July 23, 2023 Source: Vermont Public
Photo Source: Unsplash,
Daylilies provide a pop of color and thrive in full sun or part shade and many kinds of soil. New varieties also grow shorter and come in bright red, yellow and white and peach colors.
After historic flooding across the state that resulted in some 200 farmers and producers losing crops, some are just beginning to assess the damage. If they're able, many Vermont farms are replanting crops for a small harvest in late summer or fall.
And some home gardeners have also lost small plots and raised beds of plants, flowers and herbs, that were swept away or contaminated in the flood waters.
There are methods to test the soil for contaminants. And for Vermonters with small gardens and raised beds, we shared some ways to replant certain fast-growing greens now and how to work on replenishing the soil for next season in this episode of All Things Gardening.
Even in these stressful condition, one flower continues to thrive and bloom here: the daylily. The daylily or hemerocallis often blooms orange pointed petals on tall green stems. New varieties are known as triploid chromosomal varieties.
These daylilies bloom longer, have thicker petals only grow just a couple of feet tall. They will also bloom longer, sometimes for weeks.
The variations come in shades of red, like Red Hot Returns, peach hues like Siloam Merle Kent and and bright yellow, like Buttered Popcorn.
Because daylilies are so hardy and versatile, they are happy if you plant them in full sun, or part shade, and in almost any kind of soil.
Daylilies also are not bugged by pests and they are even edible.
You can eat daylily flower buds at any stage, or even stuff the flower and fry them like you would a squash flower.
Two major caveats! Because of recent flooding in Vermont, it is not safe to consume any part of the daylilies that survived the waters. If your daylilies and the soil they are growing in were untouched by flooding, they are safe to consume.
And it is just as important to ensure it is indeed a hemerocallis or daylily and not an Asiatic lily, an oriental lily or bulb lily, as those are toxic and should not be consumed.
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