Here is a brew/info. Bill used and shared: Daylilies are survivors! Like all of us they do respond with preferred conditions. Some preferences include a soil pH between 5.5 and 7. Ideal is 6. – 6.5. They have deep roots so like soil tilled 18” to 24” deep with organic material added. Also they are heavy feeders.*1 Here is an organic brew that works well for many growers.
Receipt for alfalfa tea:*2
In a 5 gallon pail add 4 cups of Alfalfa pellets and fill the pail with water. Stir it 3 times daily and let it brew for 3 days to a week. Keep it covered. Be sure the alfalfa pellets are dissolved. When you are ready to fertilize add 1/3 Cup of Epson Salts, ½ tablespoon of iron chelate and ¼ Cup of fish emulsion. Stir very well. Use a small pail or pan. Dip in and apply about a gallon of brew to large daylily clumps and about ½ gallon to smaller clumps. Apply this monthly and stop by early August.
Probable results are a more rapid increase in clump size which will lead to more and larger flowers, and expanded root system, and plants breaking dormancy earlier. This also means dividing your clumps more often.
*1 from Daylilies, The Perfect Perennial, by Lewis and Nancy Hill, Storey Communications, Inc.: 1991.
*2 From Ted White’s submission to the Daylily Robin on 1/11/08 I go with(Maine)
I go with Milorganite and alphafa meal a couple of times a year and plant in about a foot of compost. It seems to work for me.
