Growing Daylilies in the High Country

Daylilies are a delightful addition to the garden. They come in a wide range of shapes, sizes, and colors, but they can be very frustrating to grow here in my zone 3a garden. It has taken a while to see which cultivars have performed best, with the weather conditions being what they are, along with alkaline soil and very hard water.

Some that work very well.

'Rock Solid', 'Which Way Jim', 'Helen Shooter'


'Spindazzle', 'Sabra Selina', 'Tuscawilla Tigress'


Despite the miserable growing conditions, most thrive. I have lost very few due to the weather. The problem is that quite often some cultivars will not bloom or they will bloom sparsely, so I have a lot of lovely green foliage. Sometimes the blooms won’t open properly. Forget late bloomers: We have frost before the buds get a chance to open and they freeze. If you have similar conditions and wish to start growing daylilies, I suggest you buy mostly the extra early, early, and early mid-season ones. The mid-season daylilies may not get a chance to bloom if spring arrives late or is too cool. I prefer to plant dormant and semi-evergreen cultivars, although I do have evergreens in my collection that do fairly well.

I usually get decent bloom from this group.

'Happy Return's', 'Bonanza', 'Frank Smith'


'Macbeth', 'Strawberry Candy', 'Custard Candy'


The newer cultivars that have very ruffled or thick petals usually do not open properly with the cool nights, and you end up with some pretty ugly misshapen blooms. Even though the newer frilly cultivars are very tempting, I think the simpler forms of daylilies are a much better choice, and they will still look lovely in the garden.

These are a little fussier. The blooms can hang up and not open properly.
'Larger Than Life', 'Twilight Secrets', 'Sabine Baur'


If you are thinking of hybridizing, you still can, even with the colder temperatures, I did a little pollen dabbing with my older cultivars and I have a few very nice-looking seedlings (at least, I think they are) from the crosses that have bloomed so far. It took three years from seed to bloom.

The seedlings shown below are siblings. I had one pod that contained 2 seeds on ‘Burning Embers’ that I had crossed with ‘Kasbah Fez’, both showed double tendencies.
Seedling #1 first bloom . Later in the season.
Seedling #2 first bloom Later in the season.


A few more of my seedlings:
'Big City Eye' x Unk 'Black Eye' x Unk
'Big City Eye' x Unk Unique stippled seedling.


These seedlings have smaller size blooms. 'Night Beacon' x 'Happy Returns'
'Happy Returns' x Unk 'Happy Returns' x Unk, different pod


Of course, if you want to grow and hybridize the new big fancy ruffled cultivars, there is the option of a greenhouse if you have the space and can afford the cost.

This spring will be very busy for me because a lot of the daylilies need dividing and I plan to remove all late bloomers. No sense keeping them just to be disappointed once again in late August and early September. I will also be moving several plants into sunnier locations in the garden to see whether this will result in a little more bloom. Some of them will go into pots to join those that are already potted, so that I can move them around and let them get more sun.

I am hoping that this will be the perfect year for growing perfect daylilies in my perfect cold-zone garden.;)