I have a small corner in my garden where rose bushes used to be planted which I'd like to convert into a Daylily patch to have some color in the garden at the high point of Summer.
It's a patch about 7' X 8' which gets full sun for most of the day and filtered sunlight in the late afternoon. Soil is clay mixed with stones but in that patch has been amended for many years with manure so it's probably the second best area of the garden after the vegetable patch.

This is an area with highly variable Winter temperatures: some are incredibly mild and dry while some other are harsh (but never below USDA hardiness zone 7b) and wet. Summers are usually extremely hot (95F highs for 2/3 weeks at an end) and often dry: the present one is an oddity as it's not particularly hot and we have been getting plenty of thunderstorms.

I have no idea what daylilies will be available when I'll order them but I'd like something with a rather long (over two weeks if possible) blooming period and would prefer tall red cultivars, but basically I'll take anything they got.

I have never grown daylilies and to the best of my knowledge there aren't any growing in the area, but that may have more to do with the fact local nurseries don't usually carry them than with their unsuitability to be grown here.

I'd like to have a few tips and specially to know what cultivars I should be looking for, bearing in mind availability may not be the best.

Thanks!

Where exactly do you live?

I recommend you buy dormant or semi-evergreen daylilies, plant them 2 feet apart and mix in a few other things for overall interest. Bulbs are a nice touch so you can have something else blooming there when the daylilies are not and I'm sure people here can suggest their favorite companion plants to go with daylilies.

Verbena bonariensis is nice because it is airy and takes up little space, also self-seeding.

FYI almost all daylilies now bloom a minimum of a month. I would aim for something that gives you at least 6 weeks of bloom. Some of that may be from instant rebloom or else rebloom after a rest. I have some that send up scapes after the first ones have started and some that are bloomed out with scapes coming that will bloom in September.

I have an introduction that blooms from mid-June until frost, but I don't think the color is that appealing. I'm sure there's something else out there that does the same (other than the Stellas).

The MOST important thing for you is that you must water them well in your dry summer periods as that is how they will perform at their best.

Tall and red

HEAVENLY UNITED WE STAND
HOTTER THAN THE FOURTH OF JULY
THIN MAN (not quite so tall)
WELDING THE TITANIC

Look these up in the database above. They will usually have lots of photos and details.

Charley

Gentlemen, thank you very much.

Not a big fan of most bulbs due to the short blooming period and the need to pull them from the ground every year. I used to grow tulips but the novelty soon wore off. Too formal-looking for my tastes as well.
Oh, and I am dealing with a very serious amaranth invasion so you may understand my reticence in planting anything that self-seeds readily.

I'll have to look up what's available: I understand we are now in full growing season but many cultivars seem to be pretty difficult to get. Far too many times I have gone to the trouble of ordering soething exotic and difficult to get only to get a plant that died in a matter of weeks so I'd like to start with the simple stuff first.

If you pick any of the fine selections recommended by Charley, I would suggest adding a Fred's Red. It's a tall red that starts blooming about a month later than most to keep the color coming out of that corner for a longer time. Mine is going to bloom well into September. You can check it out by googling Woodhenge Daylilies.

@Elpollodiablo this should solve any plant shortage. https://www.daylily.com/cgi-bi...
You can thank me later. There is also a lot of other nurseries that we all buy from.

Buying season, that's what you are looking for. The Lily Auction heats op in the early spring. Most sellers will ship on your preferred date. I can't plant until mid- May or later when many blooms are already beautiful in warmer areas but I will have ordered well before that.

Charley

@Hazelcrestmikeb,
WOW!!! Thanks for the link!!

Sympathy Darcy, you have been exposed to the LOBID virus. Enjoy.

Charley

Thanks again.

@ Djinnevada Darcy you are welcome. Just be very careful