So daylilies are not really lilies? We hate to burst flower bubbles, but daylilies are really not lilies at all. Daylilies belong to the Hemerocallis family (Day beauty), while Lilies belong to the Lilium family.

Daylily flowers last one day and grow on several stalks from a tuberous clump of roots, while lily flowers last for at least a week and grow one per stem from a bulb placed in the soil.

Of the two, the favorite of West Texans is the daylily. The main reason is its showy flowers which are vibrant yellows and reds and shades of orange and burgundy and bloom when many other flowering plants do not.

Another is that the daylily is not very fussy when it comes to type of soil or amount of watering. And it usually comes back year after year, even after a severe winter freeze.

For those who love pollinators, the daylily attracts a variety of butterflies, bees, flies, and hummingbirds.

Daylilies from about 15 species were brought to America by European immigrants in the 1800s. Now there are more than 35,000 hybrid species. Varieties can be chosen so that the happy gardener can have blooms from early spring until frost:

In the spring, and into the summer (depending upon the variety), the new leaf blades appear. And then the scapes (stems) with several flower buds, which soon open to the enjoyment of the gardener and passersby. These flower stalks shoot up taller than the leaves and can grow up to about four feet high.

Daylily plants die back in late summer or fall. The scapes and leaves should be trimmed off soon after they have lost their color, in the fall or early winter. The flowers of the older varieties should be removed after the blooms die throughout the blooming season to encourage new flowers, whereas the new hybrids do not need this done.

Daylilies do best when planted in the fall or spring. So, once daylily crowns are purchased, or divided from a plot of daylilies, they are ready to be planted about 1/2” deep in a space that receives at least six hours of sunlight.

The soil should be worked to about a foot deep, and amended and well-prepared for draining off excess moisture. When a crown is placed in a hole, the roots should be spread out (if possible) on a small mound of soil, and then the soil should be lightly packed around the roots, and saturated with water.

The newly planted daylily will only need to be watered about once a week, unless conditions are very dry.

Daylilies will spread from the roots, and can fill a garden space within three to five years. It’s up to the happy daylily gardener to dig up, pull apart, and plant the beauties in another showy area of the garden or yard, or even in a large flower pot.

Meanwhile, the lily, a beauty of its own kind, has long been forgotten after its week of bloom, and has hopefully been producing tiny lily bulbs under the surface of the soil, so that in the spring, it too, can put up its stalk and one magnificent bloom per bulb for the gardener to enjoy for a little while.

Sarah Adams is a member of Big Country Master Gardeners.