Daylily care is very straight forward. Planting them is also fairly simple. When to plant them, however, isn’t quite as clear cut. Daylilies aren’t bulbs so planting them isn’t season specific and there’s no across-the-board answer. The truth is, the best time to plant daylilies depends on where you live.
When is the Best Time to Plant Daylilies?
If you live in planting zones 3-8, you can plant in the spring, summer or fall. Gardeners in the hottest areas of the country (zones 9-11) can plant in the spring, the fall, and often straight through the winter, but may want to avoid planting in the heat of the summer.
Oakes Farm is in planting zone 7. Our favorite time to plant is in the fall. Plants planted in the fall have time to get established and bloom next summer. If you choose to plant in the fall, try to finish planting 4-6 weeks before your first hard frost. You can plant later in the fall if you take care to water and mulch your newly-planted daylilies.
Spring is also a great time to plant daylilies. You should wait to plant until after the danger of hard frost has passed. If you plant earlier in the spring, you should take care to water and mulch your newly planted daylilies.
In most areas, you can plant daylilies in the summer (here at our nursery we plant straight from March through October), just be sure to give your newly-planted daylilies plenty of water.
What About Frost?
If you order from us, we take the guesswork out of when to plant. Spring shipments should arrive after the ground has thawed and danger of hard frost has passed. Fall shipments should arrive several weeks before freezing weather, although you can plant later if you will mulch the plants.
If you follow these easy planting rules, you’ll have a garden full of beautiful daylilies in no time! After all, daylilies make the world more beautiful.
If you are interested in watching a video about how to plant daylilies, please visit our YouTube channel and watch “Plant A Daylily Bed: Everything You Need for Successful Planting.”
