I agree with Debra. I too love the flowers and put up with deadheading, brown leaves after blooming season, etc. When I skip deadheading they don't look very nice--the old blooms can wrap around buds and keep them from opening too. Also the scapes [stems] also need pulled or cut at some point. On a slope they'd probably need watered regularly as they are a water-loving plant. Many varieties need thinned in about 5 years.

This is what I was afraid of, but better to know now before I get too far into the scheme. I could live with a short bloom period from not deadheading, but if it isn't going to be a decent looking groundcover the rest of the time, who needs it? I also didn't realize they'd need watering. I thought once established daylilies were pretty drought resistant. So why are they so often recommended for slopes? Just because they hold the soil?

They wouldn't hold the soil on a steep slope. I've seen them do well on a terraced slope.

Daylilies are very drought resistant. They just look better and perform better when they have adequate moisture. We have a steep slope near the road that is covered in fulvas (the roadside orange one), some varieties we couldn't sell, and some seedlings that are vigorous. We do not water the slope and the daylilies do an excellent job of holding the slope, but they don't necessarily look pretty. The foliage gets ratty looking after the bloom time and weeds and grass will grow up between the plants. Occasionally we have to spray with a grass killer and broadleaf killer that won't hurt the daylilies.

It all depends on what you want from them. We just don't want to mow that slope. It doesn't face the house and we are not so concerned about it looking nice. If you want a garden display, there will be some work involved.

As far a deadheading is concerned, it certainly makes a garden look neater, but we don't do it--too many plants to spend the time.

Nancy

Of course, If you do plant daylilies and are concerned after the bloom period that the leaves look ratty.......you can mow them . I do this all the time . The plant then puts out new leaves that are a nice bright green and the plant is renewed. It doesnt take long from mowing to new leaves either and I live in what I would consider to be a drought stricken region for 4 or 5 months of the year.