If I didn't mis-read another ATP members post, I could have sworn that there is a daylily gardener who fertilizes here in FL during the Winter months. I can't remember who it was. Someone who lived up near Daytona if I am not mistaken.

I am curious about the Winter fertilizing regime. We do typically have mild Winters here in Florida. But I never thought to fertilize my daylilies then. I am seeking more info about that idea .... anyone care to comment about such an idea?

There are some responses in these threads from southern growers that may help.

The thread "Fertilizing schedule" in Daylilies forum

We fertilize all winter here in our part of Florida. Even though we do get cold here it's still a pretty mild winter with a few freezes thrown in like tonight. We are suppose to get down to 28° so that means at the garden 4 miles down the road it will be around 23°; it's always about 5° colder there for some reason. We fertilize with water soluble fertilizer like Miracle-Gro and also use Daniels Plant Food. The slow release doesn't release anything if it's under 70° so they won't get fed that way unless we warm up above that. We have almost year round growing so we continue to feed the plants year round.

We fertilize basically the same as Michele in South Alabama, we are only about 35 minutes and a little south of her. Its 27 here this morning with a warming trend.

dormantsrule - Thank you for that link! Lots of good information. Okay ... I must admit I am slow .... I just figured out what your screen name meant!

Michele and Fred - Thanks so much! I have often wondered about fertilizing my daylilies in the Winter because most of mine are evergreens. We rarely even get freezing temps here and when we do it only lasts a few hours. I am south of Kennedy Space Center by about 60 miles. So I am in the cross section of central and south FL. My zone is 9b, but feels like 10a at times!

My cats are indoor cats. I use a plant-based recyclable kitty litter. My garden is mostly clay because the builder scraped off the surface layer and probably sold it (I am currently building extra new beds with introduced soil). I apply the used kitty litter as fertiliser for my daylilies. It is the only fertiliser I use on them. I also keep an eye on acidity and apply lime when necessary. When I plant, I apply a handful of matured cow manure in the bottom of the hole. I don't use the litter in the vegetable beds. Epsom salts is something I had not thought of and will now use. I have to be careful with phosphorus because it is very poisonous to native plants, especially here in the low-nutrient wallum.
I have no sewerage. The present beds sit on top of the septic system so the area never dries out. However, the water is tertiary treated and contains no nutrients.
Regularity of fertilising depends on the cats and their efforts.

Yep, I'm fertilizing lightly so that the plants grow while the weather is cooler. In February, anywhere from Feb 1-15, I give them a BIG fertilizing with 9 month fertilizer, palm fertilizer, 10-10-10 and anything else I have. That's the last time they get fed before the weather turns hot, unless I spray later with 20-20-20. When cooler weather rolls around, I start the process over again.

This picture if from February 25, 2011. This is the way my daylilies look after the fall/winter fertilizing.




Becky, this picture is for you. It is an photo from was taken April 25, 2010, and it gives a good view of the boxes. I'll try to take a better pic later.

Here are some photos of my show flower bed when I first planted it in January 2012. You will see how much growth we get in such a short time and this is why we never stop our regimen. If we actually had a true winter (so to speak) we would not fertilize, but they just continuously grow here.

Photo right after I was done planting on Jan 20, 2012



Photo taken March 07, 2012



These next photos were taken March 28, 2012. You can see how much growth there is in just 3 weeks





And these were taken May 12, 2012

Michele, all I can saw is wow! That was quick.

Michele, just stunning.

PS Anyone want to buy some cats?

Mike and Glen -
Arlene - I am fascinated by your garden beds. Are they raised beds? I am wondering why the use of the mesh fencing in the front of them. If so, I have never even considered raising beds off the ground. Very, very interesting idea! I do want to see more, so please share some more photos!

Michele - Somewhere on ATP, I had seen a few photos of your lovely raised beds. I was in awe! I am even more in awe seeing the work that goes into building those beds from the photos you posted on this thread! Where do you get your rocks? I envy anyone who has access to large rocks and boulders! The only way for me to obtain rocks is to purchase them from a rock company that imports them from another state. It would cost me my first born to build a single raised bed using rocks as the border. But oh how beautiful it looks! Thanks for sharing your photos! I love seeing other people's gardens!

And OH! Impressive growth from all the fertilizing year round! Really fabulous!

Very nice looking beds Michele. Love all those rocks around them

[quote="beckygardener"]

Michele - Where do you get your rocks?
[quote]


As most on here know I share a garden with James Hall since I had to move a couple of years ago and had no place for the daylilies. Anyway, these are beds that James built over the years. I believe there was an area that was getting cleared (not sure for what) and every time he had to take his wife for her appointments he would go load up rocks and bring them back. Those rocks are plentiful in our area you just have to go load them up if you know where they are; if I dug enough in James' yard I would find plenty of them also. Whenever we dig trenches to put in more sprinklers we fight with those rocks but not enough to make a bed.

Michele - Geez ! I didn't realize anyone in FL had rocks on their property! You must have rolling hills and be close to the state border? Everything looks amazing!