Daylilies in Woodland

The Merry Weather Garden Club met in Woodland on Thursday, July 10^th, 2014. Hosting the meeting were Marilyn Austen Carter and Lynda Woodall.

The ladies met at Larkspur Antiques and were disappointed to find the antique store inaccessible for shopping but toured the garden behind the store that was cultivated by Baker Hendricks who won several awards for his daylilies which he propagated and named.  Today the store and property are owned by Larry Lees and greatly appreciated by local plant enthusiasts.

The program was on daylilies or hemerocallis, plants not native to Georgia (from Asia) but perfect for our climate and soil. Named in the top ten of the one hundred best plants, lilies thrive in our Georgia clay. The name means beauty and day as the blooms last just one day. Easy to grow, daylilies reproduce and make clumps that need dividing every three or four years.

The program, given by former Merry Weather Garden Club President Mary Anne Rasmussen, covered digging and dividing the fans, planting, and cultivating. July or just after the lily blooms is the best time to dig and divide the fans, separate each, and replant. Most growers complain that this time of year lilies look awful as the greenery dies.  Frequent grooming of the yellowed and brown leaves rids that neglected look. Rasmussen says she plants her lilies with other plants like black eyed Susan, shrub roses, penstamen, and thyme so there is plenty of interest in the flower bed.

Lilies like full sun, lots of water, fertilizer the first week of March and October, and thrive when they are cut back in winter. The goals of lily growers are, depending on the variety, produce plants that have four to six blooms, double blooms, and blooms with unique colors or details like frothy lace edges.

Most lilies are diploids with a double set of chromosomes (22), but the prized tetraploid lilies or tets have more genetic material (44 chromosomes) which gives daylily breeders or hybridizers more chances for dramatic advances.

After the program at Larkspur, the garden club members retired to tour the home and garden of Marilyn Austen Carter. Marilyn had decorated the tables with centerpieces containing twenty two plants from her garden. Club members were asked to identify them and prizes, a bouquet of sunflowers, were awarded to Mary Anne Harman and Joan Allen who correctly recognized the most.

In upcoming garden club events: the next meeting in August will be hosted by Ellen McEwen and Patti Acheson. The Meriwether club has been invited attend the Elms and Roses fundraising event in October on the rooftop at Del’Avant.