Category: daylily container garden

Tacos, Firebirds, and Skinwalkers: Come see what is new in my drought ridden daylily garden!

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Droughts, Wildfires, and Daylilies

Droughts and wildfires go together, daylilies not so much. The smoke has cleared (mostly) from the Black Canyon of the Gunnison South Rim Fire (<10 miles away), and they have the fire 15% contained. My last blog post talks more about the fire. Some rain has fallen on my garden since the last post, too. The drought continues, though. Keep reading to enjoy my daylilies from the past week!

Colorado Drought Monitor for this week.

Monitoring and Maintaining My Resilient Daylilies

I am surprised my daylilies have done as well as they have this year with the heat and drought. I have somewhere around 190 cultivators. I badly need to do inventory, maps, and labels this year. I love the Flower daylily software, but I struggle to keep it updated. I seem to lose a lot of the newer ones from other climates over the first winter/spring – but I am not even sure what I have lost until I do inventory because some lost tags.

Black Canyon South Rim Fire – Watch Duty from today. About 15% contained.

Honestly, though, I am limited by time and water. I may replace some cultivators if I lose them, but I won’t be adding many more to my total. I’m at capacity. I am growing ditch lilies in the desert drought. I love daylilies, and they are survivors! My time goes into keeping those I have alive and healthy. And, my money goes into city water. I can’t imagine trying to hybridize or sell in my situation.

New Blooms and Current Bloom Rate

I have had a total of 139 cultivators bloom this season (out of around 190). That is a 73% bloom rate. Last year, we only got to the mid-sixties, so I am thrilled. And, the season isn’t over. In the high desert, 80% is a huge win. I need to fertilize, but without the monsoon moisture and cooler temps, I am waiting until next month. With daylilies in pots, I find applying liquid fertilizer improves bloom rate for the following year because the plant is more resilient.

Here are my “first bloom for 2025” cultivators since my last post:

Apache Uprising first bloom 7.17
Autumn Jewels first bloom 7.13
Aztec Firebird first bloom 7.19
Black Arrowhead first bloom 7.15
Carlotta first bloom 7.18
Coburg Fright Wig first bloom 7.14
Coral Taco first bloom 7.15
El Desperado first bloom 7.19
Fox Ears first bloom 7.16
Ghost Ranch first bloom 7.15
Golden Eclipse first bloom 7.15
Heirloom Heaven first bloom 7.18
Indian Sky first bloom 7.14
Just Plum Happy first bloom 7.15
Navajo Grey Hills first bloom 7.15
NOID Ned Roberts (possible Skin Walker or Winds of Love) first bloom 7.17
Orange Vols first bloom 7.15
Route 66 first bloom 7.16
Royal Palace Prince first bloom 7.16
Shape Shifter first bloom 7.19
Skinwalker first bloom 7.16
Taco Twister first bloom 7.13
Zuni Thunderbird 7.18

The bloom peak is now over the top and past the plateau. However, I still have 30-40 cultivators in bloom daily, with 2-3 new ones most days. My beloved Ned Roberts’ southwest names spiders are just now peaking! Life gets extremely busy during daylily season, especially with my business and volunteer work.

Which is your favorite daylily from this post? For me, Zuni Thunderbird has always been a favorite! This computer is even named Zuni Thunderbird after the daylily.

Keep flourishing, Cathy H

Late June/Early July Daylily Blooms: A Peak Season Update

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July is here, and with it comes peak season. I don’t think we are quite to peak yet, but it is approaching quickly. My day starts with photographing each daylily in bloom. Then I feed dogs, irrigate, jog for an hour. When I return, I sit on the front porch and edit the photos. Then, I put them in folders online and post to my personal Facebook page. By then, it’s 2 PM and time for breakfast!

I have had a bunch of new ones since my last post. I will put them in a gallery below. I’ve had 50 new ones since my last post last week!!!

