What was your favorite daylily companion for 2014?

Lets show off what we like to grow with our daylilies. What other plants do you grow with your daylilies and why? Did you find a great new companion this year?
We can also discuss plants that do not make good neighbors to daylilies, if you want. We all appreciate Thug warnings. ;-)

Here's a few of my favorites. Warning! I may have to edit. It's hard to see the little thumbnails. They didn't load as planned. :-) You can laugh, it's alright you'll be laughing with me. lol
Picture 1 Sidalcia hybrid
Picture 2 Liartis spicata - ligulistylis is really my favorite but I love all the Liatris!
Picture 3 Lilium I have never met a Lilium that I didn't like. I'll post more lilies pictures, you can be sure of that. Lol
Picture 4 Echinachia and Veronica I'm more fond of the species of both than the hybrids
Picture 5 Monarda and Salvia plumosa I have a hummingbird that guards this raised bed every year. It hides down in the Bee Balm and attacks any others that dare stop by. It moves to a Butterfly Bush when the Bee Balm has finished it's show. It makes for great garden entertainment.

Beautiful pictures!

Shasta alaska daisies for contrast with daylilies.

Cranesbill geraniums to contrast and fill in with shorter daylilies.

Huneybunch, Thank You!

One goodman, You have some great partners for your daylilies. I love the look of Daisies and daylilies. I haven't tried cranesbill geraniums, yet. Maybe this will be the year to try them.

Here are some more pictures.

I love to plant shasta daisies with my daylilies, I also think that blue spiderwort is stunning against yellow daylilies.

Blue Spiderwort also looks great with white daylilies. I have "Sweet Kate" Tradescantia. Unfortunately, Showy Primrose has caused my spiderwort to fight for it's life. Lol I moved it last Spring to a more hospitable garden spot. It's planted between a red and a white daylily with no showy Primrose.

Karen, it is usually the other way around in my experience with Spiderworth, Tradescantia aka Widow's Tears. They usually take over. This is a pic of them in their dedicated spot. If you cut them back after blooming in the spring they will bloom again in the fall.

They take over everything here, but I love them anyway. I just keep moving them to other spots and letting them grow.
Someone sent me some commelina dianthifolia and I absolutely love it. My hubby hates the way it spreads, but that blue flower is just too pretty.

Mike, Lol I don't see any showy primrose in your picture. That is why your Tradescantia is able to spread. :-) Mine doubled in size this year in it's new home. Showy Primrose can choke anything out. It's impossible to get out of your garden once planted. Showy Primrose laughs at Roundup and everything else that should kill it. Oh, except me trying to send to somebody via the USPS. That does seem to kill it. Lol

Ibartoo, I had to look up Commelina dianthifolia. I had never heard of it before. Wow! I'm with you, I love the color of the flowers! Thanks, it's nice to learn about flowers you had never heard of. Especially if they are Blue. :-) The only blue flower I have is Ceratostigma plumbaginoides ( leadwort). I use it for a ground cover between my daylilies by my front walkway.

I haven't ever planted ceratostigma, maybe I will find a spot for it this year. I need to clean out the area where most of my daylilies are planted. Some were overgrown by banana shrubs and are not doing so well, probably due to the shade and others are being invaded by more shasta daisy and stokesia plants.
I really have a lot of work to do in that area. I can't wait until blooming season.

Ibartoo, You'll love Ceratostigma, it blooms most of the season.
I like your plant combo's. Stokesia and Shasta Daisies with daylilies would look nice together.
Does your Stokesia seed it's self all over? I'm having DH dig out Maximillian's Sunflower this Spring due to it's ramped reseeding.
When can you start working in your gardens? It will be March before I can start to clean up my gardens. No planting much till May. I cheat and plant bulbs and dayliliy roots in April without any problems.

Ours is Always Agapanthus "Blue Nile Lily'' Var: 'Northern Star' It is Incredibly Long Blooming so it blooms start or EM Season all Summer through VL Season in the Fall. It has 36 In. Nice tall Scapes unlike most aliums or garlics which are not true blue anyway like Nile Lilies and fairly short..and last Year a Couple of them topped out at 48 inches. Keep in Mind Nile Lilies won't bloom if they have other plants up against their root ball zone so make sure a good 8-10 inches away from the Lily Clumps that are planted next to it. Also I don't know if they will survive any further North than Zone 6B so probably nothing further North than Mid Atlantic States of Virginia and Maryland.

