BY DAVID P. DAVIS
It is often hard to decide what to focus on for our weekly series, but when the daylilies start to bloom, the decision becomes easy.
Blooming now at the West Virginia Botanic Garden is a full range of wild and tended flowers. In the tended beds, we have coreopsis, Bowman’s root (Gillenia trifoliate), torch lily (Kniphofia) and catmint (Nepeta), to name a few. In the pollinator beds, we have larkspurs (Consolida), black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta), milkweed (Asclepias) and purple coneflowers (Echinacea). And, throughout the garden, our daylilies are just starting to bloom.
Daylily is a flowering plant in the genus Hemerocallis, with 16 recognized species and over 35,000 recognized cultivars (varieties cultivated through selective breeding). They can be considered a perfect perennial, as they come in a wide range of colors and shapes, are suitable for a wide range of climates, are tolerant of drought and can do well in various soil and light conditions. Deer, however, do love the blooms so protect them with repellent sprays. (We use milk and water in equal parts.)
The genus Hemerocallis is native to Asia, but the orange daylilies (Hemerocallis fulva) that grace our roadsides with their burnt orange blooms are an invasive escapee introduced into the United States during the late 19th century as an ornamental.
At the WVBG, we have a large collection of cultivars, with many along the hot, dry bank that forms one wall of our lower parking area. Blooming there now is a lemony-yellow spider cultivar with long slender petals. Further up is a daylily with creamy yellow recurved petals and red throats. Another variety has a mauve petal with a red band and a chartreuse throat.
It is difficult to tell just how many daylilies we have at the WVBG. In recent years, we have been lifting our favorites, separating the fibrous root systems with their finger-like tubers, and potting them up. From each clump, we can get six to 12 new plants that can be replanted into a bed to give a more dramatic, uniform bloom of color and type. These new plants will double in size every year or so.
Join us for a walk in the garden and see how many different daylilies you can find — the daylily blooming period is underway and should last into late July!
FOR INFORMATION, MAPS, AND MORE, go to WVBG.org or visit at 1061 Tyrone Road in Morgantown.
