That sounds good, come to think I had thrown some Millorganite on the top of some potted plants and it seemed to stunt them and they did not look good after that. I will save the Millorganite to toss around the outside of the beds to keep the rabbits away. I will probably get the osmocote. I have 10-10-10 also and the Hostas seemed to like it and responded well to it. But the middle number would probably be too much for the daylilies, correct?

It really depends on your soil. Some people use the 10-10-10 (or 20-20-20) in some areas for their daylilies and swear by it. But we here in this neck of the woods we try and use a 3-1-2 ratio like 24-8-16 (miracle gro ratio) because we don't need the phosphorus added to our soils because it can cause a build up of it. The 3-1-2 ratio is said to be the right ratio for daylilies. You could try the 10-10-10 since you already have it and already use it and see how the daylilies respond.

YAY!!! New future addicts are joining in!!! to all of you!

I should have mentioned that I'm only a backyard hybridizer, just for myself, and have no plans on registering any plants. If I do, it will just be to honor someone I love. I have no intentions of being a daylily or seed seller either. I just love daylilies, and making something new is really fun! I'm known around my neighborhood as the lady who gets tired of her plants and gives them away, but the only daylilies that have been given away were to my Dad. He seems to have gotten addicted in the last few months, once they started blooming for him, and now he is going to try hybridizing too. Or as he says, he's going to try hybernizing them. It's such an easy plant to work with, and when I read how easy they were to hybridize, I had to try it! Now I'm hooked!

Just to warn you in advance, some people on here are total enablers, and will have you coveting thy neighbors flowers!

Enabling isn't a strong enough word for what we all do

If ya'll didn't know I'm pretty new to all this also. I've only had daylilies since late summer/fall 2010 and this will be my second season hybridizing. I do learn a lot from all of ya'll and I still make mistakes (I'm still kicking myself for the milorganite incident :sad:) that I should know better than to make.

We all learn together and even the newbies can teach an oldie a few things sometimes.

I'm also a backyard hybridizer. Have been doing this for 4-5 years, and
learning the hard way, from trial and oh so many errors. No one locally that
I know of does this, so off I go to the internet for direction. Looked through
lots of sites and this is the one I chose. IMHO, this is THE place to be.

Whether you are hybridizing, collecting, or simply adding plants to
your landscape, just beginning or a long time gardener, it's all here.
If you wish to share your photos, the ease of uploading is fantastic.
The display of them is as well, and we love to look at them.

I'm kind of a newbie, less than a year since joining, and wishing I had
found this earlier. So much sharing if that is what you wish, so much
learning if that is what you wish, and so many friendly folks to do
it all with.

One of the reasons I was drawn here was because of Dot in Texas. She grows daylilies in pots. Not all of us have the space or the soil composition to grow daylillies in the ground. The culture needed for growing daylilies in pots to me would be a fascinating topic and might encourage others to investigate a plant that they might not otherwise think about. I have grown many, many roses in containers over the years and consider daylilies more of a challenge in containers then roses because of their different cultural requirements. But if I didn't grow daylilies in containers I'd be stuck with about 5 or so in ground daylily plants and would absolutely bore myself to death. I hope some one thinks to include we container growers (won't say pot growers for obvious reasons) in the discussion......Maryl

Pot growers! That is so funny, Maryl. It is funny to me because I have often
thought the helicopters flying overhead might see the potted seeds when
I used to place them on the driveway before bringing them in the house for
winter, and think I might be growing something else with so many pots out there.
I no longer do that because I heat the soil to avoid fungus gnats, so cannot leave them outside.

I do envy you guys who can grow your mature plants in pots. I would rather
do that, but have no luck with growing plants that way, and I've tried several
types of plants. With pots, I wouldn't have to contend with the moles digging
tunnels under the daylilies making air spaces and uprooting spring seedlings.

So, yes, container growers are absolutely most welcome, and some may be
able to tell me what I am doing wrong with my attempts. I also don't know
what I would do with them during the winter.

>>YAY!!! New future addicts are joining in!!!<< Natalie, I feel like I am already addicted, I did order 100 in two months. Yikes! I do not know what I will be in the future except maybe divorced. If I get anymore enabled, I know I will. I need to find my 'Off Button'!!

