Getting it to bloom

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

Also called Red Hot Returns daylily (Hemerocallis 'Red Hot Returns').

More about daylily 'red hot returns'

About Daylily 'Red Hot Returns'

Hemerocallis 'Red Hot Returns' · also called Red Hot Returns daylily · flowering

Hemerocallis 'Red Hot Returns' is a vigorous, reblooming daylily with brilliant cherry-red flowers and a contrasting yellow-green throat. It delivers multiple waves of colour from early summer well into autumn. All daylilies are extremely toxic to cats and can cause fatal kidney failure. Unsuitable for any garden where cats have access.

Plant type: flowering

Watch for — Colour fading: Red pigments fade in intense afternoon sun; light afternoon shade or watering during heat peaks helps maintain vivid colour on open blooms.

The reasons daylily 'red hot returns' isn't blooming

Almost every non-blooming daylily 'red hot returns' 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 'red hot returns' 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 'red hot returns' to flower

Maximise sun. Give daylily 'red hot returns' 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 'red hot returns' and get the feeding right with the daylily 'red hot returns' 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 'Red Hot Returns' 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 'red hot returns' care brief and its watering schedule — a stressed, badly watered plant rarely has the energy to flower at all.

Daylily 'Red Hot Returns' blooming — frequently asked questions

Why won't my daylily 'red hot returns' flower?

Daylily 'Red Hot Returns' 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 'red hot returns' bloom?

Give daylily 'red hot returns' 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 'red hot returns' normally bloom?