I am less then happy with my Daylilies, not much blooming activity, one here one there, and I pull of the
expired blooms. All over the neighborhood they are in bloom all the time. Mine get a good amount of sun but
not full sun, mine are planted in the vicinity of a big fir tree, but everything I read said that trees compete for
moisture and nutrition but fir trees are ok..........in the fall I am thinking about digging them up and putting
them out front where they get sun all day and see if they fare better. This was their first season in my yard,
not sure if that has anything to do with it. They are suppose to be a super easy plant....not for me I guess.

Daylilies have to be established to perform the best.
They also like full sun, I would move them to full sun and let them get established for a year or two and then they will probably do great.

Do you have photos, are the limbs trimmed up high? Only the first year, were they mature plants, or very young plants when you planted them, exactly when did you plant them. Have they been watered regularly, did they get any fertilizer? Do you have naturally good soil, or poor? I would give them at least one more year even under optimum conditions? Any other plants growing in that location?

My daylilies get no more than half day sun and they are doing fabulous this year. I took the advise of growers here on ATP and added alfalfa pellets last fall and again this spring along with my milorganite, and I couldn't be more pleased. We also got a lot of rain this spring and I keep them well watered. They also have a lot of competition from an oak woods that borders all the gardens. This may not be the norm, but it's what has happened for me.

Seedfork said:Do you have photos, are the limbs trimmed up high? Only the first year, were they mature plants, or very young plants when you planted them, exactly when did you plant them. Have they been watered regularly, did they get any fertilizer? Do you have naturally good soil, or poor? I would give them at least one more year even under optimum conditions? Any other plants growing in that location?

Young small plants planted in April, no photos too hot to go out for sure, good soil and was fertilized about 3 weeks after I planted
them as I don`t like to fertilize them at the time I plant them. No other plants in the location, I did a round shaped area od only day
lilies.

So how about water? Do they get regular watering? Did you run into many or any roots when planting them?

Seedfork said:So how about water? Do they get regular watering? Did you run into many or any roots when planting them?

It rains here so much, they get watered fine, I did not encounter roots of anything else when I planted them, just soil, I may just leave
them be and give them next season right where they are and see if they do better, and i might just buy more for the front, eventually
if I need to transplant them I can one day.

I have some planted near my blue spruce and they do not do as well as those planted away from the spruce. I think they do compete for water.

You could try supplemental water and see if it helps. I am a daylily newbie but one thing I have gathered from reading here is that water is the Big Key. Good luck!

Well, I think if a daylily is getting plenty of water, is being fertilized and getting ample sun, then it is just a matter of time for it to bloom and prosper!

I'm sure you're right, Larry.

It does take daylilies a while to settle in and get going, and some take longer than others. Daylilies do, as has been mentioned, appreciate water. Are they growing actually under the fir tree?

You mentioned others in the neighbourhood blooming all the time, I'm wondering if you're seeing something like 'Stella de Oro'. Do you know which cultivars you have?

Where was the source of your new plants? If they came from the south, they may have already bloomed.

Well, my .02 worth is about the size of the plants you have. I have mine growing in partial shade and full sun. Most are young, small single fan seedlings. Only about 1/3 of mine bloomed for the first time this year. I think the key for small plants is they need time to get established, get their roots going strong, perhaps even grow another fan, and then you will see a show.

I will tell you that I did get blooms from those in partial shade, but the ones I have planted in full sun bloomed like crazy. More flowers that put on a show longer than the partial shade daylilies. Everything that was mentioned above should be considered. And I DO agree with the alfalfa pellets added to the soil. They really put on growth when they have alfalfa mixed into the soil.

My guess is that they will do better later this season once they've settled in or next year.

Give them more time. There is a saying that applies not only to daylilies, but to all perennials, and it goes, "first year they sleep, second year they creep, third year they leap. You're not going to get a lot of bloom the first year. Also, they're going to produce a lot more blooms for you in full sun.

The shade of a fir tree is probably too much. I have some planted under a Norway Spruce, and they've never done well there. I have more planted under the dappled, open shade of a limbed up oak, and they do wonderfully. I haven't had any problems with competition from the roots of the oak. The ones in full sun do the best.

I think you should move yours to open, dappled shade or full sun, and give them at least 3 years to really perform well for you. Yes, it takes patience. If you're low on patience, buy them from a nursery already in a pot, as you'll get a decent sized clump, and it'll take only a season to get established.

Good luck, and enjoy! It does become an obsession.

They don't do much of anything for the first year.
They need more time to establish.

I've got my daililies from two different nursery. From the first nursery, they arrived in big double fans. I could see some flower the first year. The same DLs are doing fine now. The ones that came from the second nursery were small, I put them in pots because I had no place in my little garden, then transplanted in the ground this past spring, they are not blooming. And last, the only one I bought off of ebay, never bloomed. This DL is the dryest place of the garden, when it rains it doesn't get any rainwater. I'm a beginner too, but seeing how difficult is for the ones I just transplanted to grow I believe the do need time. It takes patience.
This year there is Spanish Glow that is doing wonderfully, it's the second year for it!

From the replies here I decided to leave them be right where they are and hope they do better eventually, I can
be patient. They are not growing under the fir tree, they are a few feet away from it, the tree does not shade them.
I also read about the pellets and will do that next spring. Right now it is a spot for a baby bunny who loves to
sleep in them, the bunny has done them no harm either.

just wait and see!
Lovely baby bunny

I've had single fan starts fail to bloom the following year. Don't expect much from a fan or 2. Next year i bet they will be twice as big and have 2 or 3 scapes and a dozen buds. I have some high energy growers that i have to divide every 3 years and i get a multitude of fans from them. And yes i planted some in afternoon shade last year because i ran out of space in full sun and they are all blooming just fine with only morning sun. In fact Chicago Apache likes its new home so much it has 8 scapes and opened its first bloom today.
I also use composted cow manure whenever i dig a new hole. Otherwise we have plenty of clay.