Dividing and Planting Daylilies

Plants that like to be divided are crinums, irises, and daylilies.   Iris and daylily are easily divided as they grow very near the surface.  For this reason, you can have them in multiple places in the garden or share the plants with others.  Daylilies have multiple varieties in a myriad of colors.  Varieties can look like other types of lilies, be star-shaped, or have ruffled petals.  Some have flowers that a just above their leaves and others shoot up on a stem more than a foot above their leaves.  

Daylilies can be divided at any time in Spring or Summer, after they sprout up from the ground.  The easiest way to dig them up is to take a long-handle shovel or pitchfork and dig at an angle about five to eight inches from the base of the plant to make sure you do not cut through too much root.  Wiggling the tool will at each section of digging will help loosen the soil around roots.  Keep working around the clump of all sides in this way until it comes out of the ground.  Knock all the soil off the clump so you can see the base and roots of every plant in clump.  Starting from the outside working inwards, individually grab the base of each plant and pull it so its roots become loose from the clump.  Quickly plant new divisions or if you are sharing divisions cut off some of the foliage to make them easier to transport without wilting. They will quickly grow new leaves one they are in the ground.

To plant daylilies, choose a sunny location in garden or landscape bed.  Then dig a shallow but wide hole where the new plant divisions will go.  The space needs to be wide enough to splay out the plant's roots in it and deep enough that the roots can be cover with half-inch to full inch of soil.  If you want the look of a clump to start, make the hole wide enough to put three plants in with the tips of their roots touching.  It is important to spread the roots out as new plants will grow out of thick areas or tubers that form on the roots or the mother plant.  Eventually, the baby daylily will become a separate plant with its roots intertwining with others.  If planting several daylilies, leave nine inches to a foot between the planting holes to allow for spreading outward.  Most daylilies will double in size each year.  Water new plants every other day for four weeks to start.  Then regular weekly watering is fine.  Many daylilies are drought tolerant, but wilted blooms indicate they are not getting enough moisture - make sure they are not being watered during the hottest time of the day.


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