How to Grow Daylily? Planting Techniques and Cultivation Management Key Points

Growing Techniques Jan 1, 1970 0 views

Daylily is a perennial herbaceous plant of the genus Hemerocallis in the Liliaceae family. It is cultivated throughout northern and southern China, mainly distributed south of the Qinling Mountains, as well as in Hunan, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Hubei, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Gansu, Shaanxi, Jilin, Guangdong, and the grasslands of Inner Mongolia. Quxian County in Sichuan is known as the "Hometown of Chinese Daylily."

Growth Habits of Daylily

Daylily is tolerant of 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 taller crops. The above-ground parts are not cold-tolerant, while the underground parts can tolerate temperatures as low as -10°C. It dislikes waterlogged or overly wet soil. When the average temperature over ten days exceeds 5°C, seedlings begin to emerge. The optimum temperature for leaf growth is 15-20°C, and the flowering period requires higher temperatures, with 20-25°C being most suitable.

Cultivated Varieties of 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 Daylily

1. Division: Division propagation is the most commonly used method for daylily. One approach is to dig up the entire mother clump and replant the divisions. Another is to dig out a portion of the plants from one side of the mother clump as planting stock, leaving the rest to continue growing. When digging and dividing, minimize root damage and plant the divisions immediately.

2. Sectioning: After harvesting is complete, dig up the root clumps and separate them one by one according to the bud sections. Remove the hairy leaves around the shortened stem and any dead leaves, then keep the leaves at 3-5 cm in length and cut off the upper portion. Use a knife to longitudinally split the rhizome from top to bottom into two sections. When splitting, each section must have the stem at the top and fibrous roots at the bottom. After splitting, soak the seeds in a 50% carbendazim 1200x solution for 1-2 hours for disinfection. Remove, spread out to dry, then mix with fine soil or a mixture of plant ash and loess for seedling cultivation.

3. Cuttage: After harvesting is complete, select from the middle and upper parts of the flower stalk those with fresh green bracts and obvious growing points below the bracts. Cut about 15 cm above and below the growing point, then insert them flat into the soil in a slight arc, burying both the upper and lower ends in the soil while exposing the portion with the growing point at the bract above the ground. Cover lightly with fine soil for protection. After about 1 week, roots and shoots will develop. After 1 year of cultivation, the number of tillers per plant can reach up to 12, with a minimum of 5, and they will bloom the following year.

4. Seeding: Daylily requires artificial pollination 10-60 minutes after flowering. The highest fruit-setting rate is on the branches at the top of the main inflorescence and the second branch. In terms of node position, the first and second fruit nodes have the highest fruit-setting rate. For this reason, for the first to fourth branches, buds on the 1st to 4th fruit nodes can be retained. For the top branch of the main inflorescence, buds on the first and second fruit nodes can be retained, and the remaining buds should be removed so that nutrients are concentrated in the fruit and seeds.

Cultivation Techniques of Daylily

1. Reasonable close planting: Close planting of daylily can leverage population advantages, increasing the number of tillers, bolting stems, and flower buds to achieve higher yields. Generally, wide-narrow row cultivation is adopted, with wide rows at 60-75 cm, narrow rows at 30-45 cm, and hill spacing at 9-15 cm, planting 2-3 plants per hill, with 45,000-75,000 plants per hectare, reaching 1,500,000-2,250,000 plants per hectare during peak production.

2. Appropriate deep planting: The root system of daylily grows from around the shortened stem and has the characteristic of producing one layer per year, with the rooting position gradually moving upward year by year. Therefore, appropriate deep planting helps the plant survive and thrive. The suitable planting depth is 10-15 cm. After planting, water thoroughly to settle the roots. Before autumn shoots emerge, keep the soil consistently moist to promote new shoot growth.

3. Intertillage and hilling: Daylily has a fleshy root system and requires a fertile, loose soil environment for root growth and development. During the growing season, carry out intertillage 3-4 times depending on growth and soil compaction. The first should be done when seedlings are emerging, and the 2nd to 4th should be combined with hilling during the bolting stage.

Fertilization Management of Daylily

1. Winter fertilizer: This should be applied when the above-ground parts of daylily stop growing, i.e., after autumn shoots wither from frost, or at planting time. It should be mainly organic fertilizer, applying 30,000 kg/ha of high-quality farmyard manure and 750 kg/ha of superphosphate.

2. Seedling fertilizer: Seedling fertilizer is mainly used for emergence and leaf growth, promoting early and rapid leaf development. Seedling fertilizer should be applied early rather than late, applied when daylily begins to sprout. Apply 150 kg/ha of superphosphate and 75 kg/ha of potassium sulfate.

