Amateur Gardening – 21 May 2019

11 MAY 2019AMATEUR GARDENING 59

Heroes and villain

H

EMEROCALLISareflower-

bordersuperheroesblooming

fromMaytolateAugust,and

theirdisplayin theheatof last

summerwassogood,I’maftermore.

Daylilies,asthey’recommonlyknown,

aresplitintotwobroadgroupsthatalso

divideopinion.Therearethestandard,

shuttlecocked-shapedformsin buttery

yellowsandtangooranges– andthen

therearetheracier,saucer-sized blooms

of thetetraploidtypes.

JustasSpiderMan,TheIncredible

Hulkand...err,TheGreenCrossCode

MangainedsuperpowersfromFrankin-

scienceexperiments,so did these

souped-updaylilies!

Backin the1940sand1950s,

Americanscientistsdiscoveredthat

colchicine– a powerfulcompound

derivedfromautumncrocus– boosted

thegeneticsof daylilyseedlings,giving

themfoursetsof chromosomesinstead

of theusualtwo.Theupshotwasa setof

flowerswithincrediblevigour,stouter

stems and technicolour petals.

Vigorousandbold,manydaylilieshavesuperheroqualities

• but a couple do possess a bitof a darkside,saysToby

“Theseflowershave

stouterstemsand

technicolour petals”

Allwellandgood,youmightthink

• butjustasnobodylikesTheIncredible
  Hulkwhenhe’sangry,manygardeners
  don’tliketheseHemerocallis.Theymay
  notriptheirclothesandroar,butgetting
  biggerhasmeantthatmanytetraploid
  daylilieshavelosttheirgoodlooks.
  ThecreamygreenH.‘Emperor’s
  Choice’is a perfectexample.Thehuge
  bloomshaveswept-backpetals,giving
  themthelookof giantmeringues,and
  whileI enjoythisconfectioneryin small
  amounts,youcanhavetoomuch – and
  soit is withtheseflowers.
  Sometetraploidsaretrulyexcellent,
  though.If youseeH.‘BelaLugosi’,snap
  it up!Thecentreshavea greenishglow
  liketheskinof Frankenstein’smonster,
  but are surrounded by petals that are as

Use those special powers!

deepastheliningof Dracula’scloak– a

dramaticstepupfromtheusualorange

type(H.fulva‘FlorePleno’)that haunts

mostsuburbangardens.

MyfavouritevarietiesaretheSpiders,

a subsectionwithnarrowerandoften

twistedpetals.Likealldaylilies,they

thrivein drysoilsandproducetheirbest

bloomsin sunshinebutthisgroup, to my

eye,is themostelegant.

H.‘RadiationBiohazard’hasflowers

thatlooklikepropellers,in alternating

yellowandmaroon.Theyalsohavea

richfragrance,withsomeof thenight-

scentedH.lilioasphodelusin their

breeding.Topof mywishlist,though,

is richred‘SpiderMan’,whichhassilver

threadsrunningdown the petals. It’s

truly a Marvel!

Toby Buckland

Nurseryman and former Gardeners’ World host

DAYLILIESgettheirnamebecausethebloomsonly

lastfor 24 hours,buttheyareproducedin such

numbersthatreplacementsarealwaysopening.

Grassyweed-suppressingfoliageis another

handsomefeature,makingthemusefulforhiding

thebarestemsof tallerplantsin borders,oraslow

hedgesalongthesidesof paths.Plantdaffodils

betweentheclumpstoextendtheflowerseasonand

hidethebulb’sfoliageamongthedaylilyleavesasit

over.Waterplantswellin thefirstyear– afterthat,

they are remarkably drought-tolerant, even in sandy soils.

All photography TI Media, unless otherwise credited

Hemerocallisfulva‘FlorePleno’,themild-

mannered counterpoint to our superhero

To b y’s trivia

Giventheir

hugeflowering

capacity,displays

canlastforweeks

Healthyclumpsof

Hemerocallisarecapableof

producingover 100 flowersin one

summer.Daylilieswillalsoflowerin

lightshade,butthentheblooms

aren’t as freely produced.

Thelushfoliageofthe

Hemerocallis,pictured

here with hardy geranium

HypnoticH.‘BelaLugosi’withitsgreenish

yellow centres and deep wine petals...

A littlegoesa long

waywiththepuffyH.

‘Emperor’s Choice’

All photography Alamy, unless otherwise credited

Inset: Alacartedaylilies.co.uk