Hello,

I received my Daylilies order yesterday, it has been raining here since Friday until this morning, my soil/beds are very wet and am afraid to plant these DL,
I have few pot and 1 large one (half a barrel), my question can I plant the daylilies in the beds while the soil (mainly silt with a little top soil and I have some garden mix, compost I'm planning to add on later) or should I plant them in pots first, can I plant few DLs together in the big pot because I dont have enough pots.

Thank you,
Nanette

All my daylilies are planted in pots, Nanette and do very well in our very hot dry climate.

You might go to the daylily forum for answers to your question about planting in the wet soil. Those ladies are very knowledgeable . This is never a problem where I live.

Nanette, considering how much rain it seems you've had, I don't blame you for not wanting to go out and dig in the mud! Plunking them hurriedly in sodden wet soil isn't going to be good for either you or the plants.

But it is best to get your daylilies in their permanent home as quick as possible. You need the planting area to drain and dry out a bit. When you do plant, mix that compost into the planting holes - it will help the soil to keep air spaces in it - when organic stuff dries out, it shrinks a bit like a sponge, leaving an air space. This is critical for plant roots not to rot.

Here's what I'd do to hold the plants - just put them all in one pot with the leaves out the top, and a little potting soil around the roots to keep them moist and dark. Water them and put them somewhere shady outside until the ground is workable again. If you let them get started growing in pots, then plant them out in a week or a month (who knows, right?) they will suffer a second transplant shock. Daylilies are pretty forgiving, but you want to give them the best start you can.

Nanette, you could just put you daylilies in a bucket or two and put some water on them just don't cover the crowns. You can change out the water every day or two until you can get in your garden bed and plant them. I have done this many times until I had time to plant daylilies. You can also post your questions over on the daylily forum if you like.

Thank you so much everyone...I put them in a bucket in my tub yesterday and take it out this morning but keep them kind of moist but sprinkling some water on their roots once in awhile, but today most of their leaves turned yellow...I really want to plant them in my new daylily bed, but I haven't put other stuff on it because of the rains...

The roots absolutely need to stay moist, and the leaves need some light until you can get them planted out.

Elaine !!!