What I have been told by "local" daylily people is that daylilies are heavy nitrogen feeders, which is why you typically use heavy nitrogen fertilizer for them. The ideal ratio (per some hybridizers) is 3:1:2, and it is also suggested to supplement with Ca/Mg and maybe Fe in the spring. Also trace minerals (spring), and daylilies LOVE alfalfa meal - both for the nitrogen but also because it supposedly acts as a growth hormone. (Irises seem to like alfalfa meal too.) I use time release fertilizer; previously one or another 3 month fertilizer but now (for the daylilies) I use Osmocote Plus, a 6 month fertilizer with micronutrients. It isn't exactly 3:1:2 but it is heavier on the nitrogen.
As to time of fertilizing, ideally you do it both in the spring and in the fall, but I usually manage to screw up and miss the fall fertilizing. Rebloomers may require a carefully timed summer application of fertilizer to do their thing (that has been my experience), but the problem there is that too much nitrogen during the hot weather, especially if it is wet, causes rot. (I lost some number of black plastic potted daylilies before I finally figured that one out.
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I was beginning to wonder about the iris leaves, as it seems that I am having to do far more iris dead-leafing than I do for the daylilies.
It sounds like that's your experience too, Tom?
Yesterday was my first garden time in some days, and that was spent on planting out 3 6-packs of lettuce and greens that I had wilting indoors (indoors to protect them from critters until they could be planted out and covered with a mesh tent).
Today I am trying to catch up on all the maintenance type stuff that didn't get done last week (and won't get done tomorrow), such as watering and dead-leafing (both daylilies and irises). When/if I go back out (too much to do indoors too) I need to do Dog Patrol, try to find my missing pot of QUEEN'S CIRCLE, and maybe tackle the rusty daylilies. There is also some cleanup of a ground cover that needs to be done (dratted raccoon bunched it all up
so we will probably just cut it back), the gophers are running wild (we got one this weekend but I'm sure we're not done), and garden helper is here today planting things out (which reminds me that I have 2 holes he dug for me, which I need to put PCIs into).
