Nocturnal Daylilies

I've always been very careful NOT to order any nocturnal daylilies. I figured that if they open late afternoon/evening, I may never get to see the blooms, and I'm not going out with a flashlight to see them. (I'm scared of the mountain lions). LOL

However, I'm now making up a daylily order, and I'm rethinking this quirkiness. Since I've never grown one, I'd like to hear from some that have. Do the blooms open when the sun sets, or earlier? Are the blooms done by morning usually?

Thanks for any help. I'm not going to submit my order until I decide if I should give the nocturnals a chance.

Nocturnals come from different daylily species. Some open around 4pm and close by 8 am while others in addition from opening early evening have an extended bloom time so they can last as much as 48 hrs. To the best of my knowledge the biggest difference is that nocturnals are best hybridized at night (night not necessarily meaning after dark!). I found that I have 5 nocturnals among my plants:

HAWAIIAN NIGHTS
HEAVEN CAN WAIT
JUNE HUDSON
SABINE BAUR
TWO PART HARMONY

Given that daylight hours when your plants would be blooming are extended there is every chance that you would see them bloom. Try one or two and see if you like them would be my advice. Aren't mountain lions just as dangerous during the day as at night??

MollyD

This message was edited Feb 15, 2007 6:06 PM

This message was edited Feb 16, 2007 1:41 PM

Thanks MollyD. I think I might try a couple to see if their bloom time coincides with the time I'm home from work so I can see them.

Yep, mountain lions are just as dangerous during the day, but they also tend to be somewhat nocturnal and prowl around at night. Also, I can see them during the day. :)

I know I have some nocturnals, just don't know which ones off hand. They just open late and stay open all the next day, so I guess they just bloom longer than most other daylilies.

Yeah..that is how mine do. Velvet Shadows is listed as nocturnal and I enjoyed it's blooms. It blooms a LOT so it's a great one to try.. a bud builder, it just kept going

That's good news. I was hoping they bloomed longer, at least through the next day. Thanks.

Look for near whites,pale yellows or pinks they stand out in the evening garden and are sometimes fragrant.

Quiet My Heart
Aniakchak
Tuscawilla Snowdrift--- (white)
Zuni Thunderbird
Gudrid--Hemlady this is one of yours that you use a lot. LOL!!!!

I love Gudrid. It is so showy in a clump.

I love the nocturnals, most of them are heavily scented and on a warm night in the garden the fragrance is wonderful. We don't have mountain lions though. I have a lot of H. citrina and H. altissima seedlings that are a real joy to have around but I like sitting out in the yard after dark and the mosquitos are done feeding for the night.

My only problem with the nocturnals here, are the slugs and snails often get at the blooms during the night or early mornings. Of Course, sometimes they eat on the buds too, so the blooms still get damaged by them even if they don't open at night. :-(

Joy maybe you should try the liquid coffee tip that was on ATP, spray it on the plant and the ground around the plants, its supposed to give the slugs a heart attack and they die.

That sounds like a great idea. I missed that one. I'll have to look it up.

Thanks!

Your welcome Joy.

Margaret, can you post the link to the coffee tip? Mike

Joy one thing that helps me, I go out at night before bed, maybe for 15 or 20 mins with a long stick and I just squash all the slugs I find. Believe it or not, I can kill 4 or 5 large slugs every night this way and it only takes a few mins, bonus I get to see my flowers :)
I figure over time I have killed gobs of them while preventing MANY more!

Have you tried the beer trick? Wondered if it really works?
I have some nocturnal bloomers and I never had any trouble with them. I like them because they are fully open very early of course when I go out before it gets hot. Some of my other dl don't fully open til 10 or 11 and by then it is hot or I've had to leave for the day and didn't get to see them. By evening they are sun-faded and melted of course. I think it is good to have a mixture of both kinds.

The beer trick works but the snails and slugs always migrate back from the neighbors yards.

I've tried the beer trick. It worked, but it would be better suited to a regular sized yard I would think? I would just have to put out too many and they have to be replaced after awhile. I'd be buying a lot of beer! We just have way too many snails and slugs here in the pnw.

What I do now though is go out in the evening with a spray bottle of ammonia water and I hunt them and 'Zap' em with it. It kills them the same way salt does but isn't bad for my soil or plants. In fact it's good for them. I've done this pretty much year round except for the real cold nights for a few years now. I'm cutting in to their numbers, but I doubt I'll ever truly be rid of them. We have an acre and we have a lot of wooded areas around us. I think they should change Washington's evergreen state to the slug and snail state! Though I know Oregon is just as bad. LOL

Mcash it worked thanks for the link. M

huh, yeah, I don't want to be known as the town drunk.... I wouldn't call my yard 'regular' size either, so aside from starting up my own moonshine shop, I'm not sure getting the snails drunk is good business...

Exactly! LOL

Your very welcome Mike!

We have the species h. Altissima which is nocturnal, very tall, and is very fragrant. It starts opening in early evening and closes the next morning. Some have suggested that this is a reproductive strategy, perhaps developing where moths would pollinate it.