One thing that readers of my old blog were well aware of, was my great affection for daylilies. Certain people, who may have been dragged through a daylily nursery or two against their will, may even say that it is not affection at all, but obsession. Doesn’t that almost make it sound like a person can have too many daylilies? Honestly, I have never heard a crazier idea in all my life!
And especially when you consider that there are something like 50,000 named varieties, my little collection of 40 or so is far from too many.
On the other hand, this same person may have possibly dug up more than one patch of ground so that more daylilies, which may have been purchased with no idea in mind as to where they might go, could be planted. And this person may, on a weekly basis throughout the summer months, have to mow around gardens full of daylilies, when his preference for a yard would be to have a flat and obstruction free area, where one could race back and forth with abandon, never giving a thought to running into any flowers. So, we let him have his little grumbles from time to time – you never know when you might need another little spot plowed up.

H. ‘Bama Maid with some coneflowers

H. Night Beacon
You make it from very common, natural, inexpensive ingredients, as follows.
Spring Wake Up Tonic for Daylilies:
1 teaspoon Epsom Salt
1 oz Sorghum Molasses
1 tablespoon Baking Soda
1 gallon Water
I make 5 gallons at a time, and pour it over the crown of each plant sometime in April, and then again about a month later. It’s also good to have a bucket of the mixture standing by when you are planting newly acquired plants, or dividing existing ones. Place the plant in the pail so that the roots are submerged and leave for about 5 minutes, and then plant in a prepared spot. New plantings of daylilies will benefit from a little drink of this a couple weeks after planting.

H. Frans Hals
Why does it work? The Epsom salts and molasses both supply micro-nutrients, and help the plant absorb other nutrients from the soil, and the baking soda helps ward off fungal diseases. And I am all for anything that brings me a little more of this.

H. Erin Farmer

H. Quilt Patch
Pingback: A spring tonic for daylilies | dlyn