I just looked that one up and it's gorgeous. I never cut the foliage on any of mine except when digging and dividing. I do cut the scapes (bloom stalks) all the way down when they're finished blooming. This way they aren't using up the plants energy producing seeds, and it will encourage rebloom. If you did want to try your hand at hybridizing, it's very easy and I'd bet you could come up with some great crosses with MV. It may not actually affect your rebloom at all...Since I don't have the room for seedlings I prefer to cut the scapes down and get as much rebloom as possible.

+1 for what wildflower said. Cut the flower stalks after it finishes blooming... and enjoy!

Thanks guys for the information. It is a pretty flower, isn't it? I was looking for something named Martina that had exhuberant blooms. It is in honor of the friend who first got me interested in plants. She used to tell me that flowers are necessary for happiness. She also told me repeatedly that cake is necessary for happiness. How good a friend is that?

The daylily is going to be shipped bare root. What is the best way to plant a bare root daylily? Thanks.

New daylilies should be soaked for a few hours, or overnight in water or a weak solution of liquid fertilizer (donÂt soak for more than a day or two). Find a good sunny location to plant them. The more sun, the better the growth and blooms will be.

Dig a hole larger than the root mass and make a "cone" in the center of the hole. Set the plant in the hole and spread the roots around the cone. Do not set the crown (the place where the roots and foliage meet) more than one inch below the surface of the soil. Back-fill with soil and water well.

Space your daylilies at least 1 foot apart (18-24" is better); some of them do multiply quite rapidly. I normally only fertilize 2 - 3 times a year with a good granular fertilizer and sometimes alternating with an organic, such as fish emulsion. Mulching is always a good idea as it helps improve the soil, helps retain moisture, and helps keep the weeds under control. Once established, one good deep watering per week is all they need.

Hope this helps...

The daylily came yesterday and I planted it this morning. I believe it's the smallest mail order plant I ever received - only six rhizomes - but it's safely in the ground.

I was working the soil this morning and adding some more organic material to it (been at least three years since I've done anything to improve the soil in that spot). I started wondering what I was doing. It's a daylily for crying out loud. I could have mulched it with concrete and motor oil and it would have done ok. I could have planted it in concrete and waterd it with motor oil and it would do ok. Felt kind of silly fussing over it.

New gardening resolution: Fuss over the plants that need it and let the others do their thing.

HA HA HA! Yes, they will grow and bloom in red clay, but they will be much more rewarding if you take care of them. In the long run you'll be glad that you took the extra few minutes to amend your soil.

I don't know what your order was but if it was a double fan (which is the norm), then you received 3 times what you paid for.

It was a no-fan plant. Just a little stub of pruned off greenery, which doesn't bother me this time of year. The plant is supposed to be dormant although I can't figure out dormancy on an evergreen daylily. And I could be using the wrong terminology. Ther are six of those bulby peanut looking things. I have no idea if those are rhizomes or not.