Do Daylilies Spread on Their Own?
Daylilies are a popular perennial flower known for their low maintenance and beautiful blooms. One question that often comes up with gardeners is whether daylilies spread invasively on their own or not. The short answer is that most daylilies do not spread rapidly, but there are a few exceptions. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at daylily spreading habits and how to manage them in your garden.
What Are Daylilies?
Daylilies, or Hemerocallis fulva, are perennial flowers that grow from tubers or rhizomes underground. The fans of long, slender leaves emerge in spring and send up flower stalks that each produce a cluster of trumpet-shaped blooms.
Daylilies are called such because each flower only lasts one day. But each plant produces multiple buds in succession, ensuring a continual display of color in the garden from early to late summer. The blooms come in a huge range of colors including yellow, pink, red, purple, orange and more.
Daylily Varieties and Spreading Habits
There are over 60000 registered cultivars of daylilies, ranging from modern hybrids to vintage and heirloom varieties. When it comes to spreading behavior daylilies can be divided into two main categories
Clump Forming Daylilies
Most modern hybrids and older varieties of daylilies grow in a clump form. Each plant grows from a centralized crown, sending up stalks of flowers and fans of foliage. The clumps expand slowly from year to year, but do not spread rapidly on their own.
Examples of clump forming daylilies include the popular ‘Stella de Oro’ and ‘Happy Returns’ cultivars. The clumps can be divided every few years to propagate more plants, but otherwise remain contained.
Running Daylilies
A few varieties of daylilies are classified as running or creeping types. These spread outward from the main clump via underground rhizomes. The most common running daylily is the orange ditch lily, Hemerocallis fulva.
This rugged orange daylily originally came from Asia and easily colonizes roadsides and abandoned properties. The tough root system spreads aggressively, making it somewhat weedy in the landscape.
Other running daylily varieties like ‘Always Afternoon’ and ‘Corky’ also spread faster than typical clump forms. While not as aggressive as the ditch lily, they do creep steadily outward if left unchecked.
Managing Spreading Daylilies
For gardeners who want the continuous color of daylilies but not the creeping spread, there are a few good management tips:
-
Stick to clump forming cultivars – Avoid known running types like the ditch lily and choose clumping hybrids instead. Look for terms like “compact habit” when buying daylilies.
-
Plant in contained areas – Beds surrounded by walkways or driveways will limit spread. Planting in pots also restricts growth.
-
Divide regularly – Clump division every 3-5 years will revitalize plants and prevent overcrowding.
-
Remove flower scapes – Cutting off spent bloom stalks reduces energy to the roots and spread.
-
Clean up foliage – Trim back yellowing fans after frost to clear space and observe growth.
-
Edge carefully – Use a sharp spade to sever creeping roots around bed edges.
-
Solarize diligently – Smother areas with black plastic in summer to bake unwanted spread.
With some persistence, even spreading daylilies can be managed. Focus on removing unwanted growth 2-3 times per year, especially at the start of spring.
The Benefits of Daylilies
Despite their spreading potential, daylilies offer numerous benefits as garden plants:
- Wide range of flower colors to choose from
- Long bloom season from early summer to fall
- Tolerant of heat, humidity, drought and poor soils
- Deer and rabbit resistant
- Easy care perennial
- Divisions propagate quickly for sharing
Gardeners looking for an easy care splash of color can still enjoy daylilies, even if they have a tendency to spread. With smart cultivar selection and consistent management, these hardy plants provide seasons of bright floral displays with little work required.
The bottom line is that most modern daylilies are well-behaved clump forms. But older ditch lily types and some creeping hybrids do spread if left alone. With some simple containment and division practices, even spreading daylilies can be grown successfully alongside other flowers without overtaking the garden.
Daylily Growing Guide! How to Plant, Grow and Divide Daylilies // Bare Root Daylilies
FAQ
How long does it take for daylilies to spread?
Container-grown or bareroot daylilies can be planted in spring or no later than 6 weeks before the first frost in autumn. In mild climates, they can be planted in summer. They’ll take about a year to establish themselves and then will spread quickly, forming dense clumps.
What happens if you don’t divide daylilies?
If you never divide them, the plants will not grow as vigorously, and you will see fewer and smaller flowers each year. Newer varieties of daylily grow more slowly. You can wait longer between divisions for these. The times of year to do the dividing are early spring and late summer to fall.
Will daylilies spread on their own?
Do daylilies spread? Daylilies form dense root clumps that will expand as plants mature. Clumps should be divided every few years for the best flowering.