PlantFiles: Orange Daylily, Tawny Daylily, Tiger Lily, Ditch Lily
Hemerocallis fulva

One of the tougest of daylilies, it doesn't seed itself but can come up from pieces of roots (must have crown attached) and will still grows if you pull it up and throw it in a moist enough location (on bare rocks the heat and dryness will kill it). The red, variegated, yellow, double flower forms are just as aggressive as the orginal form though the variegated form tend to revert to green in tough conditions. The number one most common planted daylily species (stella d'oro and allies with grass - like foliages comes in 2nd place with all others a very very distant third place). A heirloom species that people often bring from one house to another even though they are rare in nursery nowaday because of their tendacy to thrive even when neglected - I have seen them in dry shade (never blooming of course and weak) to dry to mesic grassland conditions. Deer loves their flowers and will snacks on them. I have seen them on roadside in both urban and rural environment and like the other message, they are sterile so you can tell where old houses long gone used to be by the daylilies nearby. They are not native but due to their sterile conditons they are easily wiped out if they threaten rare plants if the top 6 inches of soil is removed along with the plants to remove any rhizomes or roots large enough to make new plants. I won't recommends them for mixed gardens with delicate plants or plants smaller than they are. They are best used as massed plants in tough locations like blvds, steep slopes, areas where deer roams, and area where they can be neglected but you have to keep a eye out for taller weeds as they are not a complete sun block - canada thistle tend to be a frequent problems in patches of tawny daylilies.

So pretty that I dug it up and planted it in my front yard around my mailbox. I HOPE it becomes invasive and fights the ugly weeds to the death!

We bought a home in October, 2007, and imagine my happy surprise when these beauties started sprouting up this spring. It feels like home, as these flowers have been in my family gardens for years. Very hardy and they are ready to be divided. I've never found them to be invasive, but they are usually planted against something like a fence or garage. I also have some red mixed in with the orange and need to get out there and see what is going on.

The ultimate flower, a sure sign that it's summer! Sure, there are all the other varieties of daylily but my house wouldn't be "home" without a few clumps scattered about and a row somewhere along a fence or building ( a sloped garage or shed without gutters tends to create a perfect natural edge to keep a row contained). Availability, lack of disease/maintenance, and pretty blooms on tall scapes at the peak of the growing season make these a winner.

Long sunny days with hot, miserable nights...prime for catfishing, BBQ's, family gatherings/parties and (of course) orange ditchlilies. It just wouldn't be summer without these prolific friends on the invite list! (An old, old friend I appreciate both in the wild and my own landscape, they make me smile)

These will take over in no time, especially if you have well amended soil. My neighbor has them along the back fence, and it is a constant battle to keep them out of my garden.

You'll find this beauty growing in ditches all along the roads in many parts of West Virginia. I love having them and always put up signs to make sure the state road workers don't cut them down! =) All the guys know if they cut it down on the farm they'll get in trouble!! lol The deer love eating them, but there are plenty to go around!

Single form is fulva, triple form is Kwanso.

Hemerocallis fulva "Europa" is a pod sterile triploid mule that almost never bears seeds. If you see it, people have spread the roots. Even inch-long pieces can develop into blooming plants busily spreading by underground shoots up to a foot long.
It does persist wonderfully. My parents inherited a bed in 1952 that is already budded for the 2007 season. Because it is pod sterile, the tall scapes are self cleaning. The scapes very rarely have even three branches, so they bud build and bloom over a relatively long season. Here the foliage fails after the last flowers in all but the wettest summers.
We have had accidential success overplanting it with the larger Snowdrops whose yearly cycle is complete by the time the Daylily's growth seriously starts up.

Beautiful, dependable.

We have grown these two plants who have grown into many more offspring for over 25 years. They have always been the orange color--until this morning. I found one YELLOW flower in with the rest. What a surprise--mutation or what?? I don't know. Yes, they are prolific, but easy to care for and so pretty to look at on the hill. Will try to add the picture of some with the yellow one. Karen (aka liebran)

I have heard this plant can be invasive, however, in my yard, I have grown it in my pathway borders for 3 years and it does beautifully without taking over in any way. The other day, I dug up some on the roadway and put them in one of the backs of a garden bed. I love the vivid color and the ease of growing this plant.

Since so little has been mentioned pertaining to the food value of this plant, I thought I'd mention something. The following is from The Encyclopedia of Edible Plants of North America by Francois Couplan, PH.D.

"Numerous Hemerocallis spp. are used as food in Eastern Asia, including H. flava and fulva.