Alabama Jubilee first bloom 7.2.25
Apache Beacon first bloom 7.1.25
Baby Blue Eyes first bloom 6.27.25
Bela Lugosi first bloom 6.28.25
Blackthorn first bloom 6.28.25
Buttered Popcorn first bloom 6.29.25
Canyon Colors first bloom 6.25.25
Catherine Irene first bloom 6.24.25
Chaco Canyon first bloom 6.27.25
Chief Four Fingers first bloom 6.27.25
Chorus Line first bloom 7.2.25
Cricket Call first bloom 7.1.25
Early Bird Cardinal first bloom 6.28
Echo Canyon first bloom 7.2.25
Fine Time Lucille first bloom 7.2.25
“Fringe Benefit” (mislabeled) first bloom 6.28.25
Funny Valentine first bloom 6.24.25
Grape Smash first bloom 7.3.25
Holy Sombrero first bloom 7.3.25
Indian Love Call first bloom 6.24.25
Inwood first bloom 6.25.25
Jog On first bloom 6.27.25
Lady Fingers 6.24.25
Lime Frost 6.26.25

I have had 73 cultivators bloom so far this season out of approximately 190. I lost some last winter. I really need to update my inventory in the software program. Based on those numbers, my bloom rate is about 38% currently. My hope is for 80% this season.

Longlesson Showoff first bloom 6.24.25
Lullaby Baby first bloom 7.2.25
Mauna Loa first bloom 6.28.25
Maya Cha Cha first bloom 7.2.25
Melon Balls first bloom 6.28.25
Mount Echo Sunrise first bloom 6.26.25
Nona’s Garnet Spider first bloom 7.3.25
Nurse’s Stethoscope first bloom 6.29.25
Oh Erica first bloom 7.2.25
Ojo de Dios first bloom 6.24.25
Pandora’s Box first bloom 6.28.24
Papa Longlegs first bloom 8.29.24
Pardon Me first bloom 7.3.25
Passionate Returns first bloom 7.2.25
Pick of the Litter first bloom 7.2.25
Prairie Blue Eyes first bloom 7.3.25
Pueblo Dreamer first bloom 7.2.25
Purple Many Faces first bloom 7.3.25
Purple Moonrise first bloom 7.2.25
NOID “Purple Mystique” first bloom 6.26.25
Quilt Patch first bloom 7.2.25
Royal Palace Prince (maybe) first bloom 6.29.25
South Seas first bloom 7.2.25
Strutter’s Ball first bloom 6.27.25
Thin Man first bloom 6.27.25
Titan Skye first bloom 6.28.25

Today, the rain came. Finally! I am hoping for a good monsoon season. We need it. The drought lingers and is growing to the north. So many wildfires out west. I’m surprised that my daylilies are as happy as they are all things considered.

I adore daylily season. But it is always a lot of work that takes a chunk of the day with the photography. However, at this elevation, heat and humidity, the blooms don’t last long. Somedays, they are pretty faded by noon. They look like melted wax to me.

It’s a very different summer with my civic volunteer work. I adore my mornings on the porch editing daylily photos. Finding balance is hard in a “drought of time.”

Catcha next week. I hope your 4th of July garden brings you joy. Sometimes, we are best to focus on the small things right before our eyes and feel gratitude.

June Daylily Highlights: Thriving in the Heat

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Hello Daylily Fans,

It’s gotten hot, and my yard is exploding with many daylilies. Peak season is still a couple of weeks away, and I have about 130 cultivators with scapes! I lost a couple over the winter, so I need to update my total number one of these days.

