By DOUG GRAVES
Ohio Correspondent

LEBANON, Ohio — The daylily is sometimes referred to as the perfect perennial because it is available in a rainbow of colors and a variety of shapes and sizes, able to survive with little care in a wide range of climates, suitable for all types of landscapes, drought tolerant when necessary, with relatively few pest and disease problems in most gardens, adaptable to various soil and light conditions and known to bloom from late spring until autumn.

The genus Hemerocallis is native to Asia. Since the early 1930s, hybridizers in the United States and England have made great improvements in daylilies. Originally, the only colors were yellow, orange and fulvous red.

Today there are colors ranging from near-whites, pastels, yellows, oranges, pinks, vivid reds, crimson, purple, nearly true-blue and fabulous blends.

Many people are familiar with only the common yellow or orange daylilies which are often seen along roadsides. These daylilies are cultivated forms of the wild types of daylilies which have “escaped” and are growing as if they are wild. All the modern daylilies have been developed through a complicated history of hybridization among these and other wild types.

The outer portion of the daylily flower is considered to be the basic color of the flower and the flowers come in many forms: circular, triangular, star, informal, ruffled, flat, recurved, trumpet, spider and double (with more than six segments to the flower). Daylilies bloom from early spring until frost, depending on the coldness of the climate.

The cold hardiness of daylilies is quite variable. Some are ironclad hardy. Others are extremely tender.

Cold hardiness is not determined by the foliage habit. Evergreen, dormant and semi-evergreen can be anything from extremely cold-hardy to extremely tender. To avoid risk of losing a cultivar, choose daylilies that others have already grown successfully in your
climate.