Hi there, this is my first time posting on this forum, so if I am in the wrong place just let me know! I have recently moved into a new home - this is my first summer in it and so I have been letting everything grow so that I can find out what all is growing here. There is a large patch of Tiger Lilies that, while admittedly overgrown, is also not doing well at all. The lilies seem to be turning brown and dying. It is definitely not a lack of water, we have had a tremendous amount of rain this summer - but also they are in a well drained area so I do not suspect too much water. I have attached a couple pictures so that you can see the issues... can anyone help me? Thanks! Stephanie
First of all what you have here is not Tiger Lilies but Hemerocallis, Daylilies. As the name indicates, the Daylily flowers live only one day and then die. So, if you are concerned about the flowers, don't worry, it is normal. If you are concerned about the leaves, then yes, it seems to be a problem. It could be caused by too much rain, but I think that your Daylilies simply suffer from the lack of proper nutrients, being very overgrown and for many years growing in the same restricted area. The cure would be to replant them, at the end of the growing season, to another area in your garden.
Really? That would make sense. Let me ask you a further question Sundrop: can I just replant some of them (and improve soil for the ones in existing bed)? If so, how would you suggest I try to improve the soil? Could I do that now so that could perk up for the rest of the summer? Thanks!! Also, how do I best deadhead them? As you can see, I am clearly a novice gardener.
Stephanie, if you are asking about fertilizers, then you are asking the wrong person. With the exception of Alfalfa meal and tiny amounts of rock phosphate, I neither use, nor recommend using fertilizers, be it synthetic or organic. To improve my soil I grow cover crops and amend it with organic materials, compost is one of them. As for perking up for the rest of the season, I don't think you can do much anyhow now, since the end of it is already fast approaching. Here are two links that will help you to learn how to manage your Daylilies, and more: http://startsampling.com/printhelphint.iphtml?catid=&helpid=22901 and http://www.daylilies.org/AHSFAQsNew.html