3. Bolting fertilizer: The bolting stage of daylily is an important period of transition from vegetative growth to reproductive growth. This period requires more nutrients. It should be applied when flower stalks begin to emerge. Apply 225 kg/ha of urea, 150 kg/ha of superphosphate, and 75 kg/ha of potassium sulfate.

4. Bud fertilizer: Bud fertilizer can prevent nutrient deficiency and premature aging of daylily, improve bud formation rate, extend the harvest period, and increase yield. It should be applied within 7-10 days after harvest begins, applying 75 kg/ha of urea. At the same time, during the harvest period, foliar spray every 7 days or so with 0.2% potassium dihydrogen phosphate, plus 0.4% urea, plus 1-2% superphosphate aqueous solution, plus 15-20 mg/kg of 920 (gibberellin), sprayed once after 17:00. This has a significant effect on strengthening buds and preventing bud drop.

Pest and Disease Control of Daylily

1. Rust disease

[Damage] Rust disease mainly affects leaves and flower stems. Initial infection produces blister-like spots, which later break through the epidermis, rupturing and releasing yellow-brown powder, which is the summer spores of the pathogen. Sometimes many blister spots merge into one area, the epidermis curls back, and the leaf surface is covered with yellow-brown powdery summer spores. The area around the blister spots often loses chlorophyll and turns pale yellow. The entire leaf turns yellow, and in severe cases, the whole plant's leaves die, the flower stems turn reddish-brown, and flower buds shrivel or drop off.

[Control] Apply fertilizer reasonably, drain promptly after rain, and prevent waterlogging or excessive surface moisture. After harvest, pull up stalks and cut leaves, burn them in a centralized manner, and promptly turn the soil. In early spring, loosen the soil and remove weeds. At the early stage of disease, spray with 50% carbendazim wettable powder 600-800x solution, 75% chlorothalonil wettable powder 600x solution, 50% zineb 500-600x solution, or 40% iprobenfos 600-700x solution, once every 7-10 days, for 2-3 consecutive sprays.

2. Leaf blight

[Damage] Leaf blight mainly affects leaves. Initial infection starts from the leaf tip, showing pale circular small spots, which then gradually extend downward along the leaf edge, turning yellow-brown and drying up. When humidity is high, black mold develops on the diseased parts. The mycelium of the pathogen overwinters in the soil with diseased residues, and spores produced the following year spread through wind and rain to cause infection. Warm and rainy conditions favor disease development. Weak plant growth, overly dense planting, low-lying terrain, and poor drainage result in more severe disease.

[Control] Commonly use equal-ratio 0.5-0.6% Bordeaux mixture or 75% chlorothalonil wettable powder 800x solution for foliar spraying. After disease appears, spray once every 7-10 days, for a total of 2-3 sprays.

3. Leaf spot disease

[Damage] Leaf spot disease mainly affects leaves and flower stems. Initially, pale yellow small spots appear on leaves, which after enlargement become elliptical dark green lesions, and finally develop into spindle-shaped or fusiform large spots with dark brown edges, the center changing from yellow-brown to gray-white, with a yellow halo around the lesion. When humidity is high, pink mold layers appear on the underside of the lesions. When dry, they easily rupture, and in severe cases, the entire leaf turns yellow and dies. When flower stems are infected, symptoms are similar to those on leaves. Sometimes multiple lesions merge into a sunken diseased area up to 10 cm or more, with a relatively thick pale red mold on the lesions. In mild cases, it affects flower stem growth and bud formation; in severe cases, the flower stem breaks and dies.

[Control] Select disease-resistant varieties, apply fertilizer reasonably to enhance plant disease resistance, and promptly remove diseased residues after harvest, burning or deep burying them in a centralized manner. At the early stage of disease, promptly spray with 50% procymidone wettable powder 1500x solution, 40% carbendazim · sulfur suspension or 36% thiophanate-methyl suspension 500x solution, 50% carbendazim wettable powder 800-1000x solution, once every 7-10 days, for 2-3 consecutive sprays.

4. Anthracnose

[Damage] Anthracnose mainly affects leaves. Starting from the leaf tip, it turns dark green, then dark yellow, and spreads toward the leaf base. The lesion edges are brown with densely packed small black dots. In severe cases, the leaves die. The pathogen overwinters on diseased residues and spreads through rain. Damage is severe from May to June.

[Control] At the early stage of disease, promptly spray 1:1:100 Bordeaux mixture, 50% thiophanate-methyl or 50% carbendazim wettable powder 800-1000x solution, 75% chlorothalonil wettable powder 600-800x solution.

