There is a couple in Lapel, Ind., named Pam and Randy who have a daylily farm.
It started many years ago when they were driving in Kentucky and saw a sign for a daylily sale. Pam had never heard of a daylily before as she was not from the Midwest. She and her husband decided to explore, and Pam says upon seeing her first daylily, “The rest is history.” From there, they would get daylilies from all over the Midwest and began their own farm. Many years later, the fruits of their labor are still present on their property.
At their farm, you can walk rows and rows of different daylily varieties, ranging from early, mid, and late bloomers. I have gone to their farm many times over the years with my mom and selected daylilies from their property to add to my gardens. I have also been able to get many from my mom, so between the two of us, we have quite a few varieties. We have also added to our gardens a variety of other places. Every time we go on a trip, I always make sure to bring some special daylilies home to add to our collection. I also love to go to a variety of flower nurseries and look at their unique varieties. There are many Facebook groups that I belong to for Hemerocallis lovers.
A few of my daylilies. (Photo provided by Megan Rathz)
I have always had this dream of going to their farm and getting one of every single variety and having my own farm – except I wouldn’t sell mine. I would just keep them and divide them when the time comes after a few years, I would just give them to those I love. Mine wouldn’t be a farm; it would be a house, which is why I’ve named our house Daylily House.
This past summer, we went back to Lapel to the daylily farm and as I walked the rows of daylilies, I realized just how many varieties that I already own. Between the daylilies from my old house that I moved to our current house and the ones my mom and I have shared; I realize that I just about have my own little farm at my house. There were few varieties they had that I did not already own.
You might wonder why I’m writing about a flower that blooms in the summer in October, but this is a great time to split any varieties of daylilies you may have. Fall is a great time to divide and plant a new flower bed. This is also a great time to plant flower bulbs. Just because the summer is over and it will be months before we see any blooms, this is the time to plan a flower bed for next spring.
My husband and I have many lilies that we are dividing and creating an extension of our flower bed, which will stimulate growth and promote future blooms. If you noticed any of your flowers not producing blooms this year that still had healthy foliage, it might be time to split them.
To divide a daylily, you can either disturb the roots by inserting a spade into the soil and loosening the daylily itself and placing back in the same hole or you can dig up the lily and split with a knife at the ball of the root and now you have two plants. This will promote future blooms and cause the plant to flourish.
Photo provided by Megan Rathz
Now is the time to walk in your yard and see what flowers need to be split. Even though you might be tempted to cut back dead foliage, make sure you don’t. This will protect your plant as we head into winter. Spring is the best time to clean up your flower beds even though you might be tempted to do so now.
Walk your yard, split some lilies, plant some bulbs, and maybe even make a new flower bed while you still have time. Fall is the time to do it.
And while my daylily house isn’t quite a farm yet, one day my husband and I might just be like Pam and Randy where we have our own rows of daylilies to walk up and down.
Megan Rathz is a wife, mother, and teacher. She says everything she has ever learned in life came from her Master Gardener mother.