Home  Calendar   Regional Officers   Region 12 Bylaws  Daylily Clubs  Display Gardens  Popularity Poll  Awards and  Honors  AHS Links  Daylily Show  Schedules  Collier Brown  Youth Award  Bill Munson  Hybridizer's Award  Region 12  Newsletter  Judges  Club Pages		GROWING DAYLILIES IN FLORIDA         Now that you have found daylilies here in Florida, it's safe to assume that you have questions! We hope that we can provide some answers.               WHERE SHOULD I PLANT DAYLILIES?                   Florida's sun is intense and it will stress daylilies. The dry season is very dry and the rainy season isn't reliable. My soil is sandy and isn't fertile. What to do? Daylilies will appreciate midday shade and a reliable source of water. Enhance sandy soil with compost, peat moss, humus and ground pine bark to improve the soil's ability to retain water. Choose a location that doesn't have a lot of tree roots to compete with daylilies. Form new beds in the fall-September to November (see planting times below). Evergreen daylilies are recommended in Central Florida because of our long, warm growing season. Many cultivars that are labeled "semi-evergreen" will also thrive, but dormant cultivars seldom survive our mild winters.       HOW DO I CARE FOR MY DAYLILIES?         Do you purchase your plants in pots or order them bareroot through the mail? Are you familiar with caring for daylilies in some other climate? Maybe so, but things are different here in Central Florida! The ideal planting time for us is during our long, warm fall and on into our mild winter (October-January). Fall/winter planting give daylilies time to develop new roots and become established before next spring's bloom season. Plant 18 to 24 inches (or more) apart. Dig a hole larger than the root mass, make a mound of soil in the center of the hole and place the daylily on top of the mound, spreading out its roots. Daylilies should be planted with their crown (where roots meet leaves) at the surface of the soil. Some roots may remain visible. Keep newly planted daylilies moist but not wet. They will settle in quickly! Daylilies are heavy feeders! The best time to fertilize is in February, using milorganite or slow release chemical fertilizers with ratios of 16-4-8 or 8-8-8. A light feeding may be made in early spring (April) or late fall (November-December) but remember--do not apply fertilizer in June, July and August when it is hot and muggy. Mulching is recommended-no more than 2 inches of bark, pine needles or crushed leaves. Please keep the mulch away from the crown of your plants! Water as needed, making sure that your daylilies receive at least 1 inch of water per week. Watering early morning is best so that water doesn't sit on the leaves, but the water will leave spots on new blooms.       AHHHH .... THE GOOD PART SIT BACK AND ENJOY!               Design, content and photos submitted by Arlene Wierschem Updated: 11/23/2006