Getting it to bloom

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

Also called Chicago Apache daylily, red daylily (Hemerocallis 'Chicago Apache').

More about daylily 'chicago apache'

About Daylily 'Chicago Apache'

Hemerocallis 'Chicago Apache' · also called Chicago Apache daylily, red daylily · flowering

Hemerocallis 'Chicago Apache' is a vigorous, award-winning daylily producing vivid scarlet-red, ruffled blooms in mid-summer. It thrives in full sun with average moisture and forms clumping, grass-like foliage. Extremely toxic to cats — even small ingestions can cause acute kidney failure. Dogs may experience gastrointestinal upset.

Plant type: flowering

Watch for — Aphids: Colonies cluster on new buds and scapes in spring. Knock off with a strong water jet or apply insecticidal soap; natural predators usually provide control.

The reasons daylily 'chicago apache' isn't blooming

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

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

Feeding daylily 'chicago apache' 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 'chicago apache' to flower

Maximise sun. Give daylily 'chicago apache' the sunniest spot you have — for most bedding and fruiting plants, more direct light directly means more flowers.
Switch the feed. Move off high-nitrogen feeds and use a higher-potassium "bloom" or tomato-type feed as it comes into flower.
Deadhead regularly. Remove spent flowers often to keep it producing more rather than stopping to set seed.
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 'chicago apache' and get the feeding right with the daylily 'chicago apache' 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 'Chicago Apache' 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 'chicago apache' care brief and its watering schedule — a stressed, badly watered plant rarely has the energy to flower at all.

Daylily 'Chicago Apache' blooming — frequently asked questions

Why won't my daylily 'chicago apache' flower?

Daylily 'Chicago Apache' 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 'chicago apache' bloom?

Give daylily 'chicago apache' 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 'chicago apache' normally bloom?