Last post, I talked about my first 3 cultivators to bloom: Saratoga Springtime, Dream Keeper, and Stella de Oro. Since then, I have had the following:

All American Chief first bloom 6.22
Bluegrass Music first bloom 6.23
Burgundy Crab first bloom 6.18
Candy Cane Dreams first bloom 6.22
Comanche Princess first bloom 6.21
NOID Dark Mystery first bloom 6.20
Happy Returns first bloom 6.21
Hopi Jewell first bloom 6.20
Jungle Queen first bloom 6.16
Land of Enchantment first bloom 6.23
Orchid Moonrise first bloom 6.21
Prairie Wildfire first bloom 6.19
Primal Scream first bloom 6.23
NOID Red Riddle first bloom 6.22
Return a Smile first bloom 6.18
Ruby Spider first bloom 6.18
Stephanie Returns first bloom 6.23
The Potter’s Touch first bloom 6.23
Wild Horses first bloom 6.16
Yellow Punch first bloom 6.22

Wow! That’s 20 more cultivators in bloom since my first post of the year! My very large array is getting larger! Today, I celebrate 3 years retired from 40 years of nursing. Quite a retirement anniversary bouquet.

I will say that some of my buds opened funny today – Stephanie Returns and Bluegrass Music both look like they wanted to sleep in. We have had days of fire weather with highs in the 90s, wind speeds 35+ MPH, and humidity under 15% (often single digits). And, we are still in extreme drought here (although no water restrictions yet). I think the buds get dried out! I will also say that the super ruffled blooms just don’t open right in such low humidity. I stay away from super ruffles now.

My community work consumes me. I don’t feel as retired as I did last year. I have always made time for the daylily blog. This year, I feel what I am doing is time-sensitive, and I need to balance my time with that in mind. I am not doing daily Instagram posts this year. I think I will update my latest blooms and gardening tips here about once a week.

Tip for today: Deserts don’t have ruffles! They have ridges.

Which of my blooms from this blog is your favorite?

See you soon! Cathy

And So It Begins: A Very Large Array of Daylilies!

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Hello from Western Colorado!

And so it begins! The 2025 daylily season began on May 28th with Saratoga Springtime. Always my first!

Saratoga Springtime 6.2.25

First, I am naming this bloom season “A Very Large Array of Daylilies” in honor of our recent road trip through New Mexico and Arizona with a stop at the Very Large Array (of telescopes). I wonder if daylilies can be used to talk to aliens? (The movie Contact was filmed there.)

My dogs, Kokopelli, Kachina, and Cimarron during our visit do the Very Large Array.

The season started a week or two early this year. This is likely because of the drought. It has been a dry winter and spring so far. My lawn is still semi-brown. I got out a couple of weeks ago and started my drippers to add to the sprinkler water.

Life on the edge of an extreme drought – in April!

Drought tends to bring the daylilies out early, but negatively impacts the overall bloom rate. So, we will see what happens. I currently have about two dozen cultivators with scapes.

This year, I had a lot of weeds in my pots. It is so discouraging to see this because I have nearly 200 pots and digging weeds out is costly in time and money because of soil replacement. I have creeping bellflower that is an invasive weed. The roots of the bellflower resemble daylily roots and they grow into the daylily and choke it out. Pulling them just causes roots to break and spreads the plant.

Creeping bellflower – photo credit.

I decided to get more of the coir rounds (small tree rings) because covering bellflower is somewhat effective. I used these rounds several years ago, and they have helped, but they break down over a few years. The downside is my daylilies don’t spread – but they don’t die, either. They are not for everyone, but growing in a desert in pots – especially with invasive bellflower – they work.

Stella de Oro 6.2.25

Other bloomers so far are Stella de Oro and Dream Keeper. Stella is the generic daylily that is so common in flowerbeds. I like her because she is an early and repeat bloomer. Like most early bloomers, she is a yellow trumpet. (So is Saratoga Springtime.)

Dream Keeper 6.3.25.

Dream Keeper did not bloom last year, so I am happy to see lots of buds on several scapes. She is my first Ned Roberts daylily of the year. For those who may be new to my blog, I have a decent collection of of Ned’s spiders. Last year, my blooms were low for the garden where most of these are located.

