Fall Care for Daylilies (Includes planting new ones!)
By MARY GAGE & JEANNIE MALICK | Cypress Creek Daylily Club

October is the prime time in the Houston area to plant daylilies. Plant daylilies now to reestablish a strong root system that will be better able to withstand winter freezes and develop better blooms next spring. Plant them in neutral to slightly acid soil where they will receive at least 6 hours of sunshine. Dark color blooms benefit from a bit of midday shade.

A single daylily plant grows from a central ball of tissue called a crown. It will naturally divide, multiplying into what is called a clump. When clumps grow large enough or every 3-5 years, pull apart daylily crowns not completely grown apart to form separate fans, or cut them with a clean sharp knife..
- Dig the entire clump rather than trying to separate a few fans from the side. Use a spading fork rather than a shovel and lift clumps to sever as few roots as possible.

- Shake off loose soil and wash in a tub of water and bleach using 1 teaspoon per gallon. NOTE: use bleach labeled “disinfectant.” Some bleaches whiten but do not disinfect.
- Loosen and clean roots working the clump with your hands. Remove old naturally decayed soft dark brown part beneath the crown and any dead or decayed roots.
- Trim leaves to 6-8 inches and roots to 5-6 inches. To keep track of cultivar names, label each cultivar with a plant tag.
- Pictured, Washed daylily roots & plant tag. Cut-apart crown cross-section.

- Daylily crowns not completely grown apart to form separate fans and are still attached at the bottom may be gently pulled apart. Tightly joined crowns need to be cut apart carefully with a sharp clean knife.
- If you cut into the crown, which is the heart of a daylily or the matrix from which leaves and roots develop, the damaged surface must be allowed dry in the open air for several days so the tissue can heal and seal. If placed directly in moist soil crown rot may occur and you will lose your daylily! Some people dust the cut crown with sulfur to discourage bacterial growth.
- If you will not be replanting the fans right away, they may be wrapped in slightly damp newspaper and stored in your refrigerator for up to three weeks without significant loss of vigor. Do not use plastic bags or wrap as the plants need to breathe.
- Separated fans ready to be planted may be given a nutrient boost if you soak the roots overnight in clear water and SuperThrive using 1 quarter teaspoon per gallon (yes, it doesn’t take much!)
- When replanting, the crown should not be covered by more than one inch of soil. First improve soil with amendments such as rose soil, well-rotted manure, or mushroom compost.
- Loosen soil to a depth of about 12 inches. Make a mound in the center of planting hole on which to set the plant crown. Spread roots around mound sides and work soil around roots. Water well but do not water again for about one week.
- Once the leaves grow long enough to recurve into a fan (pictured) you may add non-burning fertilizer such as fish emulsion or MicroLife.
