Planting Daylilies over Daffodils

[Meg Trauner]

I have a small garden plot intensely planted with 100 King
Alfred-type daffodils 8 inches deep in good soil. If I plant daylilies
and hostas shallowly over the daffodils, will the daffodils continue to
emerge each year?

I live in zone 7/8 in central North Carolina, in case that makes any
difference.

Meg

[EDEK439952]

In article <51p4v3$l...@newsgate.duke.edu>, mtra...@mail.duke.edu (Meg
Trauner) writes:

>
>I have a small garden plot intensely planted with 100 King
>Alfred-type daffodils 8 inches deep in good soil. If I plant daylilies
>and hostas shallowly over the daffodils, will the daffodils continue to
>emerge each year?
>

I would not plant daylilies and hostas over the daffodils. Daylily and
hosta *roots* get very dense, quickly. I've had trouble splitting hostas
with a knife, imagine how hard it would be for an unarmed daffodil to get
through! You could plant the daylilies and hostas in *front* of the
daffodils, though! -Kay

[Karen Mountford]

mtra...@mail.duke.edu (Meg Trauner) wrote:
>I have a small garden plot intensely planted with 100 King
>Alfred-type daffodils 8 inches deep in good soil. If I plant daylilies
>and hostas shallowly over the daffodils, will the daffodils continue to
>emerge each year?
>

>I live in zone 7/8 in central North Carolina, in case that makes any
>difference.
>
>Meg
>

I have grown daylilies but not Hostas. The daylilies form quite a solid
clump of roots so I suspect your daffs would have some difficulty growing
through them. You could try planting them between the clumps, but you
would have to be prepared for the daylily clumps to spread and dig them
up and split and replant at intervals of they would overgrow the daffs
eventually.

Karen

[mo...@usa.pipeline.com]

On Sep 18, 1996 15:37:07 in article <Planting Daylilies over Daffodils>,

'mtra...@mail.duke.edu (Meg Trauner)' wrote:


>I have a small garden plot intensely planted with 100 King
>Alfred-type daffodils 8 inches deep in good soil. If I plant daylilies
>and hostas shallowly over the daffodils, will the daffodils continue to
>emerge each year?
>
>I live in zone 7/8 in central North Carolina, in case that makes any
>difference.
>
>Meg
>

White Flower Farm has a bed in their catalogs that is as you describe -
daylilies over daffodils. I have not planted that combination myself but
I'm sure they would have advice for you. I have always been extremely
pleased with their products, service and knowledge.

White Flower Farm

Route 63, Litchfield, CT 06759-

Phone: (203) 496-9600 Fax: (203) 496-1418
Content: Perennials, shrubs, bulbs, selected annuals, roses
Catalog available: Yes, Free Ship internationally: No

[fpri...@worldnet.att.net]

Karen Mountford <mou...@stcub3.agw.bt.co.uk> wrote:

>mtra...@mail.duke.edu (Meg Trauner) wrote:
>>I have a small garden plot intensely planted with 100 King
>>Alfred-type daffodils 8 inches deep in good soil. If I plant daylilies
>>and hostas shallowly over the daffodils, will the daffodils continue to
>>emerge each year?
>>
>>I live in zone 7/8 in central North Carolina, in case that makes any
>>difference.
>>
>>Meg
>>

Hi Meg

Daylilies and daffs are a classic combination. The idea being that
the lilies as they grow hide the unattractive, ripening foliage of the
bulbs. I have three large beds planted in this combination. They are
at least 15 years old and I have 100s of daffs and no sign of lilies
blocking them from growing.

It would make sense to plant the daylilies first -- not too close
together -- and put the bulbs in between.

I think you will love it.

Ann

[CEL]

Dear Meg:

I am trying this with tulips, so in a year or so I ought to be able to
give you an answer. . .

CEL

--
Zone 5/6 (sometimes even 7), intermountain region, Western USA
What this means is dry, with extremes in temp!

"This is a professional. Do not try this in your own home."

[Beverly Nash]

Meg Trauner <mtra...@mail.duke.edu> wrote: I have a small garden plot
intensely planted with daffodils. If I plant daylilies and hostas over the

daffodils, will the daffodils continue to emerge each year?
>

> I remember reading an article in a garden book that recommended doing
exactly what you propose to do. The article said that daylillies and
daffodils were great companions. Unfortunately, I can't remember the name
of the book. However, this combination does make sense. The daylillys
(and Hosta) will still be small while the daffodils are ripening their
foliage. Then they will fill in to cover the space and provide later
bloom. I would plant the perenials at their normal depth. I don't think
they will interfere with the bulbs.

Beverly

[D. Zigmund]

> Meg Trauner <mtra...@mail.duke.edu> wrote: I have a small garden plot
> intensely planted with daffodils. If I plant daylilies and hostas over the
> daffodils, will the daffodils continue to emerge each year?
> >

Last fall I interplanted my daylily garden with 200 daffodills, put
daffodil fertilizer (from the Daffodil Mart) down, and in the spring had a
fabulous show of daffodils. Come July, the daylilies bloomed as
beautifully as ever. This has got to be one of the truly great
combinations of gardening!

I have another garden where the prior owner left what only can be
described as a "mess of bulbs" -- snowdrops, winter aconite, daffodils,
tulips, and summer snowflakes, all higglety-pigglety mixed together. I
planted hostas over them and, except for early June when the hostas are
still kind of small and the daffodil foliage is yellowing, it works pretty
well. By summer it's solid hostas.

From elsewhere in my yard, where (among other things) double daffs long
dormant emerged in several places for the first time this spring, I have
gotten the distinct impression that it would take more than a few feisty
perennials to get a good daffodil down.

Dana

[Larry Margolis]

In <51rvgi$j...@mtinsc01-mgt.ops.worldnet.att.net>, fpri...@worldnet.att.net writes:
>
>Daylilies and daffs are a classic combination. The idea being that
>the lilies as they grow hide the unattractive, ripening foliage of the
>bulbs. I have three large beds planted in this combination. They are
>at least 15 years old and I have 100s of daffs and no sign of lilies
>blocking them from growing.
>
>It would make sense to plant the daylilies first -- not too close
>together -- and put the bulbs in between.

We're doing this now - filling up a pretty large area with
tulips, daffodils, and daylilies. It might make more sense to do
it as you suggest, but we've got a *lot* of bulbs; I'm just
digging a series of trenches , putting the bulbs in, layering
some dirt, and planting the daylilies on top. The bulb digger
gadget is great for a limited number of bulbs, but when you've
got a large number to get in and don't want to spend all your
time at it, other methods are called for.

--
Larry Margolis, mar...@ibm.net

[Kgwhite]

I live in z.6/7 in East Tenn. I've had very good luck with daylilies and
daffodils planted at the same time, equal with daffodils set into day
lilies, but the day lilies I set over a thick established daffodil bed is
ok, but struggling to establish thickly. Good luck. Kathryn