Watts Daylilies
Today I’m at Suburban Daylilies where Barbara and Earl Watts have been growing
and hybridizing daylilies for over 20 years. They have developed a wide range
of the most beautiful daylilies you’ll ever see. Daylilies have a stunning
array of flowers available in a multitude of colors. True to their name, daylilies
open one time, and only for a single day. In fact the daylily botanical name,
Hemerocallis, means “day beauty” in Greek. But don’t despair as each plant
will produce many flower buds that may take a month or longer for all to open.
There are many different flower categories that will enhance any landscape.
Flowers composed of one layer of three sepals and three petals are called singles.
Flowers having additional petal layers are called doubles. These flowers have
a fuller look. Spider forms have petals that are much longer and thinner, and
have a spidery appearance. A most unusual daylily flower are those with triangular
flowers. When viewed straight-on, the petals and sepals form a triangle. Some
daylilies have a darker colored zone on the petals just above the flower throat
called eye-patterned. The eye pattern can sometimes appear on the sepals. A
most interesting flower adaptation are ruffled edges. The petals and sepals
can have a loose or tight wavy appearance. With so many beautiful daylilies
it can be hard to choose. But once you start I’ll bet it will be hard to stop.
I’m Gary Bachman for Southern Gardening.