How to Grow and Care for Hemerocallis middendorffii
Hemerocallis middendorffii, also known as the Amur daylily, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the lily family, Hemerocallis genus. It has a particular tolerance for alkaline soil, making it a rare and valuable greening material for oilfields and tidal flat areas. It can also be used to arrange various flower beds, road median strips, open woodland grass slopes, and more. Its dwarf growth habit also makes it suitable as a ground cover plant. Let's take a look at how to grow Hemerocallis middendorffii!
Morphological Characteristics of Hemerocallis middendorffii
Hemerocallis middendorffii has short fleshy rhizomes, divided into fleshy roots and fibrous roots. The fleshy roots are spindle-shaped, and the fibrous roots mostly grow on the fleshy roots. It has short rhizomes, basal leaves arranged in two rows, and linear leaf blades about 30-45 cm long and 2-2.5 cm wide. The flower stems rise above the leaves and are branched at the top. There are 2-4 small flowers, fragrant, with large blooms, short pedicels, and large triangular bracts. The corolla is funnel-shaped or campanulate to campanulate, with recurved lobes, blooming from July to August. The capsule is elliptical, slightly three-angled, about 2 cm long.
Growth Habits of Hemerocallis middendorffii
Hemerocallis middendorffii grows in understory, wetlands, meadows, or grasslands at lower altitudes. It is highly cold-resistant, tolerant of full sunlight, and also tolerant of partial shade. It is not demanding about soil, but prefers well-drained, permeable soil rich in humus. It should be fertilized regularly during the growing season. In northern regions, the underground tubers need to be dug up before frost and stored at around 5°C. The optimal temperature for open-field cultivation is 13-17°C. It resists pest and disease infection and has strong tolerance to noise and dust.
Propagation Methods of Hemerocallis middendorffii
1. Division: When dividing, dig out a portion of the clump's tillers as planting stock. The dug-out portion should have roots. Cut apart from the shortened stem, remove old roots, rotten roots, and diseased roots, keeping as many fleshy roots as possible. After trimming appropriately, they can be planted. Planting should be done on a sunny day, digging, dividing, and planting seedlings as you go, minimizing root damage so the plants recover quickly. Generally, division is done once every 2 to 3 years to ensure vigorous plant growth.
2. Seeding: Hemerocallis middendorffii enters the seed collection period around September each year, and is sown the following spring. The seedbed should first be given sufficient base fertilizer. The bed width is 1.3 to 1.7 m, about 30 m long, with drainage ditches dug on both sides. When sowing, open shallow furrows about 3 cm deep every 20 cm, sow the seeds evenly into the furrows, cover with a layer of fine soil, then spread a thin layer of fine sand. Before emergence, water and weed, maintaining good soil moisture. Seedlings can be lifted and planted in autumn.
3. Flower buds: Flower buds refer to the small plantlets on the flower stems of Hemerocallis middendorffii. They can be cut from the flower stems. If they are relatively large, they can be further divided before planting. Transplanted flower buds can root within a week. Rooted flower buds can be used to propagate plants, increasing the number of plantings and ultimately improving economic returns.
4. Tissue culture: Plants are cultivated from young leaves, filaments, and flower stems and other organs. The method is to first induce young organs to produce callus tissue, then culture them into young plantlets using appropriate culture media under suitable conditions of temperature, humidity, light, and air. The young plantlets are then temporarily planted in nutrient pots, and after a period of cultivation become seedlings, after which they are planted in their final location.
How to Grow Hemerocallis middendorffii
1. Planting: Hemerocallis middendorffii is not demanding about soil and can grow normally in saline-alkali land, sandy gravel land, and more. However, soil rich in humus, with deep soil layers, superior irrigation conditions, and good drainage and permeability is best. When preparing the land, apply a certain amount of organic fertilizer, then level, harrow fine, and make beds. The bed width is 2-3 m for easy management. Open furrows or dig holes for planting. Planting should not be too deep or too shallow. Plant spacing and row spacing of 30-40 cm is appropriate. After planting, cover with soil and firm it, then water thoroughly.
2. Watering: During the entire growth and development period, if the weather is not very dry, watering is generally unnecessary. However, after spring sprouting, if soil moisture is insufficient, it will affect the number of blooms, so in spring-drought areas, timely watering should be done in spring. During the growing season, provide sufficient water supply and keep the soil loose and moist; otherwise, normal blooming and flower quality will be affected.
3. Fertilizing: Starting from the second year after planting, timely topdressing of Hemerocallis middendorffii has a significant impact on blooming that year. It is best to apply liquid fertilizer 3 times a year: the first time when new shoots grow to about 10 cm, the second time when flower scapes appear, and the third time 10 days after blooming. Hemerocallis middendorffii has a long flowering period and a relatively large demand for nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. In addition to applying sufficient base fertilizer at planting (well-rotted cow dung or pig manure is ideal), fertilization should also be done according to the needs of different developmental stages.
4. Weeding: After planting Hemerocallis middendorffii, to ensure normal growth of the seedlings, timely cultivation and weeding should be done. Weeding is generally divided into two methods: one is using herbicides to clear weeds in the field, and the other is mechanical or manual loosening of the soil to remove weeds.
5. Pests: Common diseases of Hemerocallis middendorffii include leaf spot, leaf blight, rust, anthracnose, and stem blight. Main pests include red spider mites, aphids, thrips, and leaf miners. Apply pesticides timely for control. For diseases, spray with 75% chlorothalonil at 800 times dilution. For pests, spray with Imidacloprid at 3000 times dilution.