December 14, 2006

Thanks to overseas plant breeders and to the import, into Pakistan, of a delicious new colour palette, day lilies are now getting the attention that they have long deserved, writes Zahrah Nasir


Easy to grow day lilies appear to have finally come of age here in Pakistan as people are taking a new look at this gorgeous range of flowers. Botanically known as ‘hemerocallis’ and members of the massive ‘liliaceae’ family of plants, these stunning flowers were previously largely, and rather sadly, ignored by the majority of gardening enthusiasts in the country who tended to find their colour range of extremely limited interest for reasons which are quite beyond me.

The most common hue was of a dazzling orange with brown markings in a yellow throat, closely followed by very attractive plants bearing flowers of a clear yellow colour, also with brown speckles in their throats. However, thanks to overseas plant breeders and to the import into Pakistan of a delicious new colour palette, the day lilies are now getting the attention that they have long deserved.

The first of the new rainbow hued day lilies came to my attention about six years ago in the Islamabad area where an intrepid horticulturalist had imported some extremely interesting varieties from the United States and on multiplying his breeding stock had introduced them in the market here.

Anyone who has had the immense pleasure of growing and propagating day lilies will know that, if properly cared for, they can increase at an astonishing rate and can actually become quite invasive indeed, but it would appear that the newly introduced plants are not quite as determined to overtake everything else in the garden as their well known relatives which can be either a curse or a blessing depending on how you view the subject.

These new introductions though are finally in the market on a reasonably large scale and have also been introduced in other areas of the country where they are currently selling like hot cakes, though with a price tag somewhere in the region of Rs200 upwards per young plant. Some potential buyers are holding back until the price, hopefully, comes down although this could take some time.

I treated myself to six of these very plants earlier this year when they were in full bloom and had a terrible problem in making my selection as I wanted them all!

Just imagine….an almost deep pink day lily with what look like watermarks of dark gold and brown. Fantastic! Then a delectable range of bronzes, burnt orange, pale lemon, deep crimson, almost lavender, gold and salmon, many of them with frilled and fluted petals and some even with the most beautiful double flowers I have ever laid eyes on in the ‘liliaceae’ family at large. It was an almost impossible endeavour to choose a mere six but, sorely tempted as I was, the budgetary limits were compounded by the small number of large plant pots I could manage to squeeze into a taxi without damaging any of the precious plants in the process.

The spectacular trumpet shaped flowers of day lilies, as the name implies, only last for a single day each, perhaps it is this which puts some people off them but, they tend to have so many flowers and buds on them at the same time –– once they are established that is –– that they are always cheerful, adding vibrant splashes of perennial colour during their very long flowering season which more than makes up for this.

Also, they are so simple to grow and propagate that they are suitable for all kinds of gardeners, experienced ones or those taking their first steps in the immensely rewarding field of horticulture.

They thrive in either full sun or partial shade, although those grown in partial shade, underneath trees for example, will probably not flower so profusely as those in the open. They are quite tolerant of most soil conditions as long as the soil is well drained and not allowed to get water logged at any time of the year.

Day lilies do tend to die back and take a short rest during the winter, though this is not always the case in Karachi where they can remain green but do not flower until spring arrives in the city. It is a good idea to dig a reasonable, but not overly so, quantity of well rotted, organic manure into the soil prior to planting out newly purchased roots to help them in getting established but, if you overfeed or over water them, then they tend to make masses and masses of attractive strap shaped leaves whilst totally forgetting to bloom. The same problem can arise if they are over watered. Therefore, the key to growing day lilies successfully is quite simply to keep them on a ‘light diet’ whilst going easy on the drink!

Growing up to four feet tall, even more if they are ecstatically pleased with themselves and their location and if you love them as much as they love you, the tall varieties need to be planted at a distance of approximately three feet apart and their much shorter, dwarf cousins, which stop at anywhere from one foot to two feet in height, at a planting distance of one and a half to two feet.

They often take time to pick up after being transplanted, something they don’t particularly enjoy, but once they decide to settle in to their new home then they can grow very rapidly indeed and before you know it a single plant has transformed itself into a sizeable clump.

They should be dug up and divided every two to three years depending on how vigorous a particular plant turns out to be. Such root division is best done during late autumn or winter; the timing varies from region to region along with the climate, so it is best to wait until the plants are obviously at a visibly dormant stage before performing this task.

Obviously, if you purchase pot grown plants these can be transplanted during any season of the year and, whilst you may lose a few flowers and leaves in the process, particularly during extremely hot weather, then they will pick up eventually.

Day lilies are almost as much at home in large clay or concrete pots and planters as when grown directly in the garden but one needs to ensure that the pots are never over watered, allowed to get water logged or otherwise mistreated as the plants will either die off, their roots rotted away to nothing or simply refuse to reward your well intentioned efforts by not producing any flowers at all.

Also, if plants become too congested in a pot then flowering is badly restricted and you will need to divide them up and fill even more pots as often as is required. This could quite well be on a more regular basis than when growing day lilies directly in the ground. I would suggest growing them individually, in pots not less than 14 inches, preferably 18 inches in diametre for a start and, if you decide to keep them in pots long term, or don’t have a garden to plant them out in, then transplanting them into even larger pots once established and there are some very attractive, not too astronomically expensive, pots around.

Having a patch of day lilies in your garden is much more ‘fashionable’ than ever before and you are certain to enjoy the luscious new varieties to be found.