Bed Prep for Line Out
We are often asked "How do you prepare a daylily bed?" or "What about seeds?" and more...Glad you asked and hope this is of help. Have a good day.
Clarence and Beth Crochet
Soil: Our soil is a loam, as it contains clay, silt, sand, and organic matter in the form of composted pine bark. Our raised beds are usually about one foot higher than the surrounding soil and the beds slant downward to surrounding ground level. Organic matter is added every year. We will add pine bark and occasionally peat moss in places that dry out quickly (like near shrubs and trees). We get a soil test done often, almost every year, and especially if we can see some kind of decline in our plants --yellowing leaves, loss of stamina, reduced leaf height, etc. We have found that the number of earth worms in a soil tells us if our soil is fertile and alive.
Soil pH: pH check is regular and we either do it at home, especially on suspect beds. If not, we take a sample to be tested by LSU through the county agent's office. Liming, of course, raises the PH, is done in the fall, and done through recommendation only. We have found that daylilies do not like too acidic soils. Agricultural lime becomes necessary to correct this. Agricultural Lime is now available as pellets and is easy to apply by hand.
Fertilizer: We fertilize again in the spring adding more than in the fall. In Prairieville, it is end of Feburary. I am in the habit of applying 20-10-20 Peters water soluble in the spring when it is still cool enough. At that time, we use this almost weekly, especially on our new or expensive plants, remembering that the plants must be watered between applications. However, hot weather is a definite cut off for this practice. But we don't fertilize at any other time opting for watering instead.
Mulch: Our best mulch for many years has been bagasse (sugar cane waste) right fresh out of the sugar mill. It breaks down and by fall is hardly noticable. What remains is easily raked off the beds. Mulch is placed around the plants 5-inches deep after planting very shallowly.
Seeds: Seeds are planted closely and thickly. We mark the crosses on 6-inch plastic tags. These remain in place until the seedlings are lined out rather closely the following spring (7 or 8 inches apart in rows spaced only 10 inches apart). Incidentally, in planting seeds, we remember that they must be planted shallowly and I do this by marking the row with my index finger and dropping the seeds and covering the little depressions with my thumb and index finger. The plastic stakes are used to identify all crosses. We plant nothing until the day after the first cool night in October. It is folly to believe the daylilies can be planted in the daytime heat, we also wait until then to plant the seeds from the refrigerator. We get rather good germination but not as good as if we had planted them immediately after harvesting. Immediate planting is done in absolute shade for weeks.
Dividing & Lining Out: Even with the relentless drought and intense heat, it is important to think ahead and realize that "lining out" is near at hand. We have a set number of things to do before the actual planting. First, we plant nothing until the day after the first cool night in October. It is folly to believe the daylilies can be planted in the daytime heat, (we also wait until then to plant the seeds from the refrigerator). Beds are tilled deeply. We use a tiller that tills 14 inches deep. We add composted pine bark and builder's sand if needed, the sand assures good drainage. We also add alfalfa pellets to the beds. They are tilled deeply three times and beds are elevated after all the years of following this practice. They are then formed so that the sides slope downward and the middle is the highest point. This assures good drainage. If no rain, we still water 1-2 inches per week. Lining out means that clumps are divided or that we are planting singles of new ones. In good soils, plants may be planted closer than the 18 inch recommendation. If so, the plants must be given TLC as much as possible. (I have noticed a burning of the leaf ends on our plants for the most part). This is caused by the sun, of course. Mulch is placed around the plants 5-inches deep after planting very shallowly. The plant crown is covered with only one-fourth inch of dirt. If left alone, plants will sink downward in the good beds after two or more years, where they must be divided again. Most daylilies divide easily by being pulled apart at the roots and NOT THE TOPS! Pulling at the tops usually assures breakage at the crown. Tops are trimmed with good scissors (Fiscar) to about 6-inches high. Why cut the tops? They will die anyway and look unsightly. It is easier to mulch around trimmed plants. At this point we fertilize, using 12-6-10 Grower's Supreme granular and using a very light application. Four bags will do the whole place. We get this brand of fertilizer from Clegg's Nursery in Baton Rouge. We do avoid over doing the fertilizer as we consider this to be to the detrement of the plants. Our plants pass the winter this way and usually respond well with this practice. We also constantly revise our growing-fertilizing practice to be able do a better job in this respect.
Clarence and Beth Crochet
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