Oakville Farm Daylily Blog

"The sun is brilliant in the sky but its warmth does not reach my face.
The breeze stirs the trees but leaves my hair unmoved.
The cooling rain will feed the grass but will not slake my thirst.
It is all inches away but further from me than my dreams."
- M. Romeo LaFlamme

Doesn't that sound like the month of March? Winter of 2012, however, has brought bright blaring sun. Our high temperature today was 84 degrees, well over our 63 degree average! What is comin' next? Spring, no wait, appears that the summertime temps are here. Oh my, the weather is all askew!

Daylilies are tolerating this weather. Growing more and more daily. While outdoors yesterday, was looking at the dormant varieties. Last years daylily leaves are laying on the ground around the plants as mulch. Some say to let last years old dried leaves lay, others prefer to remove it. If you want to clean up around daylilies, be very careful if cleaning now. The new growth which is emerging from the ground is tender and should not be rudely disrupted. Gently remove the decay and discard. If leaving the decay as mulch, daylilies like that as well. It is personal preference, so try it both ways. If you like it well groomed, clean away the material. And if you live in a colder climate and want a light mulch, leave the material for the winter. Heavy mulch should be cleared away in the spring.

So while outdoors today, peruse around and think outside the box and try something different ... decaying leaves vs well groomed. Hope you have a good day and until next time, Happy Gardening.