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Daylilies for really extreme heat?
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Posted by tugbrethil Sunset 13, USDA 9 (My Page) on Sun, Jan 24, 10 at 23:58
| I looked at shive's June post and found it intriguing. Some 25 years ago, Daylilies were not really common here in the Valley of the Sun, but some worked reasonably well, and one shopping center tried them in their landscaping. Then the urban heat island effect and global warming took over, and Daylilies gradually left the garden scene in the central Valley. On the other hand, they never really had champions here, to keep up with the latest breeding developments, and most growers aren't really concerned with serious heat tolerance--I suspect that most think of them as absolutely bulletproof as far as heat is concerned.
I copied down all of shive's winner's, and will investigate them, but our level of heat is at least an order of magnitude greater than hers. Here's our current summer heat situation: we usually have about 180 straight days over 100°, 30-40 days over 110°, and about a week of days over 115°! Night time "lows" over 95° can go on for more than two months in our monsoon season.
I realize that this is probably far beyond the experience of most of you, but any light you can shed on heat tolerance in Daylilies in general, and the most ferociously heat tolerant varieties, would be much appreciated.
Thank you!
Kevin : ) |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Daylilies for really extreme heat?
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| Kevin - We rarely get temps of 110 here. But when we have had 110-115 degree temps ALL 500 of my daylilies melt. Of course we have lots of humidity here, and it's the combination of heat and humidity that really harms the blooms. Do you have humidity with your scorching heat, or do you have more desert-like conditions? I know Lyle on this forum lives in Phoenix and successfully grows many daylily cultivars there. Debra |
RE: Daylilies for really extreme heat?
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| 110°-115° in Tennessee?! Yipes!! I had no idea! As for our humidity in Phoenix, it's a dry heat up until late June, early July, when the dew point goes up to 60°-70°, and usually stays there until late August or early September. Probably still fairly dry by your standards, but humid to us. That's also when the night temperatures hover in the high 90's. Oh, well. I guess I was hoping for a shortcut to picking the best ones to try here. I hope this doesn't mean that Daylilies are a thing of the past here in the Valley of the Sun. Kevin : [ |
RE: Daylilies for really extreme heat?
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| Kevin - We very rarely get that hot - only three summers in the 20 years I've lived here. Some of the ones I recommended last summer during our heatwave might do OK for you. LAST SNOWFLAKE is the best one for all kinds of severe weather. Debra |
RE: Daylilies for really extreme heat?
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| I seached up your picture of it, Debra. Very pretty! I've got to find some. Are there "places" and "shows" in other colors? I'm especially looking for gold and orange. Thank you so much!
Kevin : ]) |
RE: Daylilies for really extreme heat?
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Kevin,
Most daylilies that do well in the rest of the country will not do well in extreme heat. Here in the hot inland valleys of California, the best daylily nurseries only recommend a few varieties. Greenwood specializes in daylilies for the landscaping trade, and carries varieties that can sit on black asphalt in black nursery cans until planted, according to their website. I don't see why daylilies should love Florida so much and hate my California garden, but I guess that's life! Take a look at what Greenwood says and sells and maybe you will find some varieties you like there. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Greenwood Nursery
RE: Daylilies for really extreme heat?
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| Kevin - The good news is that gold and orange daylilies fare better than most other colors in the extreme heat. I would recommend BILL NORRIS, TIGGER, ABUNDANT RUFFLES and ORANGE JADE. Debra |
RE: Daylilies for really extreme heat?
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| Thanks, hosenemesis! I used your link, but I could find no mention of heat tolerance on any page I read. I probably just need to take my time, and look more carefully. Thanks also, Debra for your info! I'll check those out right away! Kevin : ]) |
RE: Daylilies for really extreme heat?
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| I find growing daylilies in the Phoenix not much different than any other plant that requires certain conditions. If you look a rose bush in late July it doesn’t have the best of blooms if any! Soil prep is the most important thing in our arid climate if you wish to grow plants like daylilies which like the soil toward the acid side. Any advice from Debra is good advice you can learn a lot from different regions even though their climate is much different they also have problems with deer, drought and other enemies to daylilies we don’t have, we do have one thing in common we all love daylilies and do what we need to do to grow them.
