We recently discussed the cardboard method in another thread...or maybe it was earlier in this one? I am getting inspired to try it.

I planted mine 12" apart ,which I know means I will be dividing sooner than I want to, but with the number of daylilies I ordered this year, I would have had to make a new bed. When I divide some large clumps this fall, I will need to replant only about three fans, and give away the rest, I have got to stop buying. I planted my seedlings in the rose bed. Probably should not even save any seeds this year. LOL

Ahh, someone else with more seeds than room.

Can I plant clumps on a slope? How many hours of sun sun do they need?

I think daylilies are known for being good plants to help prevent erosion, so you can certainly plant them on a slope, just depends on how steep the slope is I suppose.
Daylilies prefer full sun, how much they bloom depends on how much sun they get.
The less sun the less blooms. Daylilies won't do well in deep shade, but can tolerate a light shade pretty well. I grow a lot of daylilies in pots in quite a bit of shade, they are not even putting out scapes yet, while the daylilies in the sun are starting to bloom.

I have a lot of Daylilies on quite steep slopes, they do fine as long as they get enough water.

Justine,
I can so relate to what you wrote: "In my heart, I'm an organic gardener but in practice, large plantings call for a variety of tools when one is an army of one."

I too am an army of one with ambitious plans to cover my yard with gardens. Multiple approaches work best as we adapt to the seasons and weather.

Being still able to do it with muscle and persistence, I continue to be an organic gardener. Thirty years now! No chemicals, I don't trust them around myself or any of the other natural systems in my yard. When pests move in, I've noticed that in general, new things move in to eat them. I don't need things to look absolutely perfect out there…just a choice that I'm comfortable with. Not for everyone but I'm also gardening 3/4 of an acre, not exactly vast tracts of land…and things end up looking pretty good as I try to cast an eye over them as often as possible and help out where I can.

Zoia said: Being still able to do it with muscle and persistence, I continue to be an organic gardener. Thirty years now! No chemicals, I don't trust them around myself or any of the other natural systems in my yard. When pests move in, I've noticed that in general, new things move in to eat them. I don't need things to look absolutely perfect out there…just a choice that I'm comfortable with. Not for everyone but I'm also gardening 3/4 of an acre, not exactly vast tracts of land…and things end up looking pretty good as I try to cast an eye over them as often as possible and help out where I can.

Totally, @Zoia - I garden on about 2 acres of my property, and I am totally on the same page: strictly organic, no chemicals, army of 1 (and a half, though Ron is not exactly half a person: he is not a gardener.) The gardens are my project, though Ron will build a gate for me, or help by picking up mulch if he has errands down in the city. And yes: thirty years.

I plant 'cottage garden' / packed together and, on average, my weeding in the kitchen garden takes about 10 minutes per week. The other gardens seldom need weeding, though I hand rake small running wild strawberry in the spring. The perennials are packed in so there is just no room for weeds. And yes: whenever a pest moves in, the predators follow.

Lots of birds around the gardens... I have even found nests on the ground in the gardens, among the perennials, at the end of a season ... or in the spring cleanup. I have a birdbath in every separate garden area, and they eat tons of bugs. I also do not care if it's "perfect" (it never is) ... perfection is highly over-rated.

I have yet to have a single person discover my gardens and say, well, you need to deadhead ... (or weed, or whatever). Instead, they are shocked as they wander through the gardens. They say things like, "You never see gardens like this!" or "You never expect to see a garden like this anywhere, let alone a garden like this 'here' (in the mountains)!"

I see every flaw, every chore or task that needs to be done... every single thing I have not had time to get to (yet)... but no one else ever seems to. It is a choice... a long series of separate choices, all accumulated into a style of gardening. For some of us, it works.

Seedfork said: Ahh, someone else with more seeds than room.

This was just my first time to save seeds. I just let the bees and butterflies do my pollinating. Don't want to think about how many I would have had if I had tried crosses. Also planted a lot more new ones that might make seeds this year.

Does anyone else think this is huge for a one-year-old plant? This is Novelty Number.


I got it from Oakes a year ago. I didn't count the fans, but like most plants from Oakes, it was a decent clump of fans, probably 4 or 5. It did fine last summer, put out a couple of blooms in July. This is the only picture I took then, but you can see, more or less, the size of the plant:

I counted the fans today--9--and they look huge to me.

That one is going crazy, isn't it? Looks like it has grown really well to me.

oh, my! had to add that to my want list. I am a sucker for anything orange though

I'm pleased you like it, Frillylily. I think it's really pretty even though it is a very old cultivar (1965). It does look sort of orange in the picture, doesn't it? I thought of it as more a cream-and-red bloom.

I didn't do anything special for it. I dug some rotted horse manure into the hole when I planted it (as I do for everything) and spread some home-made compost around the base of the plant when it emerged this spring. No other fertilizer. It just took off as if it is on steroids. It's bigger than all the other plants in the bed even though most have been there longer. That is why I posted the pic in this thread--I may have to move the other plants near it so it has enough room.

It does to me, I have 2&3 year old plants that are not big

It does look large, I think mainly because the leaves are so long. Those type of plants really do need room.