Good to see some new persons here, Welcome everyone.
Most everyone in this area grows there daylilys in pots and raised beds. My raised beds have a bottom it them so they are like a large container. The only daylilies that I grow in the ground are the seedlings. I have just completed a new pot area and it will be full before winter, I have another pot area but ran out of space so with the help of Michelle I got a piece of ground cloth from James Hall (60X12) and added sprinkles. Also recieved 60 yards of pine bark yesterday to use as potting mix.
Pot area

Bark

Raised Beds

Beautiful Fred....

Very impressive Fred, I like the raised beds with the Lattice. Looks like you have a big yard, I am jealous!

I do put milorganite in the hole when I plant daylilies and have had no adverse affects. I have done this for several years. We do add it on top of the ground for established daylilies two times a year (March and late July/August), being careful that it does not touch the crown. I have added some to the top of pots at times and now I am thinking that explains why we have lost some or why they shrank. Some in pots did fine and thrived (during cooler periods) and some did not. I will not put it on top of the pots again. I may sprinkle a lesser amount in the potting mix as I pot it up and then add more when put in the ground. Daylilies stay in pots until I can get them planted, often longer than I want, and until they have recovered from shipping in the spring. I am planting the fall arrivals after soaking the roots overnight in water and a capful of SuperThrive. I used to only put a drop of SuperThrive in the water but have gotten better results from adding a little more. I keep the water level below the crown so it is not in water.

Michele, thanks for sharing your experience with us. This has been an eye opener for me and an explanation for what has happened to some of our potted daylilies.

Doris

I think we should start a new thread on "pot" growing. I have several in "pots" right now - well actually, empty kitty litter bins with holes drilled on the bottom. But this year, they will DEFINITELY be planted in the ground in the next week or two.

Last year I left about a dozen in pots. I have an insulated garage and have successfully overwintered tender plants in the garage previously. These were all evergreens, and as a newbie to daylilies, worried about my Wisconsin winters and evergreens. I was planning the perfect bed for them when I purchased them, along side the south side of my house, but finances got in the way of landscaping that bed,

So I figured I could leave them in my garage for the winter.

Then they got Rust. And aphids. And who knows what else.

So I tossed those plants outside in a protected area. Made sure there were leaves around them to insulate them. Then winter was mild, spring came way too early, then winter returned, and I lost every single one of those daylilies. I have since discovered that I should have turned those pots on their sides, at least toward the end of winter, it might have helped. Oh well, this is a learning process, and at least for me, although I would love to keep some in pots, they will all be planted this month.

But goodness, how nice it would be, to arrange and re-arrange daylilies in pots until they looked 'right' ~Jan

I like the raised gardens! Good idea!

Everyone!

Great idea on a new thread for "pot growing"! I'll start it, even though I haven't grown any in pots! It just might be a way for me to expand on my somewhat limited space. And, if we move, everything may have to live in pots for a while!

Ok, confessions of a lurker here. I just like looking at the purdies here. I have a few daylilies, only about 50 or so. My true passion is roses and I'm not willing to spend more than $5 on a daylily. Ok, so I'm cheap. But I don't mind no-names, so that's good enough for me.

Out of all my DLs, I have very few bloom this year due to the drought. And those that did bloom bloomed ugly, so I didn't even bother taking pictures. Don't ask me who these are, I have no idea as I didn't tag them.

Toni! Pretty blooms! And cheap is great too!! I think many of us here have more than one obsession, and we tend to bring up all kinds of plants, even though it's the daylily forum! 50 or so daylilies isn't just a few though, and I probably don't have many more than that. I'm just not willing to count them. I'm sure there is more than 50, but my DH thinks that there are less than 50, so I'm sticking with that number! Most of mine were on the cheap side, even though some are newer, and really nice. I love them, not only for how pretty they are, but they seem to go so well with other plants. And, they can easily survive on neglect. Well, I know the older ones can, since they have done really well in my garden. I've pampered some of the newer ones because I don't want to lose them, but I'm probably just loving them to death!

Too bad you weren't on here earlier! We had an Ugly Bloom thread that was so fun to look at! Even without names, we love looking at pictures, so please feel free to post some more!

Natalie - Oh, I saw the ugly bloom thread. But my blooms were even too ugly to post there. I'm thinking about planting some daylilies to fill in the void between some of my roses, but I'm not sure if I want my roses to be crowded out that way. On the other hand, the daylilies would provide winter protection on top of the mulch I already use, so that'd be a win-win scenario. And since I love riots of colors, I'm quite sure that the daylilies would blend in nicely there. Don't get me wrong, I NYRita's postings, but I'm too chaotic to try & emulate perfection like that.