As far as the 4 new cultivators I added last year, I lost 2 of them. I lost at least two others. I will blame the drought and the fact that I had some minor medical challenges this winter. I wasn’t focused on watering. I need to do inventory and labeling this summer (hopefully).

This post starts the blog. I generally won’t be doing daily posts this year because I am involved in a lot of civic volunteer work this summer. I will plan weekly, except for during peak. IDK if I will have a set day of the week. We will take it one post at a time. Just wanted to get started on the VERY LARGE ARRAY!

What cultivator bloomed first for you this year?

Happy blooming, Cathy

September Daylily Blooms: 2024 Recap & 2025 Preview Plus Art Sale Update

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September: Where Have All The Daylilies Gone?

It’s September. How on earth did that happen? The days are growing shorter and cooler. Glad for the cool – but dread the time change and cold months.

I had a few more blooms in August – the 20th and 22nd.

Four-Corners Adventure Ends Daylily Season

The 22nd was the day we left for a 2-Corners camping adventure. It’s so fun to see the Ancient Pueblo Ruins. My love of the Southwest shows in my selection of daylilies!

Since returning, I had 1 bloom on September 1st. I have no scapes. This year will either end early or late. We will wait and see. But as of right now, Navajo Curls is my latest bloom for 2024. The scape got broken in the monsoon a few days before, but bloomed she did.

Broken but blooming: My last bloom from Navajo Curls on 9.1.24

Until The Last Daylily Blooms Sale Ends September 20th!

The Until the Last Daylily Blooms sale continues until September 20th – if I have no scapes by then, the sale ends. If I get a late, late scape, then I will resume the sale as previously outlined. This sale means 35% off purchases on selected merchandise including:

  • Art pumpkins
  • Hypertufa pots
  • Terra Cotta pots
  • Leaf castings
  • Tile clocks
  • Daylily wall art
  • Daylily cards

Check them out AT MY ETSY SHOP!

If you entered the “guess the date of the last daylily bloom” contest – I am waiting until freeze and if no new blooms by then, I will give everyone (who entered) the choice of a new plant or a 40% off coupon.

New Daylily Roots: Looking Ahead To Bloom Season 2025

I did get my daylily roots from Doris at Shady Rest Gardens on Saturday.

Daylily roots taking a re-hydration swim before being planted in my yard today.

I generally soak my roots in a big pot to rehydrate them for a day or two before planting. This year, I decided to convert my two squash pots to daylilies because the squash have not done well. You can see how I place the roots in the pot. I cover them and trim the plant back. It’s magic to watch the leaves put out new growth before freeze.

I put my two new OZ daylilies in the squash pots and my two new Ned Roberts daylilies in the large multi-species pots I have out front. I want to get covers for the tops of the pots that are not buried this year.

Anyway – I will check back in about the sale and the contest in a couple of weeks. Until then, keep blooming. And, remember that my daylily art can add a daylily bloom to your decor 24/7/365. Please check out my sale! 35% off on many items through the 20th of this month!

Pacific Moisture Impact on Daylilies: Winter Watering Tips

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Pacific Moisture, Winter Watering, Rearranging Daylilies

More Pacific moisture today on the Colorado Plateau in Montrose, CO. It’s an unusual amount of moisture for us so far this summer. I have a feeling it will be too little too late to increase my daylily scape production. That winter watering matters when we don’t get much precipitation. Next year, I am going to put a reminder in my phone every 2 weeks starting in February to find a warm day to winter water. Lightbulb: When there is no ice build-up on my front porch in the winter, there isn’t enough moisture for the daylilies during these months.

Catherine Irene

The day started off warm and sunny, so I decided to slip away and buy the daylily that I passed up the other day (Collier) because one of my pots needed more daylily. Once I got home, I wrestled the crabgrass out of my beloved Canyon Colors daylily pot and was left with 4 scrawny fans. That is why I got Collier. The colors are fairly close, so I hope they each stand out – but I won’t get any blooms from Canyon Colors this year in the pot – fortunately, I have it in another area and it has scapes.

