Hello all,
I am trying to do some planning around a bed of mine that consists of mostly daylilies.
I am a new gardener and inherited this bed a couple months ago. So, I am looking for some help and advice on how to make my daylilies the best they can be.
Here are the daylilies that I currently have: (Hemerocallis fulva 'Kwanso')
Here is a picture of the bed in question with some added overlay information:
Now, here is what I currently envision doing to this bed. (If any of this is unnecessary or would be counter productive, feel free to point it out!)
1. Remove all the daylilies
2. Dig out some wild sown privot (or it might be a tree sapling), mimosa trees, etc. (There are mini stumps in the bed)
3. Improve the soil (this I am least knowledgeable about. The bed could have been untouched for a number of years so I am unsure what I can do to help the soil or if that is even needed. I plan on having my soil tested. I imagine that mixing in fertilizer or compost or something would be beneficial?
4. Replace the little bed boundaries (currently brick as shown in photos. They seem to have been there for many years and most are embedded and or half fallen over)
5. Determine if part of the bed is unsuitable for daylilies due to reduced sunlight (namely the left side)
6. Replant daylilies
7. Mulch the bed (I read that this is beneficial, plus it looks good and can help prevent weeds yeah?)
Now, that is what I envision doing at this point. To that end, I'd like some advice on any of those along with some possible help to the following questions:
1. What can I do to help the soil and is anything needed?
2. I pulled out a large pile of dead leaves this weekend. Is this normal for the summer? Leaves were all dry and completely tan and came off the plant easily.
3. I've read confusing things about watering daylilies. I think I read that they need water if you aren't getting 1" of rain per week, but that watering them in high heat can encourage fungus growth. How do I water these then in the summer?
4. When is the best time to dig these up so that I can do a mini overhaul of the bed? How long can I keep them out of the ground?
5. Does cutting back the stems really help the plant? (I cut all the stems as low as I could once all the flowers dropped off.
6. What do you think about this bed in terms of daylight? I'm still trying to figure out how much direct sun it actually gets. I noticed that soon after the sun is up and over the trees (7AMish) the bed starts getting direct light. I think the right two quadrants get sun for most of the day while the left two quadrants start getting shade sometime in the afternoon.
Anywho, I think I've run out of questions for the moment. Any advice is appreciated!