5. Southern blight

[Damage] Southern blight mainly occurs at the base of the leaf sheath near the ground, at the base of the entire plant or outer leaves. It begins as water-soaked brown lesions, which then expand and become slightly sunken, with the affected area showing brown wet rot. White silky threads are produced on the diseased parts, spreading to the entire base, and even the nearby soil has white silky mold layers. When moist, purple-yellow sclerotia are produced, which later turn tea-brown to dark brown, about the size of rapeseed. Affected leaves turn yellow and die due to blocked water and nutrient transport. The mycelium spreads from outer leaves to inner leaves, eventually killing the entire plant.

[Control] Clean the garden after harvest to reduce overwintering inoculum. At the early stage of disease, spray with 50% carbendazim 500-800x solution or 70% thiophanate 800-1000x solution once every 7-10 days, for 2-3 consecutive sprays.

6. Brown spot disease

[Damage] Brown spot disease affects leaves. The diseased area initially shows water-soaked small spots, which then become pale yellow to yellow-brown fusiform or long spindle-shaped lesions, with a very prominent reddish-brown halo at the edge, and further outward a ring of water-soaked dark green at the boundary with healthy tissue. The lesions are slightly smaller than those of leaf spot disease, generally 0.1-0.2 cm × 0.5-1.5 cm. Sometimes lesions merge into irregular shapes, and in the later stage, densely packed small black dots appear in the center of the lesions.

[Control] At the early stage of disease, spray with 50% carbendazim wettable powder 800-1000x solution, 75% chlorothalonil wettable powder 600-800x solution, 50% thiophanate wettable powder 500-800x solution.

7. Red spider mite

[Damage] Red spider mites affect leaves. Adults and nymphs gather on the underside of leaves and pierce and suck plant sap. Gray-white small spots appear at the damaged areas. In severe cases, the entire leaf turns gray-white and eventually dies.

[Control] Spray with 15% saomanding wettable powder 1500x solution, or 73% propargite 2000x solution.

8. Aphids

[Damage] Aphids mainly occur in May, first damaging leaves, then gradually moving to flowers and flower buds to pierce and suck sap. After damage, flower buds become thin and small and easily drop off.

[Control] Spray with malathion emulsion 1000-1500x solution or dimethoate solution. Fresh small chili peppers can be ground and mixed with water for direct spraying. In areas where daylily is eaten fresh, because fresh daylily is picked and sold directly every day, if aphids are found on flower buds, pesticide spraying is strictly prohibited and biological control methods must be used.

How to Grow Daylily from Seed? Daylily Seedling Techniques and Cultivation Key Points

Daylily is tolerant of 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 taller crops. It is cultivated throughout northern and southern China. Shaodong County and Qidong County have been designated as the place of origin for daylily. The most commonly used propagation method is division, but seed propagation can also be used. Let's take a look at how to grow daylily from seed!

Seed Collection of Daylily

For daylily seeds, select healthy, vigorous, pest-free daylilies that have been growing for 5-8 years. At the early flowering stage, leave 5-6 robust buds on each flower stalk unpicked to allow them to set fruit and be retained as seeds. The remaining buds continue to be harvested and sold as a commodity. For seed-producing daylilies, at the early flowering stage, spray amino acid 2000x solution once every 7-10 days, for 2-3 sprays. When the capsules mature and the top slightly cracks open, pick and thresh them. Store the seeds in a ventilated, dry place and keep them properly.

Seedling Techniques of Daylily

Select a sunny seedbed or greenhouse site, use fertile garden soil as the seedbed, and disinfect the soil. Soak the seeds in 25°C warm water for 48 hours. When sowing, apply 200 kg of decomposed, sifted organic fertilizer per bed (1.50-7 m). Level the bed and water thoroughly. After the water seeps in, open furrows at 15 cm row spacing and 3 cm plant spacing and sow seeds, covering with 2 cm of soil after sowing. When using a sunny seedbed for seedling cultivation, insert small arch rods and cover with film. Maintain the temperature inside the shed at 25°C during the day and not lower than 12-15°C at night. Seedlings can emerge in 1 week. After emergence, gradually lower the shed temperature to acclimate to the external climate and prevent leggy growth. Strengthen field management during the seedling stage and keep the soil moist. Pay attention to disease and pest prevention, carry out more intertillage and spray some foliar fertilizer to promote seedling growth and development, cultivating large and strong seedlings for transplanting the following year.

Cultivation Management of Daylily

4. Fertilization management: Daylily requires sufficient winter fertilizer (base fertilizer), early application of seedling fertilizer, heavy application of bolting fertilizer, and supplementary application of bud fertilizer.

