Many 2015 arrivals planted in the ground sent up scapes rather late, and the cold weather interfered with the process.

The ones that I potted to bring indoors will have a chance to bloom. " You Got The Look" is not the first to bloom, but it is the first to be posted.

I bough a triple fan plant from the hybridizer, I separated the fans and potted them to bring indoors. I plan to use it with"Great White Dove", "Snow Crystal", and "Great American Pie Pan".

My goals are:
1. high bud count
2. 5+ way branching
3. 30" + tall scapes


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Lovely! Do you intend to grow them indoors throughout the whole winter? I didn't realize that was an option with daylilies.

Yes, and in Spring I will plant it in the ground.

I posted an article about my first experience with growing daylilies in my living room.

April 10, 2014.

Thank you so much for letting me know about your informative and inspirational article! How wonderful to have those blooms in the short days of winter to lift the spirits. Am I correct to understand that this is not an option with the dormants, but rather the semi evergreens and evergreen varieties of daylilies? The majority of the daylilies I grow are the dormant varieties given my colder zone, however I have tried some semi- evergreens.

Yes, you are correct. Dormant daylilies may work; however, that would weaken the plant and its future would be unpredictable.

Thanks Gerry. I often buy end of season sale plants and worry that it may be too late to plant so will keep your ideas in mind, especially for the more tender daylilies.

Daylilies registered as 'dormant' can be grown inside during the winter and if grown well, with appropriate conditions will respond just as do those registered as 'evergreen'; commercial perennial plant growers grow many plant species that can have winter dormant periods, including daylilies, in greenhouses during the winter with no problems. The daylilies they grow include both registered 'evergreens' and registered 'dormants'.

Some daylilies are described as absolutely needing a cold period to grow and flower well. However, there is no published research information that indicates how many registered dormants might need cold, what temperature the cold needs to be or for how long it needs to be experienced. Once a dormant daylily that needs to experience cold has completed its requirement for experiencing cold it will grow inside.

Stout found that before early November in New York City all dormant daylilies had received enough cold and grew when brought into a greenhouse.

I have found that in my location all the so-called 'hard' dormant daylilies I have tested have received enough cold before October 15 and grow normally once brought inside.

Benzinger in Virginia considered that 'temperature' dormants needed just six weeks of 50F at night to grow and flower normally in a greenhouse during winter. He also considered that there were 'photoperiod' dormants that grew just like evergreens during winter as long as they experienced long day photoperiods (daylengths) or what they registered as long daylengths.

Doorakian in Massachusetts grew dormant and evergreen daylilies in a greenhouse during winter without extra light. He did not indicate that the dormants had any problems.

All daylilies are high light plants so to grow them inside well does mean that they need extra light. To keep them growing well it would probably be necessary to keep lights on for 16 hours each day.

In Zone 3 I would guess that any cultivars that need to experience cold would have experienced enough cold by now.

@DebbieC if you do bring some daylilies inside I would be interested in knowing on what dates and their names and how they behave. I am looking for daylilies that do not start to grow within a reasonable amount of time after being brought inside in the fall (for tests on dormancy).

Thank you Maurice. There sure is some very knowledgeable posters here! All of my plants are in the ground this year except a couple of potted hostas that I am going to try to overwinter in a insulated shed as an experiment. I've been told that hostas cannot be over wintered as house plants but wonder if they would be similar in length of cold/dormancy needs that those studies have indicated for daylilies? Anyway, next fall I would be interested in trying an overwintering experiment with daylilies so will certainly be happy to give you the info you requested.

Maurice, you have given me important information, again.
Thank you so much.

DebbieC said:Thank you Maurice. There sure is some very knowledgeable posters here!

You are very welcome and thank you

I've been told that hostas cannot be over wintered as house plants but wonder if they would be similar in length of cold/dormancy needs that those studies have indicated for daylilies?

I have not looked into dormancy in hostas. So I have done a literature search. It appears that most hostas do not absolutely require cold but they grow better if they experience some. I suspect that they need more light than is typical within homes. So extra lighting and for 16 hours per day would be a good starting point.
Yes, if they were brought inside about now in zone 3 I would expect that would be enough cool temperature exposure.
However, just as in daylilies, every cultivar will be somewhat different in how much cold it needs to experience to grow well and how much light.

I love seeing your pictures of growing daylilies indoors, Gerry. Gave me the push I needed to start the seeds you gave me indoors in Sept 2014 and planted them this spring. They did very well all winter beside my french doors under a light.

Really hoping to see some blooms next year on a couple.

Once again thank you Maurice! I do have a plant light stand that is currently in use with various house plants and potted plants brought indoors for the winter so I feel an experiment is in order. I will bring in one of the hostas and give it a go. We've actually had a very nice fall here, frost of course, but no really cold temps yet and no snow; it will be coming any day now! I'm hopeful that the perennials I planted later had a good chance at developing good roots with our unusually long fall.

Pack's Pride

This plant has been blooming for over one week, and it has two pods pollinated by "Curb Appeal."
This bloom will be pollinated by "You Got The Look."


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Gerry - How are you getting them to bloom? Fertilizer? Special treatment? Are these bloomers newly acquired plants? If they are from Maryott's then I can understand them blooming now (as 2 of my new ones have too).

Beautiful, Gerry!

Becky, "Pack's Pride" arrived at end of Maryott's season, and I potted it. Bill's plants acclimate very well and they usually go directly in the ground.

I have bought a lot from LA, and those from Florida and nearby need to be potted, brought indoors, planted next spring.

"You Got The Look" came from Pete Harry late May. All from P Harry were thriple fans. I divided them, and potted as always. Several of these either have bloomed indoors or the already have scapes. When I start buying again, I will buy from P Harry again.

I have bought a lot from Michele Taylor, James Hall, and Mark Sattelmeir. I certainly will buy from them again.

The potting mix:
Alfalfa
Epsom salt
Insecticide granules
Slow release fertilizer
Pre-emergent herbicide

I also started a Daconil fungicide ritual because the second year that I brought plants indoors, I had rust. In the garden rust is not a problem since the cold winter kills it.

profesora said:I also started a Daconil fungicide ritual because the second year that I brought plants indoors, I had rust. In the garden rust is not a problem since the cold winter kills it.

Rust that develops indoors from a latent infection, or an already visible rust, should not persist indoors because there is no free water on the leaves like there is outdoors. In other words, any spores that get on a plant indoors cannot infect the plant (unless you mist them and somehow keep the leaves wet for several hours at a time). So eventually the rust will die out. That presumes, though, that the plants are indoors for long enough for that to happen.

"You Got The Look" emo


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Very pretty, Gerry!

Love the colors and patterned watermark eye! Beautiful!