New to Daylilies?

You’re in the right place!

Our daylilies grow in home gardens, city parks and botanical gardens across the nation– including Hawaii and Canada. We are known in the industry as Daylily Experts and grow over 1000 varieties of daylilies on nearly 50 acres. But over 50 years ago we started just like you—with one daylily in a home garden. (Visit our Why Oakes page for a brief history of how we got started.)

We know that gardening can be overwhelming at first. Even if you have gardening experience—but are unfamiliar with daylilies—you may have questions about our plants. We have a series of commonly asked questions below. If you don’t see an answer to your particular question, just shoot us an email (support@oakesdaylilies) and we’ll be glad to help. The important thing to remember? Daylilies are among the easiest summer flower to grow; it’s nearly impossible to kill a daylily!

EXTRA-LARGE PLANTS

When it comes to daylily plants, bigger is better! All of the plants we ship will be three fans or larger — two or three times (or more) what you might receive from other companies.  We know it’s tempting, but don’t separate them when you get them! Larger plants get established faster and produce more blooms quicker.

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FARM-FRESH TO YOU

All of your plants will be freshly dug when you order. The leaves are trimmed and the plants are washed and air-dried. Your daylilies will be out of the ground less than 48 hours before they’re headed your way, and they’ll be ready to plant once they arrive.

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WHAT DOES EVERGREEN AND DORMANT MEAN?

Daylilies are classified as Dormant, Evergreen and Semi-Evergreen. This refers to the foliage: Dormant daylilies like to have a cold period in the winter when they can go dormant (the foliage dies back to the ground). Evergreen daylilies try to grow foliage all year long, and semi-evergreen daylilies are somewhere in the middle, not full foliage, but not completely dormant.

 

 

 

WHICH DAYLILIES CAN I GROW?

It’s pretty simple: most of you can grow any of the daylilies we sell. If you live in an area with a sustained cold period like we do in East Tennessee, you can grow all the varieties. However, If you live in an area that doesn’t get freezing weather in the winter, dormant varieties won’t work for you; you need to choose evergreen or semi-evergreen varieties.
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WHERE (AND HOW) DO I PLANT DAYLILIES?

Daylilies love sun! They need at least 6 hours a day to really thrive. If you live in a super warm planting zone, the color on some of your darker daylilies (like purple or red) may fade. In this case, it’s fine to plant them where they can get a little afternoon shade. For tips on how to plant daylilies, check out this video on our YouTube channel.

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DO I FERTILIZE DAYLILIES?

Every spring, before our daylilies bloom, we sprinkle a high quality, nitrogen rich fertilizer (daylilies love nitrogen!) around the dripline of our plants. What’s the dripline? The area around the base of the plant but not too close to the stalk. After we fertilize, we just water it in and wait for bloom season! If you are looking for a great fertilizer, try ours! It was formulated especially for us by our friends at Beaty Fertilizer. 

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CAN I OVER-FERTILIZE DAYLILIES?

Yes! We recommend fertilizing only in the spring and only before your daylilies bloom. If you fertilize more than that the plant will spend all its energy making foliage instead of producing blooms. Although daylily foliage is lovely, it’s not as lovely as the actual flower! If you think your daylilies need extra attention, you can supplement with just nitrogen in the fall. We don’t recommend fertilizing in the fall because it can encourage new growth that can get damaged during winter.

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WHY DON’T MINE LOOK LIKE YOURS?

Your plants will look like ours once they get established in your garden. It takes a lot of plant energy to adapt to new surroundings. Once they get settled, they’ll take off!

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WHAT IS BLOOM SEASON?

Just like most plants, daylilies have bloom seasons. We live in East Tennessee so our bloom season is a few weeks ahead of folks to the north of us, and a few weeks behind those to our south.

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DO DAYLILIES NEED LOTS OF WATER?

Daylilies are pretty drought tolerant once they’re established. The first few years, though, they need regular drinks from the garden hose (unless it’s a rainy summer—then they’re fine with Mother Nature’s care). If you plant your daylilies in containers, you need to be vigilant with the water—sometimes watering twice a day depending on where you live. Daylilies in containers tend to dry out faster than those planted in the ground.

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Still have more questions? Check out our FAQ page, email us at [email protected], or give us a call at 865-637-3770. We love to talk about daylilies!

Are you a visual learner?

You need to visit our YouTube channel!  Our videos are short but informative and cover a range of topics. PLUS—we are always adding new ones!  If you are interested in How to Plant Daylilies, the difference between Evergreen and Dormant varieties (and which is the right fit for your garden) or 30 seconds with Orange Vols (and other daylily varieties), we’ve got you covered!