View Full Version : Should I mow the daylilies?
We have a big stand of daylilies next to the driveway and now of course they look horrible, just stalks and fading leaves. Should I mow them before the winter? I mowed a little path through one place and they came back very vigorously, so I know it won't hurt them.
What do you do with them this time of year?
iris lilies
9-7-21, 8:33am
Are your leaves fading already? Ours are still quite green but of course we’re further south than you are.
Either way you will have to clean up this year’s leaves, so might as well mow them. I envision that as being less labor-intensive than hand gathering all the dead leaves next year.
I usually cut mine down with clippers because they look so ugly this time of year, and pretty little green shoots come up before winter sets in.
Thanks, guys, I will try the mower, I think, and get it put to rest for winter.
Coincidentally, I just dug up and composted all the ones that came with the house. I will plant something more suitable for the location since this region isn't a good locale for them. I am slowly getting rid of what I call "fussy" plants.
iris lilies
9-7-21, 10:37am
Errrgh, daylilies!
Our Hermann house had literally hundreds of them, and I spent the first two years of homeownership digging them up and composting them. I don’t even know what color they were but they were likely the orange ones,Or possibly yellow ones. I think I saw a bud once. The reason I don’t see them in flower is because the deer come in and chomp them all off.
in the city I have a collection of named hybrid daylilies that I’ve divided and divided and divided, and they are now lining one entire side of our community garden, and they live several other places in my city neighborhood. I did move one plant of every cultivar to Hermann, but yeah that’s not going well I haven’t seen any of those in flower because of deer.
That grouping of around a dozen daylily cultivars may be moved to the back of our Hermann house which may be a little less friendly to the deer. That and hostas. I have a very nice hosta collection in the city,but deer chomp them to the ground in Hermann.
why am I moving again? Hmmm,…..
I just finished mowing them, thanks for the support! Now I don't have to clean out the mess next spring, if we are still here then.
Teacher Terry
9-7-21, 12:02pm
IL, you are moving to the serene countryside where you won’t have to worry about thieves and muggings. Maybe once you are in the house the deer won’t come.
iris lilies
9-7-21, 12:10pm
IL, you are moving to the serene countryside where you won’t have to worry about thieves and muggings. Maybe once you are in the house the deer won’t come.
When I wrote the above, I thought of the analogy of the of thieving criminals in the city AND ALSO IN the “country” (actually small town Hermann.) two groups,both disturbing to my life.
To make it clear, I’m not moving because of thieves and mugging, those asses are not pushing me out. I may bitch and moan about many things including that, but if you read my (many) posts you’ll see me bitching about the “coddling” of the criminals as often as the criminal element itself. That is what has changed in my neighborhood over the past 30 years, we now approach the criminal element …differently. I will leave it at that.
iris lilies
9-7-21, 12:13pm
And now I have to report a real positive about the thieves in my neighborhood and it is blackly comic:
Last week I was standing in the street talking to a new neighbor about how we should never leave anything in our cars parked on the street because, as I told her, every night someone comes down our street trying car doorhandles. If your car is open it WILL get tossed, I told her.
And then I walked in the house and left my billfold on the front seat of the car. For two nights that billfold stayed there, undisturbed. It’s true that my car was locked, but that doesn’t stop thieves from breaking in if there is something juicy to steal.
a miracle! One I did not deserve.:~)
Teacher Terry
9-7-21, 12:56pm
That’s funny! The deer are much cuter thieves:)). You have probably said but I am old and can’t remember so why are you moving?
iris lilies
9-7-21, 1:30pm
That’s funny! The deer are much cuter thieves:)). You have probably said but I am old and can’t remember so why are you moving?
1. All of our close friends have moved, about 4 households. While we have many acquaintances, some closer than others, I just don’t have the interest and willpower to build close friendships with these people. Love them, don’t want closer relationships.
2. My neighborhood has changed over decades, and is now is full of people who are not my tribe.
It’s time to turn the management of my neighborhood and this part of the city over to the young families and checkbook rehabbers now living here. Kid focused stuff does not interest me and people who moan because they cannot get someone to install their new bathroom tile bore me.
This child focused, non DIY world—-these are not my people.
The criminal element, bless their hearts, remains pretty much the same over decades. the RESPONSE to criminals has changed dramatically, see Ferguson effect. That is hard to live with.
Update on mown daylilies.
This is after raking the bed of leaves. It looks great and was a very easy rake.
4414
iris lilies
4-21-22, 9:01am
That is a big daylily bed!
How big is your yard if that is just one bed, Tybee?
happystuff
4-21-22, 9:19am
How big is your yard if that is just one bed, Tybee?
I was wondering the same thing! Would love a picture of everything in bloom.
That's a huge bed! Ours is along the garage and it's in need of leaf removal... Glad the mowing worked!!
The house sits in a clearing in the woods. The clear is probably an acre and a half, maybe?
The house sits in a clearing in the woods. The clear is probably an acre and a half, maybe?
Sounds like a dream location which usually does take a lot of work to maintain.
We have actually learned we are not forest people. If you are, then yes, this is a dream location!
happystuff
4-23-22, 10:36am
We have actually learned we are not forest people. If you are, then yes, this is a dream location!
This made me smile, as I've always wanted to live in a forest, but with all the conveniences of a neighborhood. LOL.
My husband said he feels like he is a Hobbit. He is definitely a prairie kind of guy. We miss our prairie view, sandhill cranes, and grasses.
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