Daylilies As Cut Flowers

Your first thought upon reading the title of this article is ‘how can that work?’ – the flowers only last one day ….. well – it does! With just a few pointers Daylilies make GREAT cut flowers for the home.

Whilst you might not want to cut stems from young plants which probably won’t have many stems mature clumps will have several developing stems, more than enough to spare one or two each for home décor cut flower purposes. Whether it’s just two or three well budded stems in a budded vase, or a grander display of several stems – either on their own or with other cut flowers and brings the joy of your favourite Daylilies into the home for enjoyment all day every day. Especially if it’s raining and you don’t want to go out in to the garden!

Cutting the stems at the right stage is key. Ideally the first bud on the stem should be about to open within a day or two – and it should have several buds developing to continue the display. The stem will then mature just as it would in the garden. Once you’ve been growing Daylilies for a while you will become a good judge as to how far along the developing buds are and roughly when they are about to open. A Daylily stem at the right stage will open it’s flowers indoors for a week or more decorating the home or office space for several days. Simply remove the spent flowers in the evening or early the following morning to allow space for the developing buds to open. 

Siting in the home and aftercare

The same general rules apply as for all cut flowers. A cool and well lit position will result in the best and most long lasting display. The flowers will open in more poorly lit locations within the home but the colours might not develop to their full beauty.

Changing the water every other day to keep it fresh is standard procedure for all cut flowers. The display will last longer still with the addition of a cut flower feed such as chrysal. But sometimes the old fashioned ways work just as well – my mother always used to put a teaspoon of sugar in the vase and always had beautiful flower displays n the home.

Trimming an inch or so off the bottom of the stems after 2-3 days will help the stems be able to continue drawing water. You won’t need to remove old foliage from the stems as is the case with so many other cut flowers, as the Daylily will usually have no or only minimal leaves on the flower stems.

The best types to harvest as cut flowers

Really all of them are suitable but here are a few pointers as to the best ones.

More modern varieties have better ‘branching’ of the flower stems. Branching is the secondary stem that the bud or flower is attached to, older varieties may have only one or two of these ‘offshoots’ on the main stem whereas the better modern varieties may have 4 or even 5. This gives a more ‘rounded’ display to each stem and looks better in a vase. That’s not to say the simpler grace of the old timers won’t look great in a vase – they do, and they also tend to produce more flower stems per clump. But the display in a vase will be more brief because there will be less buds per stem.

Taller growing cultivars are preferred for cut flower purposes but it all depends on the vase or container you are using. For simpler posies even the small and miniature flowered varieties with their shorter stems can look charming.

You may wish to choose especially fragrant varieties – the scent becomes even more pronounced indoors – and classics such as Hyperion, Fragrant Returns, Vanilla Fluff, Green Flutter and Gentle Sheperd come to mind.

As for the many different flower forms, the singles, doubles, heavily edged and eye, self colours and spiders all look well in a vase. The doubles, with their heavier more fulsome flower form look best in a vase with lighter, airy flowers or foliage to offset their blowsy charm.

A vase consisting entirely of Daylilies is especially impressive but just as in the garden, complimentary flowers may be used. The photo shows them combined with Echinacea asparagus fern, border phlox [Phlox paniculata] and asparagus fern. Some more classic cut flowers you can use include Gypsophila paniculata, Eryngiums – a great multi branched thistle-like perennial in slate blue and grey, it lasts and lasts as a cut flower. Echinaceas in shades of soft yellow can also be grown and look great with the golden and orange shaded Daylilies. Crocosmia lend a dash of rich and fiery colour without being too overpowering. Annuals like larkspur with their spire shaped stems, and Nigella with it’s misty airy feel also work very well. And don’t forget Molucella laevis – this is a vastly underused annual with chalice shaped rich green heads, it works wonders in any cut flower display and can compliment any colour.

Sometimes keeping it simple may be best so don’t be afraid to simply combine with foliage – the ubiquitous Eucalyptus springs to mind with it’s glaucous steely blue scented foliage and works especially well with Daylilies in the purple and pink colour spectrum.

Another great idea for using Daylilies in the home is this. Simply harvest individual flowers snapping them off cleanly and prepare a decorative bowl or deep saucer by half filling with clean water. Float the individual blooms face up in the water and they will last well all day. This is a really, really nice feature as a table decoration especially if you’re having a nice evening meal or get together and it’s a real conversation piece too. This also has the advantage that your’e only using individual blooms rather than taking the entire stem from the plant. Harvest the flowers early in the day just as they are about fully open. I hope this article has inspired you to try Hemerocallis in the home as it definitely extends the opportunity to enjoy these wonderful flowers rather than solely as garden plants.