Species Daylily, Orange Daylily, Tawny Daylily, Ditch Lily

On Jun 21, 2019, Cathy1163 from West Warwick, RI wrote:

I love this daylily because it saves me money it fills up empty spaces in the garden so I don't need filler plants, friends gave me a batch one year to try and fell in love, i keep them in check by dividing them and filling other areas of my garden, I do occasionally buy other plants to add contrast to them, and offer some to other friends looking for tall daylilies for the back of their borders.

On Jun 16, 2018, MamaCardinal from Florence, KY wrote:

I concur that these can take over. But that's what we needed for the property we're renting. The landlord planted these in a spot that gets very little sun, and only late in the day. We moved them to a sunny spot, with lousy soil that we needed to fill up with zero budget. I keep them contained between the walk and and existing a concrete block edging, and dig out what spreads too close to my rosebush.

BTW, these are NOT tiger lilies. See [[email protected]]

On Jul 16, 2017, CdnErin from Edmonton,
Canada wrote:

I have several of these, and I was going to rip them all out this year, because I have nicer day lilies now that I wanted to put in those spots ...
But then the last 2 summers, the Day Lily Midge* has migrated to my area (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada).... and in finally figuring out what the heck is deforming the bloom buds on my Tawny Day Lily, and spending several hours learning about it, and realizing how devastating the Day Lily Midge is to day lily flowers, I have just in the last 2 days decided to keep the Tawny Ditch Lilies, because they bloom first, which draws the adult midges to lay eggs in their blooms, instead of in my "good" day lilies.
So I am leaving a review of "positive" of this type of day lily, based mostly on that.

I also like that they are go... read moreod for difficult areas, such as my really hot and very dry south-facing hill garden, and even blooming nicely in full (albeit bright) shade.

* ~ If any members here are noticing some of their day lily flower buds suddenly becoming deformed, PLEASE snip them off, break them open and put them in a bucket of soapy water to kill the larvae. They are VERY tiny, microscopically small, when they first hatch. They feed on the flowers from the inside, so insecticides won't touch them. The adults are so extremely small (2mm maximum length) that they are all but invisible when flying & mating. They use a long ovipositor to deposit eggs inside the flower buds of day lilies. The eggs hatch and the larvae feed on the flower bud, then drop to the soil to pupate. They overwinter in the soil below the day lily, then come up the next spring to start they cycle anew.
If you have a "bait" day lily, such as the tawny, it is very early-blooming, so the midges flock to them. I hope this helps!

On Apr 25, 2016, roymathew from bombai,
India wrote:

nice flower, its good for view [url=http://www.ifrrf.org]fallen riders memorial fund[/url]

On Apr 29, 2015, Dolomede from Isle of Wight,
United Kingdom (Zone 9a) wrote:

An overwhelming competitor for other plants, this "lily" will quickly kill any other shorter stemmed species with which it is planted. It has a strong, tall foliage growth - which blocks sunlight and space for other plants - and a rapid spreading habit with its invasive sub-surface rhizome structure. This root structure throws up new shoots regularly so the original planting rapidly expands outwards. It is therefore only suitable for ground cover in less important locations where it can be contained. Whilst having attractive flowers, they are shortlived and for most of the year the planting is a featureless mass of tall green leaves.
Have it, but contain it!

On Jun 20, 2013, limabean from Exeter, NH (Zone 5b) wrote:

I thought I was crazy when it occurred to me that these daylilies were multiplying faster and faster as I tried to dig them out. And where have my scores of other much more lovely daylilies gone? They have been convinced by this INVASIVE common daylily not to be showy. They joined ranks and reverted back to roadside refuse. Ugh.

On Mar 30, 2013, Gunvy0407 from Bolton, MA (Zone 6a) wrote:

I had two huge mulched areas on either side of my driveway that were so big that it would have cost a fortune to plant into regular gardens. I solved the problem by planting these lilies. I bought 100 little fans from http://www.classygroundcovers.com and planted them in late spring 2011. I was surprised that I got flowers that first year; it was blazing hot that summer with very little rain, and I didn't think they'd survive. Summer 2012, the foliage filled out thickly, providing a great ground cover, as well as pretty orange flowers. I am hoping that this year, after a good dose of fertilizer last week, they'll be even lovelier.

