I love my Daylilies! They grow in all types of soil conditions as long as it is well drained. They prefer sun, but tolerate shade. They winter well and can survive extreme heat as long as they receive an inch of water a week. If the rabbits did not like them so much, they would be on my short list of perfect flowers. I have found that the rabbits will not traverse rocks to eat them, so a little landscaping has allowed me to spend less time channeling Mr. McGregor and more time enjoying my flowers.
I have not decided if the tip I am about to share falls under the category of frugal and green gardening or cheap and lazy; I will let you decide. When my daylilies have stopped blooming, I pinch the dead blooms, so they don’t go to seed, but I do not cut back their stems. Instead I let them dry until I can just twist the dead stems out. Then I have a free, eco-friendly, biodegradable stake to use for my morning glory seedlings.
The dried stems are also perfect for staking peas and green beans when I start them inside before the last frost. They are 2 – 3 feet tall, but very light weight. When I transfer the plant outdoors, I can leave the make do stake with the seedling rather than risk doing damage to the plant by removing it. So what do you think? Am I hiding behind a frugal and green cover, while truly being cheap and lazy?
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Darla says
I would be afraid of cutting nutrients for next years flowers if I cut them. I don't repurpose them but I do let them dry out completely before removing them. We use garlic spray to deter rabbits, it's worked pretty good so far.
pogonip@meadowsweet cottage says
Thrifty! I'm into free too. I save the straightest twigs when I prune my fruit trees each Spring and use them as plant stakes. This year I made a trellis for my honeysuckle with them and I just love the way it looks.