For years, all I did was water my lilies and mulch so you can imagine my delight when I read from a well known Daylily gardener that water is the most important element that they need. He said that people touring his gardens wanted to know what he fertilized them with because he had so many beautiful blooms. When he said that they had had an unusually wet spring and had only used a regular fertilizer once, I just cheered. It only confirmed my suspicion that this flower would always have a place in my heart.
Watering
How much water to daylilies require? Although, the plants fleshy roots enable it to endure drought, they will produce more blooms with about an inch of water a week. What does it mean one inch a week? It means if the soil is wet one inch beneath the surface, you have soaked them enough. Some people like to stand and water the plants, but time is precious so a soaker hose is the least expensive method. Water thoroughly, then let them dry out between waterings.
Fertilizing
You may fertilize at the beginning of the season and at the end. If your growing season is a long as some southern states, you may want to fertilize at the end of the bloom season , too. The type of fertilizer depends on your pocketbook and the number of Daylilies that you have. When you only have a few Daylilies, the timed release fertilizers are great. Daylilies are addictive (as you will find out) so granular fertilizer with a 12-24-12 ratio is the fastest way to do this twice a year job. Mushroom compost is also wonderful because it does double duty. It not too high in nitrogen and conditions the soil.
Mulching
Finally, apply a mulch around the Daylilies, but leave a three to six inch circle around the plant to prevent diseases such as crown rot. A mulch keeps the soil cooler and retains water during the summer season. One warning is not to mulch before the soil has warmed up.
Cultivating
What about weeds? If you use mulch, there should not be many. There is a mixture that some Daylily growers use, which contains various nutrients plus an insecticide, called Hooker Formula. This formula is usually applied to the soil in the spring. I have never used this because I like to use the mushroom compost. It is composted at very high temperatures, which kills the weed seeds that might be in it.
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