Learn about daylilies at July lecture series | Gardening

Daylilies remain a popular flowering perennial in North Florida. They have a long blooming period, plants are available in a wide variety of flower colors and they are relatively low-maintenance.

The following was taken from the UF/IFAS Extension publication titled “Daylilies for Florida:” edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/EP006.

“The daylily is a popular flowering perennial that adapts well to Florida landscapes statewide. Plants are available in a wide variety of growth habits, flower shapes and colors, including yellow, orange, red, pink, purple, near-white shades and combinations of all of these. Flowering starts in March for early season bloomers, while late-season daylilies will not bloom until mid-May. Select early and late-season bloomers to extend the flowering season. The typical bloom period is about four to seven weeks, although some varieties bloom even longer.

“Daylilies are members of the lily family, in the genus Hemerocallis; ‘Hemero’ is Greek for ‘day’ and ‘callis’ for ‘beauty,’ i.e., beauty for a day. The modern varieties of daylilies have been developed from native Chinese species. Early settlers from Europe and Asia brought many of the original species with them to America. During the last 75 years, hybridizers in the United States and England have made great improvements in daylily varieties.”

To learn more about the use of daylilies in our North Florida landscapes, you may be interested in an upcoming lecture.

On July 15, the UF/IFAS Extension Master Gardener Volunteers in Okaloosa County will provide a lecture titled “Daylilies.” Invited speaker Connie Gladding is the president of the North Florida Daylily Society as well as a National Daylily Exhibition and Gardeners judge and instructor from Clay County. Gladding will cover daylilies to know and grow in North Florida as well as how to use and care for daylilies in the North Florida landscape.

The approximately one-hour lecture will begin at 10 a.m. and will be held at the Okaloosa County Extension Office, located at 3098 Airport Road in Crestview.

There is no charge to attend, but seating is limited and registration is required. To register, email name(s), email(s) and phone number(s) of those attending to MGLecture@yahoo.com.

As a bonus, registrants and lecture participants will have an opportunity to pre-order daylilies.

For more information about this event or about the lecture series, call the UF/IFAS Extension Office at 850-689-5850.

The University of Florida is committed to providing universal access to all of our events. For disability accommodations such as alternate formats of written material, contact Larry Williams atllw5479@ufl.edu or 850-689-5850 at least one week in advance.