The young roots are eaten raw. Older ones must be cooked.

The young shoots are edible raw.

The flower buds are eaten raw or slightly steamed. They are also pickled. They can be made into delicious omelettes.

The expanded flowers are eaten raw, fried, or added to soups as an aromatic thickener. They are often dried or preserved in salt, and must then be soaked in water before using. Wilted flowers are added to soups and stews."

And Edible Wild Plants of Eastern North America by Merritt Lyndon Fernald and Alfred Charles Kinsey states the following.

"The fully grown buds or the freshly expanded flowers of Hemerocallis fulva immersed in a batter of beaten egg, milk, flour, and seasoning and browned like fritters in oil or butter are a delicious and quickly prepared vegetable. They require only five minutes (long enough to brown, turned twice, on each side). The fleshy tuber-like roots, borne in clusters like dahlia-roots, boiled in salted water, taste like a blend of sweet corn and salsify."

Good filler for any hard to plant area. Have both the single and double Kwanzo which are beautiful. Dont find them invasive at all

I dug up some of these a few years ago that were growing on the side of the road. Though some folks consider them common and invasive, I don't find them to be. I think they are lovely, drought and deer- proof plants that require absolutely no care whatsoever.

My Dad did not like these flowers. They were growing in several areas around the yard. He tried to mow them down, they came right back. Yeah, they are definately hardy. They've been in my parents yard as long as I remember, never been let down by them.

I have Kwanso varigated. It comes up with cream and green stripes in the spring, and reverts to green durring the summer. It comes up with mostly green leaves in the spring, so I'm constantly digging and discarding them. Only a few come up varigated, so I can keep it under control.

Grows everywhere, but you knew that already.
Just wanted to mention that even though it has invasive qualities, it also is a staunch survivor in VERY urban areas.

I was an Urban Park Ranger in New York City for many years and found this lily growing in the absolute worst conditions, where native species would not thrive. Where shrubby understory was torn out of the forests of Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx during the seventies (an uneducated, reactionary tactic to prevent crime!), these lilies have taken over and provide a thick green carpet with orange blossoms all summer, a pleasant surprise in NY! If the lilies were not there, people would be stomping all over the forest, compacting the soil and affecting drainage and ability for other plants to grow in this forest that supports several species of owls as well as other diverse species of wildlife.

So invasive? Yes. Bad? Not always...

This is a good tough plant for a hard area..... most daylilies are but these are the hardiest but also the least showy...... they are nice for naturalistic settings or as I said..... or enmass for low maintenance........ the blossoms are delicious...... the species I think are the tasttiest...... the overall effect is like zucchini...... let the plants bloom so they look pretty then at sundown go an harvest them....... clean them out to make sure there' s no bugs in them...... don't eat the stem..... fry them up like zucchini blossoms....... also you can stuff them with ricotta for a sweet treat sprinkle them with powdered sugar or honey and flavored water...... h mmmmmm ....... They can grow easily by seeds and they can spread.... they're hardly invasive though..... a nice plant to have...... somewhere in your yard........ :)

I live in Utah and my Lillies are the only thing that want to grow. I love my lillies. I have also found that they enjoy grass and green fert. They say, flowers need a more phospherous fert., they like the nitro rich fert you would typically use on grass.(minus the broad leaf killer)

Grows prolific in Edmonton, AB, Canada.

It grows in Auburn, AL
and Mobile, AL

Hemerocallis fulva spreads underground and can cover a wide area over time. It is considered invasive by some, and will crowd out other plants close by. I would not use this daylily in a border, or as a feature plant, but the double form, 'Kwanzo' or 'Flore Pleno' (as in one of the submitted pictures)is nice in a natuaralized setting.

Prolific & hardy here in Zone 7. We've had them for several years and enjoy the brilliant orange/yellow shades.

Where I grew up, this was called a railroad lily as it grew next to the railroad tracks that ran through our town. I dug some up this summer (in IL) and transplanted it back here in AL and it's just thriving.

I have grown this plant in Kentucky and in Zone 8b Florida (U.S.) and love it. This plant is very durable and hardy. In Florida it can rebloom under certain conditions. It goes dormant in both climates.

The common orange daylily has become widely naturalized in fields, hedgerows and along pools or stream. It will tolerate dry to moist soil, full sun to shade, producing orange or tawny-colored blooms from May-July. The tubers and unopened, green flower buds are both edible.

As popular and ubiquitous as it is, it's also considered an invasive pest in some areas; gardeners should be aware of their local guidelines before planting.