Lyle
WHITE MOUNTAIN X FANTASTIC FRINGE 
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RE: Daylilies for really extreme heat?
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I stayed the Phoenix area for about 10 days during late July and into early August, so I have experienced your weather. You have about another 10-15 degrees on us both day and night here in east-central Georgia, and that will make a difference. But the biggest difference is the humidity, not the temperature. Your climate was well described in an earlier post - - arid. So you will have to keep the daylily root zone moist. I noticed during my visit that people soak their lawns and gardens rather than use sprinklers because water that is shot into the air as droplets does not come back down to the earth. It evaporates. My suggestion would be to have a thick layer of mulch in your beds, but with the layer thinning out about 1-2 inches around the plant itself. The mulch will help to keep the ground somewhat cooler. Also, underneath the mulch you will need either soaker hoses or a drip irrigation system to keep the ground moist. You will have to determine how much water how often because daylilies love to be moist, but some can be prone to rot if they are too wet.
I also agree with the post above that says to use lighter colored daylilies as they are more likely to hold up in the heat that darker ones like purples, reds, deep orange. Instead, consider light yellows, light pinks, melon, near-whites. I doubt that you can find a dark colored daylily that can stand up to your heat for more than a couple of hours.
Finally (in addition to getting your soil right as mentioned above), see if you can plant them where they will get some relief from the sun, particularly the afternoon sun. Do you have any areas where you get shade in the afternoon? It can be filtered or full shade, but your sun will wilt just about anything that is left out in it all day including "full sun" plants! You might want to start with some of the less expensive ones, and you can judge your next step forward based on your success - - or lack of it.
Good luck!
Larry |
RE: Daylilies for really extreme heat?
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| My experience growing daylilies in the 80's showed that even if a red, pink, or purple daylily survived the heat, the flowers were uuugly! Somehow, even if obviously not dead, brown and black flowers don't turn my keys. In the late 90's and early "oughts", even the yellow, gold, and orange varieties that we relied on--which none of the nurseries seemed to know the names of--seemed to gradually fizzle out as the heat island effect took over. I was hoping that newer kinds with more heat resistance had been developed since then. Most of my recent experiments have failed in the summer, even using the precautions Larry outlined (which are simply good garden practice, here). One thing that I have noticed is that the big growers that supply most of the nurseries here are pushing deciduous varieties, which are reputed to be less heat tolerant. Ask the average nurseryman for evergreen kinds, and the response is "doh?!" Buying them mail order can be even worse, because they're likely to send the plants in time for planting in Santa Fe (because we're in the Southwest), or planting in Tacoma (because we're in USDA zone 9). If any growers are listening, the best time to plant daylilies in the low desert is October. Sorry about the rant, but finding knowledgable gardening support in my area is frustrating. Thank you all for the excellent info!!
Kevin : ]) |
RE: Daylilies for really extreme heat?
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| Kevin - If you would like information on growing in the Phoenix area you could check out the local club! |
Here is a link that might be useful: DDS
RE: Daylilies for really extreme heat?
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| Boy do I feel dumb! I haven't seen them in front yards or nurseries for so long, I thought that they had disappeared from the Valley of the Sun. Instead, they are apparently alive and well in the back yards, where you can get arrested (rightly so!) for peering over the fence. I didn't even think to look for a local society! Thank you so much, lyle. I'll check them out right away!
Kevin : ] |
RE: Daylilies for really extreme heat?
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| Kevin, If you want them in October, I suspect Maryott would send them then. kay |
RE: Daylilies for really extreme heat?
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| Maryott won't ship after Sept. 15--I asked! Florida has hot temps too, but massive amounts of humidity. Many daylilies go into summer dormancy when the temps get high. My garden blooms from late March to early October, but many plants just can't handle the heat. They bloom early and go underground. I expect that might happen in your area too. |
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