On Mar 14, 2012, chattyartist from Clayton, NJ wrote:

This is an INVASIVE species that needs to be eradicated .. It should never be planted as it's on the DO NOT PLANT LIST .. The government spends too much money trying to get rid of plants that hare invasive .. Garden Centers should never sell this plant either!

On Jul 3, 2010, cedar18 from Lula, GA (Zone 7b) wrote:

I have to chime in on the negative side because this plant does not play well with others! It will - quickly - choke out any neighboring hybrid daylilies and your mixed planting will all be orange ditch lilies. I have seen it happen multiple times.

I can see it has a place FAR away from any attempt at gardening but I would not want anyone to think they can use it as "part" of a garden. It will BE the garden, vanquishing all neighbors.

The latest 'victim' was a cousin who dug various colors (supposedly) of daylilies from my grandmother's garden, at her direction. What my grandmother did not realize is that the ditch lily had choked out those red, purple, yellow, and pink daylilies. The poor cousin (who dug these last year) had all ditch lilies to bloom!... read more My grandmother DID have all those colors and has shared them with me over the years. So I promised the cousin divisions of guaranteed colors!

On Feb 18, 2010, mlaihome from Saratoga, CA wrote:

One of the old daylily species that are founded in China (Hunan, and North East provinces). Hardy and can grow in dry arid soil on sunny slopes. It is one of the food stables in Chinese cuisine, and can be used in fresh or in dry/debydrated form, for steaming or stir-fly with pork/chicken or fish and also for making of soup. They gather the flower buds before blooming. These buds are about 6-7 inches in length, light greenish yellow in color. It has a sweet taste after dehydrating.
Since daylily has many hybrid forms, the Chinese only consume Hemerocallis fulva Linn and Hermerocallis Citrina or use it for medicinal purposes and the rest of the species are found to be poisonous. Be careful not to eat any other daylily flower buds as it will cause diarrhea, stomache, etc food poi... read moresoning symptoms and can be life threatening as well. Because of its hardy nature, it can easily spread out and becomes a weed. For purpose of immaculate landscape, Hemerocallis fulva Linn. is not a plant to use.

On Jul 10, 2009, littlelamb from Virginia Beach, VA (Zone 8b) wrote:

I know this is a common daylily here, but I still love it. We moved into my house 8 years ago, and there's a 5 x 20 strip of these daylilies. They have been reliable year after year and I've never done anything to them except rake the leaves out in the late winter. They are so easy to dig up and transplant elsewhere in the yard and will still bloom the same year.

On Jul 14, 2008, Malus2006 from Coon Rapids, MN (Zone 4a) wrote:

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 bloomi... read moreng 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.

On May 31, 2008, moma4faith from Huntsville, AL wrote:

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.

On May 2, 2008, Gabrielle from (Zone 5a) wrote:

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.

On Sep 19, 2007, Mainer from Durham, ME (Zone 3a) wrote:

Single form is fulva, triple form is Kwanso.

On Jun 18, 2007, grandma_deal from Tulsa, OK (Zone 6b) wrote:

Beautiful, dependable.

On Jul 7, 2006, lafko06 from Brimfield, MA (Zone 5a) wrote:

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.

On Jun 3, 2006, marclay from markleysburg, PA (Zone 5a) wrote:

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

On May 16, 2006, jamc100 from Kalkaska, MI wrote:

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.

On May 3, 2005, prometheamoth from Suffolk, VA wrote:

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... read more that supports several species of owls as well as other diverse species of wildlife.

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

On Jul 14, 2004, Lmichelle from Salt Lake City, UT wrote:

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)

On Jan 21, 2004, ariusfelis from Mobile, AL wrote:

It grows in Auburn, AL
and Mobile, AL

On Sep 3, 2003, echoes from South of Winnipeg, MB (Zone 3a) wrote:

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.

On Aug 30, 2002, smiln32 from Oklahoma City, OK (Zone 7a) wrote:

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.

On Mar 13, 2001, Terry from Murfreesboro, TN (Zone 7a) wrote:

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.