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Getting it to bloom

Why won't my Daylily bloom? (and how to make it flower)

Also called day lily, orange daylily, ditch lily, tawny daylily (Hemerocallis spp.).

More about daylily

About Daylily

Hemerocallis spp. · also called day lily, orange daylily · flowering

Daylilies are tough, clump-forming perennials whose lily-like blooms each last a single day, opening in succession through summer. Easy and vigorous in the garden. Despite not being a true lily, they are just as deadly to cats.

Plant type: flowering

Watch for — Few or no blooms: Too much shade or overcrowding; move to full sun and divide clumps.

The reasons daylily isn't blooming

Almost every non-blooming daylily traces back to one of these, roughly in order of how common they are:

  1. Too little sun — most of these need full sun (or very bright light) to flower well; shade gives leaves, not blooms.
  2. Too much nitrogen feed, driving lush foliage at the expense of flowers (very common with general or lawn feeds).
  3. The plant has not been deadheaded, so it stops flowering once it sets seed.
  4. Irregular watering — drought or waterlogging at the budding stage makes buds abort.
  5. It is still too young or was checked by a transplant and is rebuilding before flowering.

Feeding daylily a high-nitrogen general feed and growing it in too little sun — you get a big leafy plant and almost no flowers.

The fix — how to get daylily to flower

  1. Maximise sun. Give daylily the sunniest spot you have — for most bedding and fruiting plants, more direct light directly means more flowers.
  2. Switch the feed. Move off high-nitrogen feeds and use a higher-potassium "bloom" or tomato-type feed as it comes into flower.
  3. Deadhead regularly. Remove spent flowers often to keep it producing more rather than stopping to set seed.
  4. Water consistently. Keep moisture even through budding and flowering — drought-then-flood swings make buds drop.

Light and feeding do most of the heavy lifting here. Dial in the spot with the light guide for daylily and get the feeding right with the daylily fertilising schedule — the wrong feed (too much nitrogen) is one of the most common silent reasons a healthy plant makes leaves instead of flowers.

Bloom season and what to expect

Daylily flowers across its growing season (mostly summer) and, kept fed and deadheaded, can bloom for many weeks or right up to frost.

Post-bloom care so it flowers again

Deadhead, keep feeding lightly, and many will rebloom; collect seed from the best plants at the end of the season if you want to grow them again.

For everything else this plant needs day to day, see the full daylily care brief and its watering schedule — a stressed, badly watered plant rarely has the energy to flower at all.

Daylily blooming — frequently asked questions

Why won't my daylily flower?

Daylily blooms on the season's growth given enough sun, warmth and the right feed — there is no cold or photoperiod trick, just good growing conditions and a bloom-leaning feed. The most common reason it is not happening: Too little sun — most of these need full sun (or very bright light) to flower well; shade gives leaves, not blooms.

How do I make daylily bloom?

Give daylily the sunniest spot you have — for most bedding and fruiting plants, more direct light directly means more flowers. Move off high-nitrogen feeds and use a higher-potassium "bloom" or tomato-type feed as it comes into flower.

When does daylily normally bloom?

Daylily flowers across its growing season (mostly summer) and, kept fed and deadheaded, can bloom for many weeks or right up to frost.

What should I do with daylily after it flowers?

Deadhead, keep feeding lightly, and many will rebloom; collect seed from the best plants at the end of the season if you want to grow them again.

What is the single biggest mistake stopping daylily flowering?

Feeding daylily a high-nitrogen general feed and growing it in too little sun — you get a big leafy plant and almost no flowers.

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