① Winter fertilizer: This should be applied when the above-ground parts of daylily stop growing, i.e., after autumn shoots wither from frost, or at planting time. It should be mainly organic fertilizer, applying 30,000 kg/ha of high-quality farmyard manure and 750 kg/ha of superphosphate.

② Seedling fertilizer: Seedling fertilizer is mainly used for emergence and leaf growth, promoting early and rapid leaf development. Seedling fertilizer should be applied early rather than late, applied when daylily begins to sprout. Apply 150 kg/ha of superphosphate and 75 kg/ha of potassium sulfate.

③ Bolting fertilizer: The bolting stage of daylily is an important period of transition from vegetative growth to reproductive growth. This period requires more nutrients. It should be applied when flower stalks begin to emerge. Apply 225 kg/ha of urea, 150 kg/ha of superphosphate, and 75 kg/ha of potassium sulfate.

④ Bud fertilizer: Bud fertilizer can prevent nutrient deficiency and premature aging of daylily, improve bud formation rate, extend the harvest period, and increase yield. It should be applied within 7-10 days after harvest begins, applying 75 kg/ha of urea. At the same time, during the harvest period, foliar spray every 7 days or so with 0.2% potassium dihydrogen phosphate, plus 0.4% urea, plus 1-2% superphosphate aqueous solution, plus 15-20 mg/kg of 920 (gibberellin), sprayed once after 17:00. This has a significant effect on strengthening buds and preventing bud drop.

Key Points for Artificial Cultivation of Wild Daylily

Wild daylily has high nutritional value and also has anti-aging and brain-boosting effects, so it is highly favored by consumers. Because it is relatively cold-intolerant, its requirements for the growing environment are moderate, and -10°C is the minimum temperature the underground parts of wild daylily can tolerate. Today, the editor mainly shares how to artificially cultivate wild daylily.

1. Cultivating strong seedlings. Daylily propagation can use two methods: division and seed propagation. The commonly used method is division propagation, i.e., first select healthy, disease-free clumps, and after bud harvesting is complete and before autumn shoots emerge, dig out 1/4-1/3 of the tiller plants from the clump as planting stock. They must be cut from the shortened stem with roots attached. Remove senescent and block-like fleshy roots, and shorten long roots before planting.

2. Reasonable close planting. Close planting can leverage population advantages, increasing the number of tillers, bolting stems, and flowers, and improving unit yield. Wide-narrow row cultivation can be adopted, with wide rows at 60-70 cm, narrow rows at 30-45 cm, and hill spacing at 9-15 cm, with 2-3 plants per hill, planting 3,000-5,000 plants per mu.

3. Fertilizer and water management. Wild daylily likes fertilizer. During the growing period, generally apply fertilizer 3 times. First is spring seedling fertilizer, which should be applied between Frost's Descent and the following Grain Rain, combined with plowing, broadcasting barnyard manure or applying human waste in holes, or applying 15 kg of manure per mu, on sunny days. Second is bolting-promoting fertilizer, applied when flower stalks are about to emerge but have not yet appeared. Compound fertilizer 20 kg/mu can be used, or organic fertilizer can be broadcast at 30-40 kg per mu after flower stalks emerge and branch. Third is bud-wrapping fertilizer, applied during the peak harvest period combined with watering. Before the ground freezes in winter, water once promptly with freezing water to ensure the moisture needed for winter bud development and to prevent freezing and protect seedlings. During the peak growing season and peak harvest period, water frequently and thoroughly. During the rainy season, pay attention to drainage to prevent waterlogging.

4. Bud protection measures. Daylily flower buds easily drop, so fertilizer and water management should be strengthened.

5. Pest and disease control. Main diseases include leaf spot disease and rust disease. Leaf spot disease generally begins in mid-March, with severe damage in late May. Rust disease occurs in late April, with severe damage from June to July. Pests include red spider mites and aphids. Red spider mites can be controlled with abamectin and chlorfluazuron, and aphids can be controlled with pirimicarb or kungfu emulsion.

6. Harvesting and post-harvest management. The harvest season is mostly from June to late August, carried out after the morning dew has dried. The best quality is harvested when buds are plump and unopened, golden yellow in the middle, green at both ends, with multiple tips at the top, and the pointed tips appearing about to open but not yet open. After harvest, promptly pull up stalks and cut leaves to clean the garden, which can reduce nutrient loss and reduce sources of pests and diseases.

How to Grow Daylily? Planting Techniques and Cultivation Management Key Points

How to Grow Daylily from Seed? Daylily Seedling Techniques and Cultivation Key Points

Key Points for Artificial Cultivation of Wild Daylily

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