Getting it to bloom

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

Also called Crimson Pirate daylily, red spider daylily (Hemerocallis 'Crimson Pirate').

More about daylily 'crimson pirate'

About Daylily 'Crimson Pirate'

Hemerocallis 'Crimson Pirate' · also called Crimson Pirate daylily, red spider daylily · flowering

Hemerocallis 'Crimson Pirate' is a vigorous spider-form daylily producing bright crimson-red flowers with swept-back petals and a yellow-green throat in mid-summer. Highly regarded for its striking, exotic appearance and reliable garden performance. Toxic to cats — all plant parts can cause acute kidney failure; potentially fatal.

Plant type: flowering

Watch for — Fading of red pigment: Extreme heat above 35°C bleaches the crimson tones. Afternoon shade in the hottest climates helps preserve colour during the bloom window.

The reasons daylily 'crimson pirate' isn't blooming

Almost every non-blooming daylily 'crimson pirate' 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 'crimson pirate' 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 'crimson pirate' to flower

Maximise sun. Give daylily 'crimson pirate' 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 'crimson pirate' and get the feeding right with the daylily 'crimson pirate' 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 'Crimson Pirate' 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 'crimson pirate' care brief and its watering schedule — a stressed, badly watered plant rarely has the energy to flower at all.

Daylily 'Crimson Pirate' blooming — frequently asked questions

Why won't my daylily 'crimson pirate' flower?

Daylily 'Crimson Pirate' 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 'crimson pirate' bloom?

Give daylily 'crimson pirate' 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 'crimson pirate' normally bloom?