Sandy, I love your Agapanthus! It looks like a blue firework exploding, very pretty.
I agree with you that most Alliums are not blue. Azureum is the only Allium I have found to bloom a true blue. It's a softer blue than the Agapanthus. I'm going to have to try Agapanthus ' Northern Star'.
Are you able to grow dormant daylilies? Or do you stick with semi-evergreen and evergreens? Just curious!

Thanks :-) Yes I can grow all three kind of Daylilies Semi-Ev, Evergreen, and Dorm. It still gets a bit cold here and below freezing at Night from December through March, so not as great for evergreens as say Florida. I Bet Northern Zones can Also Grow Nile Lilies by Planting them in a Pot..then put the Pot in the ground in the Daylily Garden bed from May Through Early September, and then take the Whole pot up and bring inside in Late Fall. That would work great i bet, and work good also because these Nile Lilies are so sensitive to being disturbed, that by picking up the whole pot, you wouldn't have to disturb them like say bringing in gladiolus bulbs in winter, and risk the Nile Lilies not blooming from coming in contact with the rootball. I had Heard this Works with Crinum Lilies as Growers i have heard as far north as Michigan have recently been doing this with those and having great success. Also I believe i purchased the Northern Star Cultivar from my local Lowes garden Dept in 2010. If You cant find it though, i can sent you a start this July.

My stokesia really doesn't reseed, because I am always snagging the seed pods. LOL I plant in 3 different gardens, so anything I can grow from seed really helps and those are easy to grow from seed.
Those blue agapanthus are stunning. I may need to find a place for those this year.
I can start planting usually in late February. Somethings need to wait till march, but I live right on the coast, so we are a little warmer than most areas.
I am wintersowing now and a few things I am actually just starting the cold frame now.

most of the time, by mid March, I can put anything in the ground.

I was just given a couple of the helianthus maxillani. I hope it spreads a lot in one area. Mine didn't get very tall this year, but I am hopeful it will grow better this year it should be more established. If it spreads a lot, I may have an even better place for it. I think it would be really pretty with morning glories growing in it.

Sandy, I don't dig my Gladiola's. I have had the same Gladiola's for 5 years in the ground in zone 6a. They bloom every year. I'm not going to tell them they are only suppose to be hardy to zone 8. Lol I'm always willing to try pushing zones. :-) Sometimes It works and others not. I'm not a dig and store gardener. If I take the time to put it in the ground, that's where it stays. Unless, I decide it will look better in a different garden. Which happens often.

Ibartoo, Your Maxmillian Sunflower will be taller this year and 10' or more by the third year. Maxmillian Sunflower will spread by roots and seed. My problem is I planted mine to feed birds. So, I leave mine stand during winter and hack it down in early Spring. But, it's planted out away from any structure to stake it to. Wind takes down any staking I try. Then the Maxmillian is flopped all over my garden and looks a hot mess. Lol I have other tall late season bloomers that I like better. My favorite is Silphium perfoliatum ( cup plant) it never needs staking. Pictured below. I also have a cut leaf coneflower that gets about 6' tall. I'll try to find a picture of the coneflower.

That sounds great. I was afraid I had planted it in too much shade and would have to move it.Should you cut it down at the end of each year, or just let it stay?

I am right on the coast, but my gladiolas never seem to come back. I love them, but I hate to spend the money knowing they will either die in the ground or become squirrelfood.

I have another spot, I can move the maximillion sunflower to as well. I am thinking some morning glories growing with it would be really pretty.

Oh man, I am driving myself nuts. I can't wait until spring.

I let mine stand until late winter/ early spring. You could cut it down after it set seed, if you wanted. I leave mine stand to feed the birds. It's also easier to cut down after it's dried out and becomes more brittle.
You could grow Morning Glories up it, no problem. They would help keep it together, so to speak. I have always wanted to grow a annual sunflower playroom with morning glories and scarlet runner beans up the walls, for my son to play in. I tried one year but didn't make the door opening big enough. lol I had a box of sunflowers instead.
My Maximilian only got about 2' or 3' tall it's firtst year.
My cup plant was the same way. The cup plant is big bold sturdy plant. You never have to stake it and the leaves catch water for wildlife to drink from hence the nickname cup plant. The only draw back to the cup plant is the roots are tough as steel, I don't know how you dig up this plant. I tried to divide mine last year to share some with a friend. It wasn't happening, that plant laughed at me. I fought a hard battle and only came away with a small piece of root.
Cosmo's look great with Maximillian sunflowers.
I'm ready for Spring! We're getting snow tonight. Yuk!

