What’s blooming at Lake Wilderness Arboretum | Aug. 18

Published 12:50 pm Monday, August 18, 2014

Throughout the summer daylilies bloom in the Arboretum’s Legacy Garden, which preserves both rare and unusual plants including those from two well known gardeners, Loie Benedict and Marjorie Baird, both cited in Plantswomen in the Pacific Northwest.

Daylilies are also popular plants for home gardeners, because they thrive in a variety of planting zones and soil conditions, blooming every year with almost no extra attention.

Hemerocallis, the botanical name, means “beauty for a day,” which describes the life of a daylily flower that opens in the morning and withers by day’s end. Each flower scape has many buds that allow the plant to bloom for several weeks.

Most daylilies planted by home gardeners are hybrid cultivars. Choose them by early, mid, and late-flowering plants at different heights, which will bloom throughout the summer. Use moist, well-draining soil amended with compost to plant daylilies in full sun; space 12 to 18 inches apart.

Late summer is the best time to divide daylilies. Use a sharp knife or spade to separate healthy young fans, replanting immediately. Discard any small or diseased plants. Mulch for the winter.

Visit LakeWildernessArboretum.org, email info@lakewildernessarboretum.org or call 253-293-5103 to volunteer, donate or become a member.