Canyon Colors 2023 bloom
Collier (web photo)

Then, I moved stuff around. I rescued Just Plumb Happy from the border garden and put her in a pot. She is also very scrawny and won’t bloom this year. I divided my Kwanso (ditch lily) and put some of it in my little front corner garden. Now, that plant is supposed to be slightly invasive (unlike its hybridized daylily offspring) but the high desert is no tropical ditch. She won’t bloom in the pot. I also put a couple fans in my native plant garden. Another day, another experiment. If she becomes invasive, I’ll regret what I did today.

Prairie Wildfire

Today’s First Blooms of the Season

I had a lot of first blooms of the season today. I’ll post my reel with all the names below. Pandora’s Box was added just a couple days ago. I have almost bought this daylily online so many times! I also want to mention All American Chief as being a favorite spider daylily today.

Pandora’s Box
All American Chief

Etsy Shop Daylily Art Sale

This is a friendly reminder about my “Until the Last Daylily Blooms” daylily art sale. How about these beautiful fun-shaped flat cards? These make great thank-you notes! Click here or on the photo to go to the listing.

And, I also have several houseplants on sale. The Tiger Kitten begonias are so pretty and hardy. Very easy care. Click here or on the photo to go to the listing.

If you need a small planter, I have a bunch! How about this cute red, white, and blue VW-type hippy bus for fun 4th of July decor? Click here or on the picture to go to the listing (email me if you like this specific bus because I am still in process with listing it.)

Maximizing Daylily Blooms: Fertilizer Tips and Rainy Day Experiments

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Ruby Spider, my gateway daylily (I’m a daylily addict), showed up for the first time this season. I adore these big red and yellow blooms. Several years ago, I divided her and I now have her in 3 places. She is the only one that can thrive in this clay soil of the Colorado Plateau with all the competitive plant roots.

Ruby Spider 6.26

Today was also a perfect day for a little experiment with fertilizer. Overcast, drizzly, and pretty cool. Tomorrow is supposed to be pretty rainy. By the time I was done, it was sprinkling.

Comanche Princess 6.26

I used to fertilize spring and fall with a sprayer. I am not sure why I stopped. Probably just got busy but I am thinking I need to fertilize more regularly. Pot soil doesn’t interact with the environment the way that ground soil does. The soil can run low on nutrients.

This is the fertilizer I used today – I put 1/3-1/2 cup per plant. I used more for larger pots and plants that had not scaped. Fingers crossed.

Today, I used a perennial fertilizer that may help with inducing some blooms. It is a slow-release type dry fertilizer and I only used it sparingly. I put more closer to the drip system water source. I made this choice because if the soil is depleted, this might be better than a spray.

A small amount of fertilizer in each pot.

I always hold my breath a little when temps are this warm. I have turned daylily plants a stunning yellow by overdoing it with fertilizer, especially with high temps and low water. Sigh – so much for blooms. I am hoping the rain really washes this in tomorrow, but I will likely step up my irrigation for several days.

I also got more daylily photos from last year (and a few from this year) added to my software. If I put a photo of the bloom each year, then I can look back and see if something hasn’t bloomed for a couple of years. That’s a great way to know which pots may need some TLC in the fall or early spring. Or, sometimes, I move it to a different location in the yard to see if that makes a difference.

My daylily software screenshot.

I decided that, for now, I am going to focus on water and fertilizer for the strugglers. I don’t want to mess with roots for fear of stopping any bloom they may have coming – and roots don’t like to be messed with in the heat. I may purchase more coir circles or just buy landscape fabric to put over the top of the grass in the grass/weed-infested pots. Landscape fabric has the advantage of being tucked in a little around the edges, but it is a pain to cut into circles.

I always forget how much time the blog takes. And, I am trying to add backlinks, so that adds more time. Hopefully, I can finish cataloging photos tomorrow – which will help with time. However, wait until peak and keeping up with 60 blooms in one day! Yikes.