I don't dig my glads either. If you plant them deep enough they will be alright.

Maybe that is my problem. I must not be planting them deep enough.

You might have another problem living on the coast. Your water table might be too high and cause the corms to rot. There are parts of my yard that have water to close to the surface and bulbs or corms will rot in those area's.
I plant my Gladiola's at about 6 or 7" deep.

Have you tried Crocosmia? They spread and look great in mass. I have Luciffer and Emily McKenzie. They struggle to multiply here in zone 6 but they live. They are a warm climate plant and would love your zone.

Gomphrena did really well here in the DLs. It became 2'x2' bush! lol Added color all summer and I really liked it. Hope it reseeded!

I had Crocosmia for about 3 years and then last summer they didn't appear. Must have lost them.

I liked your Gomphrena a lot. I need to try that this year. Fingers crossed that your reseeded.

Hemlady, My Crocosmia took a hit last year with the bitter cold. I went from well over a dozen Emily McKezie down to maybe 6 of them. My Luciffer held it's own pretty good.

I haven't tried either of those. I did plant some gomphrena in my clients garden, but I think it needed a better place, or to be potted. It was 1 of the new razzleberry plants and it was gorgeous. It bloomed for a long time. If I plant any this year, I think I will plant them in pots.

I have shied away from bulbs in the past, because we don't get enough cold here for them to bloom as pretty as they should. Plus the squirrels eat them like candy. Maybe this year, I will plant some in pots with chicken wire over the top and see what happens. It would be nice to have a few things I like and try some new ones.

Thanks for the ideas.

Ibartoo Razzleberry sounds like a color right up my ally lol :)

TD- Youll get a kick out of this.. that thing is still alive lol!

If you guys want seeds let me know still covered in them. Dont know if theyll be true or not, worth a try :)

1- End of Sept "Pinball Purple"
2- Today lol

Wow! It got a lot bigger than it was in July when I was there. It's awesome! According to the Missouri Botanical Garden, you'll need to sow a lot of seed. Gomphrena's seed germination is very low. Here is what they said.


Tried and Trouble-free Recommended by 5 Professionals
Common Name: globe amaranth
Type: Annual
Family: Amaranthaceae
Native Range: Panama, Guatemala
Zone: 2 to 11
Height: 1.00 to 2.00 feet
Spread: 0.50 to 1.00 feet
Bloom Time: June to frost
Bloom Description: White to yellow with bright magenta bracts
Sun: Full sun
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Low
Suggested Use: Annual
Flower: Showy, Good Dried
Attracts: Butterflies
Tolerate: Drought, Clay Soil, Dry Soil
Garden locations
Culture

Annual. Easily grown in average, well-drained soils in full sun. Although mature plants exhibit good drought resistance, plants grow best with regular moisture throughout the growing season. Extremely good heat tolerance. Sow seed directly in the garden after last frost date. Use ample amounts of seed since germination rate can be quite low. For earlier bloom, start seeds indoors 6-8 weeks before last frost. Most nurseries carry plants in cell/six packs. Set seedlings or purchased plants out after last frost date. Pinch young plants to promote bushiness.

Noteworthy Characteristics

Globe amaranth is a compact annual that typically grows 12-24” tall on upright branching stems. The true flowers are insignificant, tiny, white to yellow trumpets that are only visible close up. It is the bright magenta bracts arranged in globose, papery-textured, clover-like flowerheads that provide the real show in a long summer to frost bloom. Cultivars expand the range of flowerhead colors to include red, pink, purple, lilac, violet and white. Long lasting fresh cut flower. Excellent dried flower (an everlasting) that retains color well. Narrow oblong to elliptic green leaves (to 4” long).

Problems

No serious insect or disease problems. Taller plants may need staking. Mildew may attack drought-stressed plants.

Garden Uses

Borders, rock gardens, cutting gardens, annual beds or containers. Also useful as an edger.




'Strawberry Fields'
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Spread... 1 foot...LOL!!! Turned into a monster i guess haha. Iv got tons, how many you want??

