I was waiting for someone to reply to this one, but .....

I have an experimental patch of ground in my garden where I have not fertilized or amended the soil - except turning under sparse sod & weeds that have accumulated. When we arrived here 25 years ago this corner of the garden was almost barren. Even weeds and natural grasses were sparse.(We purchased a neglected perennial nursery which produced mostly potted sedums and ground-covers for wholesale & farm-gate sales)

We're situated on a glacial moraine consisting of predominantly sand and aggregate - gravel + small pebbles + larger scattered stones to several hundreds of pounds each. There is minimal to non-existing organic materials within this 1000 or so square feet. Initially we thought it had been treated with a powerful herbicide, but over the early years realized that it is simply poor quality soil as a gardener would define it. It is such that it can be tilled during a rainstorm. Nutrients leach through rapidly & it dries out very quickly after any amount of rain. There are no earthworms, no toads, no snails ... There is very little forage for any such critters.

I started by mentioning 'experimental' ... I have 25-30 4 year old diploid seedlings purposefully planted there that are still at only 7-8 inches tall. There are 20 or so tet seedlings of 6-7 years that started to bloom on skimpy plants only last year. Related seedlings grown elsewhere here, on amended soil, develop normally and most seem to bloom in their 2nd & 3rd years as expected (USA Z4 - Cdn Z5)

Adjacent to this barren plot I have worked with the soil for over 15 years by adding organic materials plus commercial granular & liquid fertilizers for my collection of daylilies (Plus a few other preferred types of perennials - More an 'industrial' than a 'display' type garden. We do not produce & sell any plants).

Organic materials include composted & 'raw' poultry litter (Soft-wood shavings) plus composted sheep manure (300 head sheep operation on the adjacent farm) plus leaf compost (Endless supply hereabouts if one wants to gather it) ... Also, there are the purchased materials of peat-moss & composted (bagged) cattle manures etc.

After many years I've accepted that the soil - in this case the sand & gravel - is simply there for the plants to support themselves (Like synthetic potting soils). Force-feeding with commercial chemical fertilizers does encourage growth, but it is not sustained, as it does not stay for long in the soil. The only consistent, predictable, reliable requirement is organic materials - a mix of types that break down rapidly (Manures) & slower (leaves; wood-shavings; straw & hay; etc.) ... Add in moisture retaining stuff such as peat-moss & vermiculite etc.

A few years ago one of our local club members reminded us of 'The Lasagna Method' of soil building (GOOGLE the term) and it works. My father-in-law used it (Unaware of this modern term) 50 years ago in his predominantly clay soiled vegetable garden. Nowadays, science has revealed that a healthy mix & population of the invisible but alive creatures in our soils are critically important. Find the book 'TEAMING WITH MICROBES' (Revised edition) 2010 Timber Press, by Lowenfels & Lewis and you should find the answers you are looking for. One of their chapters says it all so effectively: - "No One Ever Fertilized an Old Growth Forest."

When 'organic gardening' was 'THE Big Thing' for people-of-the green-thumb-crowds several years ago, the back-to-the-land types, I was then gardening on good naturally rich soil, so more-or-less discounted the movement as just a current trend, a fad. Nowadays, having to make - to create - suitable soil, I realize just how effective their words & directives were & continue to be. Forget the current value of 'Organic' as encountered in the grocery store. Go back to the original core value of the term & you'll do OK with your plants.

I agree with wildbirds - Organic is the way to go. Compost is called "gardeners gold" for good reason. Daylilies like a moderately fertile soil, but we do not know what you are starting with so it is difficult to advise you.

The very best possible mix will be a good start. Daylilies are not picky about what they grow in but they will do so much better and increase more if you have them in a rich organic mixture. I buy mine from a local nursery. It is pine fines, sand, loam and leaf compost mix. They do well in it.

I have awful clay soil!!

I ended up just going with my gut snd building the soil with horse manure. The ground here is pretty good, it's just lacking some nutrients. I also used a grneral purpose granulated fertilizer to give the plants a helping hand
So far things are looking good. They get roughly 8 hours of sun with protection from the worst of the afternoon heat. I'm still getting at least one or two flowers every day so they aren't too bothered by the transition.

Wildbirds- it sounds like you've done a lot of back breaking work for your daylilies, I hope they perform well for you :) I have heard of the Lasagna Method before. I think my mum has been doing it without realising and her vegie garden is lovely. She also has vhooks for permaculture, but they have a habit of forgetting their job and ending up in the neighbor's pistachio orchard.