Hemerocallis fulva seed
LATIN NAME: Hemerocallis fulva
COMMON NAME: Tawny Daylily
Tawny daylily is the generous, easy perennial of the roadside and the old garden, and a clump of it in flower is one of the dependable sights of the early summer. The tall, arching stems carry a succession of the large, trumpet-shaped, tawny-orange flowers, each one opening for a single day before the next takes its place. The dense clumps of the arching, strap-like leaves give the plant a fine, bold presence through the season, and it grows on steadily for years without any fuss. It is one of the toughest and the most rewarding of the easy perennials.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The daylily has a strong place in the horticultural science, and the breeders have produced thousands of named varieties from the hardy species. The way the flowers open and close on their single-day cycle has been studied closely, and the plant keeps showing up in the work on the flowering biology and the garden perennials. The edible flower buds and the young shoots have a long traditional use in the kitchens of the east, and the plant is a quiet subject of the work on the food plants and the traditional cooking. The breeding of the many colours and the forms is well documented, so the information here is reliable.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
The tawny daylily is grown for the looks and for the table. The dense clumps make a fine, bold edging and a tough, easy ground cover, and the succession of the orange flowers keeps the border bright for weeks. The flower buds have a long traditional use as a vegetable in the kitchens of the east, where they are gathered and cooked, and the plant is also used in the traditional preparations. It has been written up in the horticultural and the food papers for its toughness and its many uses, and it is a generous, low-maintenance perennial of the open, sunny ground.
The tawny daylily has been grown in the gardens and the kitchens of the east for a very long time, where the flower buds are gathered and cooked as a fine, traditional vegetable. The plant grows wild along the roadsides and in the old gardens, and it has been carried around the temperate world as one of the toughest of the easy perennials. Each flower opens for a single day, and the clump keeps producing a fresh flower every day for weeks on end. It is a plant with a long, honest record of use, and it asks for very little beyond the sun and the ordinary soil.
To raise the tawny daylily from seed, press the round, black seeds into the surface of pots of moist, free-draining soil at a shallow depth in the warm season, keep them in a bright, open spot and water gently. The seedlings thread up in good time and grow on into young clumps that will flower in their second or third year. A spot with the sun or the light shade and the ordinary garden soil will suit them, and they will settle in for a long, generous life. A clump of the tawny daylily is one of the easiest plants a gardener can grow.
Growing position: full sun or partial shade
Soil: wide range of soils
Fully hardy
Planting: at least 18″-24″ apart
Feeding: adding composted manure, compost/humus or an all-purpose plant food will increase the plant’s performance
Flowering period: Spring to late Summer.
These make excellent border plants, combining well with phlox, other annuals and herbaceous perennials. The flowers and roots are edible, apparently tasting delicious, although personally I haven’t yet tried any. Also grows well in woodland areas, alongside streams and ponds.
Daylilies will be dispatched in individual containers to be planted out immediately.