Lol I read the 1' spread and laughed too. It must have really liked your garden.
I'd love some seed.

badcat, I would love to have some seeds too. I can trade something if you like.
Those would be pretty with either stella d oro, or Joan Senior dayliliy plants.
Does it choke out other things?
I have wandering Jew ( tradescantia flumeninsis) in some of my beds as a ground cover. The flowers on the amaranth would be awesome with the flowers on the wandering jew.
I love pairing things in odd combinations.

I don't think it would choke any neighbors out. It's roots don't spread. It might lay over on it's neighbors. Daylilies don't mind leaning neighbors as long as their foliage gets some light. My Nepta Walkers Blue leans on my daylilies. It makes it look like the daylily bloom is rising from the cat mint.

No luck here with Lucifer. So far I have planted two groups with zero results. I just love the red I see in the pics of them.

They would look good planted between some of my white daylilies and blue Delphiniums. I picture the delf in the back sandwich in front by the other two. A nice Independence day display.

Mike, Do you want to try some more Lucifer? I could tuck some in your box this Spring. just say the word.

I am jealous of your delphinium. We get so hot here they just wither. I have bought them and planted them in every conceivable spot to get them to bloom. It just doesn't seem to matter.

Ibartoo, I'm with you on the delphiniums. They don't like the heat and humidity of Ohio either. I have made many attempts with no luck. Mike on the other hand has a beautiful display of them. Show us some pictures Mike. :-)

Here are a few more pictures of some favorites of mine.
Picture 1 Pop Star Lily Allen Asiantic Lily
Picture 2 liatris and coneflower
Picture 3 Salvia Plumosa and Aster.

Ibartoo, I planted Ceratostigma last summer. Will let you know how it comes back for me this spring.

Here is another plant I love, and have several varieties of it. Veronica Speedwell. This is "Sunny Border Blue", along with Balloon Flower, double coneflower and a little "Blue My Mind" Blue Daze.

Ok, it is safe to say, I want them all. LOL
I am really looking forward to planting some different things this year. I have a lot of shade, but some sunny areas as well. I like odd combos and bright stark color opposites. For some reason, the more shocking the combo, the better I like it.

I love blue daze. I planted some 1 year and it turned into a perennial for me. ( always a plus.) Echinacea is probably 1 of my all time favorites but the veronica wasn't too happy with me or the care I provided.
I love lilies and liatris too. I may be forced to put some bright orange lilies with some liatris just for fun. I found that my best combos last year were the ones I planted in pots.
I will search for some pics and maybe I can show you some of my containers.
I recently took everything off the computer, so I will have to go through the flash drives to find the pics that I want.
1 of my favorite containers last year had tulip ginger, persian shield and forget me nots . It had awesome color all summer and loved the heat.

I love Persian Shield. It is one I have in several places.

The "Blue My Mind" Blue Daze is a more compact version of regular Blue Daze. I love it. And it is coming back for me already this year.

The creeping variety of Veronica has not done well, but the larger leafed, upright varieties, like Goodness Grows, Sunny Border Blue, and Purplicious have done really great for me. Part sun-part shade, or full sun.

Happytail, Sunny Border Blue is a awesome speedwell. I have had mine for 9 years and love it. Balloon flower is another great bloomer. My son loves to pop the blooms open. Your planting is beautiful, Thanks for sharing.

Ibartoo, Oh, I love Persian Shield.
Asclepias Tuberosa looks good with Liatris too. I like the Orange / purple combo look.
You can really have fun with your shade area. Ligularia is a big bold shade plant. I tried to sneak some into my small stip of shade last year. I can't wait to see if it comes back this year. I have Astilbe's and Japanese Painted Ferns and Hosta's with Lamium and Bleeding Hearts in my shade strip. I love shade plants. Probably because I don't have much shade. I'd try some toad lilies, if I had room for them. Lol

Some pictures of some more favorite companion plants.
Picture 1 Walkers Low catmint and SB Peony
Picture 2 lilium tenuifolium I love this Lily and want more of them!
Picture 3 Penstemon calycosus this is one plant the raised bed is 4' wide. Love it!
Picture 4 Newberry Festival and purple Gladiola's I'm going to plant more purple Glads this spring. I like the color combo. Purple Glads look good with Oragnge daylilies also.