The Latest Daylily Cultivation Techniques and Methods Tutorial
The daylily is a perennial herbaceous plant of the genus Hemerocallis in the lily family. It is cultivated throughout the north and south of China, and is mostly distributed in areas south of the Qinling Mountains in China, as well as in Hunan, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Hubei, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Gansu, Shaanxi, Jilin, Guangdong, and the Inner Mongolia grasslands. Quxian County in Sichuan is known as “China’s Home of Daylilies”. Now let’s take a look at the cultivation techniques for daylilies!
Growth Habits of the Daylily
The daylily tolerates poor soil and drought, and has low soil requirements; it can be cultivated on field edges or hillsides. It adapts to a wide range of light conditions and can be intercropped with relatively tall crops. The aboveground part is not cold-tolerant, while the underground part tolerates low temperatures of -10 degrees C. It dislikes excessively wet or waterlogged soil. When the average temperature over a ten-day period is above 5 degrees C, the seedlings begin to emerge. The suitable temperature for leaf growth is 15 to 20 degrees C, and the flowering period requires a higher temperature, with 20 to 25 degrees C being more suitable.
Cultivated Varieties of the Daylily
1. Early-maturing type: Early-maturing daylily varieties include Siyuehua, Wuyuehua, Qingzaohua, and Zaochashan Tiaozihua.
2. Mid-maturing type: Mid-maturing daylily varieties include Aijian Zhongqihua, Gaojian Zhongqihua, Mengzihua, Baihua, Qiezihua, Chazihua, Changbahua, and Heizuihua.
3. Late-maturing type: Late-maturing daylily varieties include Daojianhua, Xiyiezihua, Zhongqiuhua, and Dayezihua.
Propagation Methods of the Daylily
1. Division: Division propagation is the most commonly used propagation method for daylilies. One way is to dig up the entire mother clump and replant it after dividing. Another way is to dig out part of the plants from one side of the mother clump to use as seedlings, leaving the rest to continue growing. When digging and dividing seedlings, try to damage the roots as little as possible, and plant the seedlings immediately after digging and dividing.
2. Cutting into sections: After harvesting is complete, dig out the root clumps, then separate them one by one according to the bud sections. Remove the hairy leaves around the shortened stem and the already dead leaves, then keep the leaves 3 to 5 cm long and cut off the upper ends. Next, use a knife to first split the rhizome longitudinally from top to bottom into two sections. When dividing, each seedling section must have the seedling stem at the top and fibrous roots at the bottom. After dividing, soak the seeds in a 50% carbendazim 1200-fold solution for disinfection for 1 to 2 hours. Take them out, spread them in the sun to dry, then mix them with fine soil or a mixture of plant ash and loess for sowing and raising seedlings.
3. Cuttage: After harvesting is complete, select from the middle and upper parts of the scape those with fresh green bracts and obvious growth points below the bracts. Cut about 15 cm above and below the growth point, then insert them flat into the soil in a slight arc, burying both the upper and lower ends in the soil, while leaving the part with the growth point at the bract exposed above the ground. Cover lightly with fine soil for protection. After about 1 week, roots and buds will grow. After 1 year of cultivation, some plants may have as many as 12 tillers, with a minimum of 5, and they can bloom the following year.
4. Sowing: After the flowers open, hand-pollinate 10 to 60 minutes later. The highest fruit-setting rate is on the branches at the top of the main inflorescence and on the second branch. In terms of node position, the first and second fruiting nodes have the highest fruit-setting rate. For this reason, for the first to fourth branches, the flower buds on the 1st to 4th fruiting nodes can be retained. For the branch at the top of the main inflorescence, the flower buds on the first and second fruiting nodes can be retained, and the remaining flower buds should be removed so that nutrients are concentrated in the fruit and seeds.