Background history:

'Going Bananas' is a semi-evergreen introduced in 2004 by Meyer-C..

This plant can be found in our Plant Database at:
Daylily (Hemerocallis 'Going Bananas') .

Please join in, if you own this plant! We would love to know more! I award an acorn for performance information posted to this thread.



Daylily (Hemerocallis 'Going Bananas')

I had three clumps of what I thought was Going Bananas. It was sold to me as such, but mine never rebloomed like Ginny's. It look like Going Bananas, but the performance suggested otherwise.

A friend of mine grows it in Alpine climate and it reblooms there like crazy - this year I will get some fans from it to test it here in our warmer and much less humid zone.

When we moved to this home I wanted pops of yellow color in front and wanted reblooms. I didn't want the Orange of Stella and my DD had Going Bananas. They've done a great job in the area with more sun but haven't increased as much in the area with less sun. Mine have done better than my daughter's in Northern KY.

I got two Going Bananas plants last fall. Earlier I had seen several on the clearance rack at Lowe's and didn't know anything about the cultivar, so I didn't buy any. Later, after I researched a bit and saw the parents were Happy Returns and Brocaded Gown (both rust-resistant), I decided to get them. The ones at Lowe's were gone, but I was able to order a couple; I think I found them at Ogden Station.

I planted them right by my front door. They have remained green and lush all winter. After this summer I will do an actual report on their blooming performance.

Edited to add that the two DFs I planted in the fall of 2021 have increased to 6 and 7 fans each. I think I will be sharing this one soon!

My Going Bananas did great the first few years. It bloomed early, it rebloomed late. The blooms were prettier than Happy Returns. Loved it. Then it got bigger, and it slowed down, and even had a season when it took the year off, and the last two seasons, no rebloom.

I'm wondering if it needs to be dug and "thinned", instead of just growing into a nicer and nicer clump. So I'll thin it this year, if I have time, but Apps has some new yellow rebloomers I'm ready to replace it with if it doesn't get better. I have hundreds of daylilies. I don't have time to dig them all every 3 years. Especially something that can be replaced with a < $10 plant from any big box store.

2017


2019

I've had GOING BANANAS planted in ground here since summer '08. It has increased very little (2>4/5 fans?) & has a FFO about July 7 ... & rebloomed but sporadically (Sept/Oct) over the years.... NOT what I would call even good performance. (Probably US Zone 4 here on the edge of 5?) My natural soil is essentially glacial moraine (Sand & gravel mix) so little natural humus/topsoil PLUS drains water thru quickly. I've also bought - twice - GB in pots that had been forced for early spring 'point-of-sale' appeal. (I try to breed for EE/E + RE bloom)
This past season ('21) the potted GB plant performed like it has been described by others as a 'Blooming Machine' . Despite enriching my basic soil with my own composted poultry manure + leaf/garden compost + bagged sheep &/or cow manures ... I have been unable to get those earlier purchases in the ground to really perform as expected .... . This potted '21 plant was kept watered continuously (Catch tray nearly always wet) And it was seldom w/o bloom until well into autumn.
CONCLUSION (No surprise!) constant available moisture was key for this potted version. WILL see what I am able to do with the earlier cultivars that are in the ground with MUCH more water this coming '22 season. (I thought I was watering them adequately....)