The daylily (scientific name: Hemerocallis fulva) is a perennial herbaceous plant with fleshy roots. It has short rhizomes and thick, spindle-shaped fleshy roots. The daylily has many aliases, including "golden needle", "yellow flower vegetable", "forget-sorrow grass", "boy-bearing grass", "cure-sorrow", and "deer arrow"; in English, the daylily is called "Tiger Lily" (which is also the English name of the tiger lily, Lilium lancifolium). When eaten, it is mostly called "golden needle". Its leaves are flat and long-linear, and the underground stem is slightly toxic and cannot be eaten directly. As for the flowers, during the flowering period it grows slender green flowering branches; the flowers are orange-yellow, with very long pedicels, and are tubular like lily flowers. The fruits it produces have wings. It is commonly cultivated throughout the country, and grows wild in the provinces and regions south of the Qinling Mountains.
Cultivation Techniques
Propagation is mainly by division, and seed sowing is used in breeding. Division is carried out after the leaves wither or before early spring sprouting; dig up the root clumps, cut off dead roots and excess fibrous roots, and divide the clumps. After one division, the plants can be divided again after 4 to 5 years, and divided seedlings can bloom in the same year. Seed propagation is best done in autumn, and seedlings generally emerge about 4 weeks after sowing. If seeds collected in summer and autumn are sown immediately, seedlings emerge in about 20 days. Seed-grown seedlings bloom after 2 years of cultivation.
Cultivation management is simple and extensive, with a row spacing of about 0.5 x 1 m, and 3 to 5 plants per hole. Apply sufficient base fertilizer before planting. Because the daylily is highly adaptable and can be planted almost anywhere, and can be left to grow freely, the clumps can expand year after year; however, when planting in gardens, they should be matched according to plant height and flower color to improve the ornamental effect.
Key Points of Cultivation
It prefers a warm and humid environment. Soil that is slightly clayey is better. It can be cultivated on field ridges, beside ditches, and near residences. Propagate by division. After the aboveground parts wither in October to November or before the plants sprout in spring, dig up the whole plant and divide it into clumps of 2 or 3 parts each.
Before planting, open holes at a row spacing and plant spacing of 40 cm each, with a hole depth of 17 to 20 cm, and plant one clump per hole, spreading the roots evenly in all directions and covering with soil and pressing firmly. Water or irrigate with human and livestock manure water. From the second year onward, carry out intertillage, weeding, and topdressing 3 times each year: the first time when seedlings emerge in March, the second time before flowering in June, and the third time after the plants die back in October; after each intertillage and weeding, apply human and livestock manure water.
Pest and Disease Control
Common diseases of the daylily include leaf spot, leaf blight, rust, anthracnose, and stem blight; the main insect pests include red spiders, aphids, thrips, and leaf miners.
To control pests and diseases: first, do a good job of agricultural control. After the yellow flower vegetable is picked, the aboveground parts soon die; the stumps should be cut promptly and transported away from the yellow flower vegetable field to reduce sources of fungi and insects; do a good job of topdressing and winter cultivation of the yellow flower vegetable to enhance disease resistance; renew and rejuvenate old stumps in a timely manner; and select disease-resistant varieties, etc. Apply pesticides for control at the appropriate time; for diseases, spray with 75% chlorothalonil at 800 times dilution, and for insect pests, spray with Admire at 3000 times dilution.