Until the Last Daylily Blooms Sale On Etsy

Don’t forget to visit my Etsy shop to see all the daylily art that is on sale for the summer. I also wanted to share one of my tile clocks. This one is on sale until July 5th (not part of the daylily art sale) and is called Arizona Road Trip. The vibrant red-orange center reminds me of a daylily. Click on this link or the photo below to visit the listing.

Arizona Road Trip tile clock.

I think I am going to make some pours during the peak by using the primary color of each cultivator in my yard that day. That will be pretty fun! I’ll add those to the sale! Cupboard knobs, clocks, coasters, succulent planters. Can’t wait!

Daylily Care: Tackling Weed Infestation and Pot Maintenance

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What happened today was a couple first blooms for the season – Comanche Princess and a NOID that I call Dark Mystery. But that’s not all . . .

Today, I wrestled daylily pots! Nothing is as frustrating as grass and creeping bellflower in my pots! Desert daylilies need water – so I have drip systems for 90% of my daylily pots. It is like velcro for grass seeds, grassroots (despite having weed fabric under each pot), and the bellflower. Additionally, the bellflower has tuberous roots that look very much like daylily roots – but lighter in color. Left unattended, they can eventually crowd the daylily out. (Tips for keeping weeds out of pots.)

Unfortunately, chemical choices are limited because the roots of these plants intertwine with the daylily. I have had some luck with the coir rounds – but they wear out in a couple of years and are somewhat expensive in bulk.

I extract the inhabitants of the pot and slowly pull soil and roots away until I expose the daylily roots. Then, I hydro-wash the daylily to get any remaining alien roots off (hopefully) and I repot in new soil. It is a time-consuming process and the pot’s old dirt must be discarded. If you know of an easier way – please post a reply and share your expertise. It is my least favorite part about my daylilies.

Video showing daylily root system.

But, I digress. The day started with me wanting to get the high-bloom fertilizer that I talked about in the blog yesterday. I decided to daylily shop while at the nursery because I had some strugglers that needed to be replaced. I stopped at three nurseries and only one had any daylilies that I don’t already have. So, I got the fertilizer, 2 new daylilies, and some filler plants.

Video on how to fertilize daylilies.

When I got home, I freed the strugglers from their grass and moved them to a different spot to (hopefully) recuperate. I filled the pots with the new daylilies. Now, we wait. I’ll fertilize tomorrow before the storm on Thursday – and I will talk about that in my next post.

Daylily Art Sale on Etsy: Until the Last Daylily Blooms

Don’t forget my daylily art sale. This original painting of Mama Cuna on a wood panel is perfect for the daylily lover’s decor! Click here or on the photo below for the Etsy shop listing.

Mama Cuna acrylic on wood panel.

The Eye of God

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This is not intended to be a religious post, but Ojo de Dios was my favorite “new for 2023 bloom today.

Ojo de Dios first bloom 7.8

There were several others Prairie Wildfire, Cheddar Cheese, Inkheart, and Canyon Colors. Inkheart is a new one from a local nursery to fill a pot left empty by a demise.

Prairie Wildfire first bloom 7.8
Cheddar Cheese first bloom 7.8
Inkheart first bloom 7.8
Canyon Colors first bloom 7.8

There may be lots of snow in the mountains but getting it into my pots when the monsoons haven’t come yet is a challenge. Fire weather alerts daily. But, it’s a dry heat.

Valentines and Show-offs

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Two more beautiful daylilies joined the 2023 party today: Funny Valentine and Longlesson Show-off.

Funny Valentine first bloom 7.3

Funny Valentine was one of my early landscaping daylilies. She produces a huge number of blooms from her pot.

Longlesson Show-off first bloom 7.3

Longlesson Show-off was a bonus daylily. I recently moved it to the back patio to give more room to some new favorites. I think the color is nicer in the new spot.

What will the 4th of July bring?

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