I have a question about fiber pots - the larger ones that also have handles.

Has anyone tried to grow daylilies in them for a 2-3 year period? I have been 'acquiring' some daylilies recently and want some for my daughter's house here in northern VA. I spend several months at a time here.

Several issues: Her yard is mostly shady, and clay. Also, my marine son in law will be retiring in about 2 years, and they will be moving back to the Midwest - so I want the ability to bring whatever daylilies I 'acquire' ( yes, I've been on the auction to come back with her. If they were going to be here for a longer period of time, then I would make different choices.

All comments, thoughts and suggestions are appreciated. Thanks,
~Jan

There's a possibility that they may be fine in humid, rainy areas, but they're a no-go in California.
I tried some 3 and 5 gallon fabric bags a few years ago. I liked the appearance, compared to black nursery containers, and the handles are convenient, but the daylilies didn't like them. Daylilies thrive on an unimpeded, continuously growing root system, and the woven bags seem to act as a root-pruner. They also dried out quickly. I ended up lining the bags with plastic in order to be able to use them.

Thank you. This is some of the info I need. Do you still have daylilies in pots? If so, what have you found that works?

I like the price on the fabric pots, and the convenience, but also don't want to make more work for the family during the times I am not here.

If you are going to be burying these fiber pots in the ground for thermal insulation over winter(s), then you will be digging holes for them. When moving time comes you will have several holes in the yard that need filled back in again.

This is identically true if you just buried them in the ground from the word "go", then dug them back up when it was time to move. Indeed, with either situation you would be able to wash and dry the roots, and trim the leaves for super-easy hassle-free transport.

A 3rd option may be a raised planter or 2 (e.g. 4-feet by 3-feet by 1 foot). It also avoids the harsh clay, and you can just abandon them when moving time comes (or disassemble them).

I would doubt you would want to bring all the fiber pots filled with dirt and plants with you for moving. That would be very heavy, and take up tons of space.

Most of my daylilies are in pots, mostly 2-gallon, 3-gallon, and 5-gallon black nursery containers. I've tried larger containers, but the small difference in growth isn't worth the expense of filling them with potting soil, since the soil breaks down and requires replacement every couple of years. The 5-gallon nursery pot seems to have the ideal height-width proportion for good growth. Because it's dry here, I have saucers under most of them once they become root-bound.

I overlooked the transportation part of your question. There are a lot of options, depending on the number of plants involved.

After a couple of years, they will probably have 'favorites', meaning that all of the daylilies might not have to make the trip back.
Depending on the time of year and other relocation restraints, it may be more practical to dig/divide the daylilies they want to keep and transport them moist and nearly bare-root in plastic shopping sacks. After the move, more potting mix can be stuffed in the bags and they can be heeled-in that way until planted.

Great information here! Pots at this location because not only is the dirt clay, but it is very rocky, from gravel to larger rocks. The kids here have a small sunny area with raised beds for their vegetable garden - I don't want to use one of those, I am hoping to use pots around the garden fencing.

I agree about the transporting when they move back, but will cross that bridge when I come to it in 2 years or so. I also agree, some of the daylilies might be ones I have high hopes for, but may end up disappointing me.

When I sold my house 18 months ago, it was with the restriction that I would remove any flowers I wanted from any of my 10 flower beds. I managed to rehome about 20% before I ran out of time. I would do the same here.

Winter has been very warm here this year (20 miles south of DC) it wouldn't surprise me if it was hot here this summer. Hope not.

Thank you, ~Jan