What's Blooming in June: Daylilies

Daylily Display at the Gardens on Spring Creek

What's Blooming in June:  Daylilies

by Jonathan Poulton and Missy Schoenbaum, Northern Colorado Daylily Club 

If you were to ask members of the Northern Colorado Daylily Club (NCDC) what might be a perfect perennial for our part of the Centennial State, their unequivocal and enthusiastic answer would be daylilies (Hemerocallis species)!  They would argue that these beautiful plants grow quickly, are long lived, and are easy to maintain and propagate. They thrive in most soils, do best in full sun, and are rarely troubled by disease or insect pests. 

 Despite what many people think, daylilies are not native to North America. Today’s daylilies are derived from 20-25 species that were originally native to the Far East (China, Mongolia, Japan, Northern India and Korea), where for millennia they were cultivated as a food source and for medicinal purposes. 

During the 1500s, these plants were brought by traders to Europe and, not long afterwards, early colonists transported them across the Atlantic to North America. The only colors displayed by such daylilies were yellow, orange and fulvous-red but, beginning about 1900, breeders used them as starting points in their hybridization efforts and astoundingly have now produced over 94,000 different cultivars. As our illustrations readily demonstrate, 21st-century daylilies show amazing diversity in their plant height and in the appearance, size and coloration of their blooms. All introduced cultivars are registered with the American Daylily Society (ADS, formerly American Hemerocallis Society), which maintains the international daylily database. 

Daylily diversity, as illustrated by seedlings generated by Jonathan Poulton through his hybridization program

“Where can I see local examples of this daylily diversity?” you may ask. The short answer is “Not far away!”.  Indeed, a wide array of daylilies can be found at the Gardens on Spring Creek in the American Daylily Society Display Garden located behind the main building. As regards the origin of that Display Garden, we should acknowledge the work and dedication of the late Jean Dietemann, who was an early Gardens volunteer with a passion for daylilies. Jean secured a location in the Gardens and was assisted by many other NCDC members including Dave Bowden, Dwaine Kurtz, and Elaine Spencer. Planting began in the summer of 2009. Members contributed plants that would serve as the starting point for the daylily garden. 

The soil was challenging, so each planting area was amended with compost. Over several weekends, the members worked to give each plant the best environment possible to thrive in this new location. The north side of the daylily bed honors our local hybridizers. These are individuals that have worked to create new daylily cultivars by crossbreeding. These plants are especially suited to the cold, dry winters in the High Plains. Introduced cultivars from Ned Roberts, Sabine Baur, Bill Crawford, Dave Bowden and Paul Genho are highlighted in this area. In the center of the main daylily bed is a watchful statue of a crow. Called "The Sentinel”, this statue was handcrafted and donated by Carl Wilmsen, who served as NCDC treasurer for many years. The crow guards the lovely plants that have thrived in this special spot since 2009. 

"The Sentinel" statue in the Daylily Display Garden at the Gardens on Spring Creek

You are encouraged to take advantage of a bench memorial for Jean Deitemann, who passed away in 2015. Nearby is Jean’s daylily cultivar “Flattypus” that she registered in 2011. The name is descriptive of the flat form of its bloom, whose color is red-orange with a gold throat. Without Jean’s hard work, the daylily garden would not have happened. Official Display Garden status was awarded by the ADS in 2013, and work continues in the garden as members add new and interesting cultivars. This spring, NCDC volunteers replaced 30 older cultivars with varieties that better reflect modern daylilies, including “Exotic Starfish” (Gossard, 2013) and “Una de Gato” (Genho, 2017). The club is extremely grateful to the Gardens on Spring Creek for providing support to keep the daylily garden looking its best. 

We encourage you to visit our Daylily Display Garden this summer. Peak bloom time varies from year to year depending on weather conditions. In Colorado, some daylily cultivars may bloom as early as in June, while other cultivars continue blooming until the first frost. While exact dates vary, the expected peak bloom is usually the second or third week in July. This year has been unusually hot in June, so the peak may come earlier than normal. If you have questions regarding daylily cultivation or hybridization, please feel free to contact NCDC President Cathy Chiavetta by e-mail or phone at 970.213.1555. 

We also encourage you to join NCDC. More information about NCDC can be obtained by visiting our Facebook page. Founded in the early 1990’s, our club has the primary goal of promoting daylily cultivation through meetings and garden tours, educational programs, invited speakers and public sales. Meetings are open to the public, and guests are welcome. Membership is free. Becoming a member is an excellent way to learn more about daylilies and what they have to offer your garden.