I have several daylillies. I don't think I have ever purchased one, all are pass-arounds. I like them. I just spent this morning cleaning them up - pulling off dead leaves and stalks. They look rather pathetic and sad. I thought I'd pop over here to find out what you officianados do for fall cleanup. Do you just keep pulling off the dead stuff, or do you cut it all back when it looks ratty?

Good question!
Being relatively new to DL's I'm interested in the answer too


Mayo

I'll most likely be skewered for this. I cut mine down after they bloom in early August. I have been doing this for years. They come back with nice green foliage in about two weeks. I have noticed no ill effects. I do not do this with the late bloomers.

Thanks, Skipper. I do the same with daffodils, and likewise have not noticed anything untoward. I have several daylily clumps of the same variety, perhaps I'll try a 'cut to the ground' on some and 'leave them be' on others and see if there is any difference next season. Mine are all very hardy and prolific, no-name or plain jane.

I don't actually cut to the ground. I want to be sure not to injure the crown. I cut to about three inches above the ground.

Bonehead said: I have several daylily clumps of the same variety, perhaps I'll try a 'cut to the ground' on some and 'leave them be' on others and see if there is any difference next season.

That would be a great experiment, if you do it please let us know what happens next bloom season. In theory, because next year's flower scapes typically have start forming by late fall, cutting back green leaves late in the season may cause the plant to use its stored resources from photosynthesis to grow new leaves instead of concentrating on next year's flowers. It could also disrupt the natural growth cycles. Also it may not be a good idea to trim anything planted that same year or which is iffy for hardiness because it forces them to use the food they have made to grow new leaves, leaving less for overwintering and spring growth.

Where the cultivar is established, robust and hardy for the area then if anything at all is negatively affected it would most likely be primarily the number of next year's flowers. Your experiment would be a great test of that.

Sometimes there's a trade-off between what's best for the plant and what's best for us. We're growing them for looks and certainly cutting back after flowering makes them look a whole lot better.

I have several clumps of Stella that are hardy as all get-out, and several more of a non-registered red I fondly call 'Rusty Dupuis' (in memory of a co-worker). I typically just let the foliage die back on its own, but will choose two clumps to cut back hard and see what difference there might be. The red is a bit later than Stella and is still looking OK but Stella is definitely in the dulldrum stage. The others I have are not as mature so I'll just let them die back on their own.

I usually clean up dead foliage and remove dead scapes and then cut the plant back about 6" once all have quit blooming. This is also the time plants may be moved or divided.
This is usually done by the end of August or September. Depending on growth and how soon the weather changes I may need to cut back again.

In my zone I don't cut foilage because it self mulches the plant over winter.