Mill Brook House Daylilies

Daylilies and Climate Change

We had an awful lot of rain this summer, but according to Arjen Vriend of the Pioneer Gardens in Deerfield, "Our garden was soaked with well over 20 inches of rain this summer, and the daylilies loved it."  (Greenfield Recorder, 10/10/23)  Indeed!

                                Daylilies at Mill Brook House in September, 2023

About Late Daylilies

Daylilies that begin in mid-August and last into September can be considered "late" and serve to brighten the garden when other flowers have quit for the season.  Some will last through October if there is no sustained freeze, but their behavior changes.  With cold nights and shorter days, their blooms are often smaller and less colorful.  Even more interesting, they can take two days instead of one to bloom and fade just as slowly.
Late Summer Rose is still blooming in October--very late summer indeed!  But she's blooming over two days here, Oct. 8 (left) and Oct. 9 (right)--same individual flowers!

Here are October versions of other late daylilies compared with their August/September selves (on the right):

 

Vt. River Promenade in Oct.

 

Watermelon Summer in Oct.

Dragon's Eye in Oct.

Back to School in Oct.

Though diminished, these October versions are petite and sweet, as they bravely hold off winter. 

 

 

When a freeze is predicted, one can cut scapes with good-sized buds on these late bloomers and bring them in to flower indoors.