Becky, plants take up nitrogen as either ammonium or nitrate regardless of the fertilizer brand/type so it's not so much what fertilizer is used but how much nitrogen (and whatever else is needed in your soil) is applied.

@beckygardener

When I fertilize with high nitrogen I use fertilizers that are 24% or 32% nitrogen (first number of the three on the package is 24 or 32) or I use urea which is 46% nitrogen and only nitrogen.

Maurice, when do you start and stop giving the high nitrogen fertilizer?
Do you keep fertilizing during the winter?



Mayo

Mayo, in our climate if Maurice kept fertilizing in winter he'd be applying it to snow for several months of the year.

Maurice, do you apply a specific amount of N per plant or per square foot/metre? Part of what I was trying to say above was that it's the amount as much as the analysis. In other words, to use an exaggerated example, one person could be using urea at 46-0-0 yet be applying less N per plant/area than someone using 5-10-10 but at a higher application rate.

I had two decent blooms this evening, when I got home.
Continental Holiday

FFO Voila Francois, from Maryott's


I have only been growing Daylilies since 2012, but since some of them are hit by the irrigation water for the Field Corn, and receives high doses of liqued Nitrogen, I have observed that, the Daylilies multiply and perform much better with Nitrogen. I now use 16-16-16, two times a year on all my other Daylilies, I am thinking of going with a higher N, next year.

Gale

Mayo62 said:Maurice, when do you start and stop giving the high nitrogen fertilizer?

I start in May and I am about to fertilize for the last time in the next few days.

Do you keep fertilizing during the winter?

No, as Sue mentioned, the ground here is snow covered, sometimes deeply, from some time in November until the end of the first week in April. There is often a thaw for a few days in January but usually after that the snow cover is continuous. Snow can arrive here in early November and stay continuously until the January thaw or sometimes does not arrive and stay continuously until late in December.
@Sooby

do you apply a specific amount of N per plant or per square foot/metre? Part of what I was trying to say above was that it's the amount as much as the analysis. In other words, to use an exaggerated example, one person could be using urea at 46-0-0 yet be applying less N per plant/area than someone using 5-10-10 but at a higher application rate.

I have not applied a specific amount of nitrogen per plant or per area so far. Unfortunately it has been haphazard 'tests' in which I choose one or more cultivars to treat more 'kindly' than normal to see if that has an effect on their growth or flowering. Because of the way daylilies grow I am not certain that applying a certain amount of nitrogen per plant or per area is optimum. I expect that applying a specific amount per fan or even better per fan size or weight would be a better method to achieve optimum fertilizing.

Thanks Sue, Maurice, and Gale!

I am confident that I could have reblooms and a longer bloom season if I could just keep the soil and fertilizer and water just perfect!

Becky, I have never been to Florida, though my youngest son will be there next spring for 18 months, for training ( He is in the Marines), but I understand the South has hot nights in summer. I would fertilize in late Spring, and mid Fall. When temps start getting close to 90F, most plants begin to shut down, so a summer fertilizing may not do much. I could get away with it, because living in a semi-desert, we still get cool nights when it's hot. I would use a slow release, high on N, at the same rate as the label lists for lawn grass. I continue to have plants sending up rebloom scapes, I know most won't bloom before a frost, but I had very few rebloom scapes in 2012, and 2013, before fertilizing, and lots the last two years. I think I just have three or four weeks to few growing days in my zone to enjoy most of them. This is why I am looking for instant rebloom, to extend my blooming season.

Gale

Gale - Yes! I am thinking that milorganite and alfalfa (to bring in the earth worms) in Fall along with a slow-release fertilizer in Spring that would carry the fertilizer over through the summer at a low rate. Fall and even Winter is the best time to fertilize in FL. Thanks for your suggestion.

Thanks to all for the great info on fertilizing...

The last of the last...


Purple de Oro

I can proudly say that my recently acquired Zoe Allegra from Maryott's produced it's first bloom in my garden today! It is a beauty! She was a bonus plant! (My kinda bonus!!!) I love her bloom! She has a second scape as well. With lots of buds! Made my day to see a daylily bloom after no blooms for quite some time! She is a mid-season bloomer, so I don't expect her to bloom this late next year .... but you just never know ....

Morning bloom:



Late afternoon (same bloom):

Good to see color other than orange, red, yellow and...white! ( Fall leaves and ...snow)

Char said: Good to see color other than orange, red, yellow and...white! ( Fall leaves and ...snow)

I'll make sure to stop posting pictures of my Heavenly Angel Ice , then!

I concur, though. The white stuff is not awelcome sight yet. Did you get the s-word (s-n-o-w) the other day, too? Brrrrrr! Atleast today warmed back up, but I think some of my buds and seedpods were destroyed with the frosts we've had.

I think Lakes Swan Dance's buds might be okay, though. I'm still hoping to post a picture of it in a week or so. Fingers crossed for lucky warm weather!

beckygardener said:I can proudly say that my recently acquired Zoe Allegra from Maryott's produced it's first bloom in my garden today! It is a beauty! She was a bonus plant! (My kinda bonus!!!) I love her bloom! She has a second scape as well. With lots of buds! Made my day to see a daylily bloom after no blooms for quite some time! She is a mid-season bloomer, so I don't expect her to bloom this late next year .... but you just never know ....


Morning bloom:



Late afternoon (same bloom):

She was one of the last to bloom here. Maybe the warmer climate will coax her out earlier.

James - Do you remember when she bloomed for you this year? Is yours newly acquired?

She bloomed in August. Was trying to rebloom up until about 2 week ago. Three rounds of scapes - the third round I just cut. And no, not newly acquired. This was the first time she's bloomed since the summer I bought her from Bill Maryott...4 years ago!

When do you consider mid-season for your zone and area?

First time blooming since you got her 4 years ago!!! Whoa! Did she bloom the year you bought her?

Mid season is probably around peak bloom so typically the first week of July.

Thanks, James! Most interesting. Maybe Zoe Allegra is really a late bloomer? That is awesome you got "almost" 3 rounds of blooms! How big is she (how many fans do you estimate)? Mine is currently 3 fans.