Is July the proper time to be dividing your dayliles in your area? I don't know. I just know it's awfully hot in July and August and that puts a lot of stress on newly uprooted plants. Here in my zone 7a garden dividing is usually recommended around mid September when more moderate temperatures are forecast BUT the ground is still warm enough for good root development. I know that doesn't answer your question, but I thought you might want to talk about timing first..........Maryl

In the pic I see two groups of fans, a short distance apart, If it were me, I would divide right between those two groups and keep several fans together.

As for timing, I agree with Maryl that heat can be an issue. On the other hand, the earlier they are moved, the more time they have to get established, and the better they will bloom next year. In addition, all the literature I have read touts the robustness of dayliles and says you can move that at any time. My suggestion, then, is this: If you want to move them now, add plenty of mulch to protect from the heat, and water often (but avoid drowning them).

thanks you both. I agree it is normally very hot now here but its been so mild lately and we have forecast for more storm the next few weeks so I have a good watering on my water and a lot of shade hopefully. I still may hold off I just have to keep watching the weather and if a good week comes up, ill try it.

I moved this bunch of fans this spring and nothing bloomed. I imagine because they didn't get the time to bunker in the ground and get situated so that is why I wanted to get them in early, then they will have a long enough time to grab into the dirt and get comfortable.

Does every fan generally have a scape though? I have a couple other clumps of this same daylily and I had 2-3 scapes but there maybe 5 fans in each clump so not every fan had a scape. Maybe they were just too young to have a scape, but that's why I just want to be certain where to divide because I don't want to move all of these fans and none of them have a scape next year ! ha

U R correct - new/young fans my not send up a space, and thus not bloom.

Would a fan that was just moved in the spring still have stress causing it not to put out a scape ?

It depends on how late in the spring you moved it.

ok that's probably what happened then. I have 6 clumps and the two I moved this spring did not scape out at all. I think I moved them around mid/late April and they started blooming mid June. The others are probably just too young.

If you moved the fan "bare root" - that is you knocked all, or most, of the dirt off the roots before replanting it - then just a few months would not be enough time for it to get established well enough to bloom. Also, it could be that the fan was just not mature enough to bloom in the first place.

On the other hand, if the fan HAD bloomed before AND if you dug up all of the dirt around the roots (such that none of the roots were exposed to the air), then there is a decent chance it might still bloom, even after only a few months.

Bottom line: Unless you are VERY careful and VERY thorough, you are pushing your luck moving a daylily (or any other plant) in the spring, expecting it to bloom that same year.

Ok good to hear. I didn't move it bare root but I may have exposed some roots to air. I dug around it and moved it as a whole. But I understand what your saying. It was in an area that wasn't getting enough sun this spring so I figured i would at least move it so I could re plant something better suited for that area. I thought i was cutting it close, i will do my moving in the fall from now on.

ps- what is the best time to move in zone 8b ? I know when the air gets cooler but whats that mean. specific air temps or time before average frost (usually 2nd week of November for us) ?