously if groomed. For example, some roses will stop
flowering if pips (rose fruits) are allowed to form.

--

David E. Ross
URL:http://www.rossde.com/

I use Mozilla as my Web browser because I want a browser that
complies with Web standards. See URL:http://www.mozilla.org/.