| My stella d'oro daylilly stops flowering mid July and I only get a bloom here and there on the repeate bloom. What should I do to encourage more blooms?Also what should I do with the dried stalks of spent blooms?Also there is a lot of dried ends on the foliage. |
| The repeat blooming daylilies such as this must be kept growing vigorously to encourage additional blooms. This means they need full sun all day, rich soil, and adequate soil moisture. The soil should be kept evenly moist like a wrung out sponge, not sopping wet and not dried out. Using an organic mulch helps keep the soil moist and also helps feed the soil slowly over time as it breaks down. Also, they need to be divided regularly, typically every other year, to keep the clumps strong and encourage new growth. Deadheading or removing the spent flowers, should be done often (every day is best), this prevents the plant from wasting any energy on seed production. The tall wiry scapes or stems should also be removed once all the flowers on it have opened. Cut it off at the base. Regular watering should help with the discolored foliage tips. Also be sure you are not overfertilizing. Although these like rich soil, oversupplying with nitrogen stresses the plants. Topdressing with compost and using a slow release granular fertilizer per the label directions, combined with organic mulch and regular watering as needed to supplement rain, and dividing often should all help encourage rebloom. There are also some newer reblooming varieties that rebloom more heavily if that is important to you. |
