daylilies in florida

i got two daylilies a few weeks ago and i love their blooms. it turns out they are 'Siloam double classic' daylilies and those are the dormant type. does anyone have any advice/experience growing a dormant type daylily in Florida? thanks

YES! I do. Before we moved, we lived in zone 10 east coast. I had (have) Siloam Dbl. Classic down there. It is not dormant there. I would say it's semi-dormant. It stays green throughout the entire year but in winter it gets some brown leaves. I LOVE it! It is fragrant you know; especially in the morning before the heat takes it's toll on the scent. Very hardy & bloomed off & on throughout the growing season. Depending on the weather in a given year/season it would begin blooming in late March/April & go off & on till Sept. Very good performer & seemed to be rust resistant. Grows & multiplies fast!
Another that did great for me down there was Ming Toy. It was the first to begin blooming & the last to stop blooming & was in bloom almost continually. It also tends toward rust resistance. Grows & multiplies fast. Sets seed well but more importantly it likes to make proliferations. YAY! Free plants!
I had Stella D'Oro's & was not happy with them at all. The scapes are wispy & don't hold up the flowers so they blooms end up on the ground. It gets rust no matter what you do & it goes completely dormant. I think were just too far south for Stellas to live up to their name.
When I planted daylilys I always put a scoop of Osmocote in the hole. And I would treat them with a scoop topically 3 or 4 times a year.

Dormant daylilies do grow in fl. You are in a great place to grow them. The only thing bad about the heat, it does turn some purples kinda brown and it does fade out alot of flowers. On the other hand, it makes teeth and ruffles much more 'showy'. With about 65,000 registered daylilies, there are some for you! Peak bloom is in May and you are in a great place to check things out, as so many of the top hybridyzers are around orlando. I am lucky to be around the Salters an the Petits and to see there gardens is a treat.

Daves has a great daylily forum, everybody come visit. It will start getting really fun in about a month when the blooms get really going and pictures are posted. Lots of backyard hybridyzers too. Its so addicting to see what new you can 'get' every year.

For buying daylies, try the Lily Auction on line. Talk about addictive.........Its slow right now as most peoples plants are scaping and they dont want to dig them. Shipping is mainly in the spring and fall.

flaflwrgrl: thanks for your response! i can feel your energy lol. im more than happy to know you grow daylilies and the same one too, you made me decide to go ahead and feel confident in their survival. i did enjoy the fragrance, right now there are so many scents floating around. jasmine, orange, lemon, daylily, roses, gardenia - wow! since my daylilies' scapes will be done in a few days, is there anything special i should do to the plants?

gardenglory: thanks! i will start using the daylily forum more often, and now i actually have daylilies to talk about lol. i didn't know daylilies were that popular in this area, thanks for letting me know - now i know they are successful here. and i will be careful with colors.

Sure thing coastal. Nope, you don't really need to do anything to them. You can cut the spent scapes off but other than that Siloam is one tough cookie! You just watch; she'll be sending up more scapes soon. And I agree with gardenglory ---- watch the colors ---- the darks can be subject to fading with the sun & intense heat.
I sent my cousin in San Antonio some fans of Siloam Dbl. Classic & also my friends in N.C. & Al. & they ALL reported blooms before that year was out! Cousin reported scapes coming up 8 weeks after planting!

im glad! i was trying to use more perennials and shrubs in my yard because annuals are really draining my wallet lol, and i guess im sticking with more daylilies! i will cut off the scapes just for looks. i can't wait for more blooms. hopefully rain is on its way!

If you get any Ming Toy then don't cut off the scapes until you're sure that scape isn't going to produce proliferations. In fact, do that with any dl's you get. But I know the Siloam Dbl. Classic never made prolifs for me so you're safe cutting the spent scapes.

And if it's perennials you're looking for then how about some black & blue salvia guarantica? Hummingbirds love them. And some Neomarcia longifloia -- yellow walking iris. And they aren't perennials but gallardia volunteer like crazy so you only need to buy them once. And how about Zephyranthes -- rain lilys --- sooooo pretty! I had Z. libra & they did excellent; spread by seed volunteering & also by bulbs multiplying.