Hi all, I'm new to gardening, and also to allthingsplants. I would like someone to explain why my 6 y.o old daylilies changed in 2012 from the beautiful mixed colors I ordered, to pale yellow. Still lovely, but I liked with I ordered. 2013 they didn't bloom at all, So, far this year, they haven't even grown. Do daylilies have a life span, even though I divided them?

thanks

Do you have any before and after photos you could show?
I don't think I have ever heard of daylilies as a group changing colors like that? It will be interesting to hear other replies. Do you have the names of any of the plants?

I doubt your daylilies changed color what likely happened is that some died and a yellow that was doing well took over, bee pollination also could have resulted seed pods forming and when the seed grew they were yellow flowered.

My daylilies never change color and many of them have been here for a lot of years.

The yellow ones are the only ones blooming. The others have sunk deeper due to build up around the base of the fans. Divide them all, cut back the foliage, and old roots.

Prepare your bed with lots of compost and watered down alfalfa. Water deeply, and plants the fans with the top soil just above the crown.

Problem solved. Your other colors will bloom next year, maybe some will bloom yet this summer.

Good luck.

I agree with Gerry in your climate the daylilies could have sunk, in my northern garden that is not a issue. Do you know the names of the daylilies you planted if they were dormant they might have declined over time in your southern climate. Hard dormant daylilies need cold winters to do well.

No, I don'tremember the names. I did order dome new ones, looking forward to seeing the blooms. Thanks for the info

Texaskitty111, do you know that you can go to your profile by clicking on the little "person" looking icon up in the left, under the big All Things Plants logo? From there, you can fill out what state, zone etc you are in. You can be detailed or vague, but helps us to know a bit about where you are to give advice. Even though your name says Texas, you could live in Indiana, for example, we just don't know for sure.

If I ** assume** you live in Texas, that is a big state, with a wide range of growing conditions for daylilies. I used to know someone who grew daylilies in Dennison, (spelling?) and had a terrible time with crown rot. A lot of the daylilies they planted died.

However, Trish, the wife of Dave, who runs All Things Plants, seems to be able to grow daylilies quite well where they live.

It's hard to say if your plants died, or sunk down in and are not blooming, but, for example, a red daylily will not bloom yellow the next year. They just don't change drastically like that. You might see subtle changes, like "melon" to "peach" depending on soil or fertilizer, but not completely different colors.

Edited because my iPad had a mind of its own on auto spell correct!

TK111

texaskitty!

Well, last year I transplanted my daylilles to pots because the soil is so poor here. They didn't even grow. This year I put the pots in my enclosed wildflower garden.



Whether they bloom is another story, but apparently chickens eat daylilly leaves. Right to the ground

Hummm...My neighbor has chickens and they have eaten about everything but the daylilies.

TX chickens eat it all!

My daylilies are changing to orangey color the purple ones changed to peach the red to dark orange? There are a lot of old fashioned bright Orange wild ones a few of my red ones haven't changed. It making me crazy it just started this year.

laurasdobes,
My first guess would be that maybe soil PH or nutrients have changed?

Southern or southwest sun? It does that on mine sometimes, especially if I'm derelict in keeping them watered. 'Lilting Belle' was a pale, creamy yellow shade earlier this week. It's never done that before. I flooded the container and today's bloom are their normal pink/lavender shade. It's also very hot here now to aid and abet the sun.

Welcome to NGA laurasdobes.

Laurasdobes

laurasdobes!

I've heard if one lets the species 'wild' orange daylily grow in their hybrid beds, the hybrids will eventually be overtaken by the 'wild' orange daylily.
NH