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View Full Version : Stella daylily explosion



ponderingkoi
07-01-2006, 11:27 AM
Can you believe every one of these flowers will be gone tomorrow but more will replace them each day? We only have the stellas blooming right now...others are a few more days away...but they give us a good start.

pskorf
07-01-2006, 11:32 AM
i love stella and have a bunch here.first to bloom and last to bloom.i use alot when i do some landscaping for people and banks.
your place looks very nice.

DoubleS
07-01-2006, 12:06 PM
I hardly noticed the daylilies.....was too busy drooling over your lovely home! Are you looking to adopt? :)

Noahsnana
07-01-2006, 12:08 PM
:rofl: I was going to say the same.... STELLA

madeyna
07-01-2006, 12:12 PM
absolutly beatiful Are they a mixed group just blooming in succession? Or do you have your other lilys planted in groupings else were?

savannahrobinson
07-01-2006, 12:21 PM
How did you cut your grass that way?

(Roark is gonna have a fit! ) :D:

ponderingkoi
07-01-2006, 01:46 PM
Daylilies are hubby's hobby. He must have the largest residential collection of different varieties in our state. And, yeah...he'd be the guy who would buy a $150 daylily, not on e-bay though. SO, he can't complain what I spend on a koi. :D: :D: Those stellas are first to bloom in our area, but the real show stoppers are coming up next. He believes in "mass plantings", so there are big groups of same variety of lilies...sometimes one type behind the other with complementary colors or bloom times. Those stellas will keep blooming until frost, just not quite as prolifically as the first bloom.
The grass? We used to cut our own but, again hubby is alittle anal about the grass too...and now has a professional company do it every week. It took them three mowings this time because of all the rain. I liked the checkered pattern too though, AND I get to spend less time riding around on that mower. :D: :D: :D: :D: PS...We designed and built the house 5 years ago, just the three of us...but I get to host most family holidays :thinking: , so we needed the space. Still not sure if that was the best decision! :thinking: Actually, we built in two Inlaw apartments so we could accomodate two sets of inlaws if we ever needed to....and guess what? We both only have our Dad's alive, and they both want to stay in their own homes till the end. So no takers...

savannahrobinson
07-01-2006, 02:13 PM
I like mass plantings too.
I bought 1000 daylilies from a farm. They all came in rotten. :( Ebay!

So I gave up on that. I get one here, one there, and divide them every year - trying to make a mass planting.

I have a daylily that bloomed LAST week - so no photos today - that is almost a double ruffle. I was suprised, because it was supposed to be a straight red. :eek:
I like it tho.

I gotta learn how that checkerboard is made. Roark will be SOOOO jealous!

SouthernStarr
07-01-2006, 02:31 PM
Beautiful home and day lilies!

ponderingkoi
07-01-2006, 02:38 PM
Ha..that's Kentucky blue grass and it gets plenty of water and fertilizer. Some people actually ASK if they can walk on the lawn. I always think that is so funny. A healthy lawn is very tough, and it gets walked on A LOT. Gasp...I even stick the badmitten pole stakes in there. You think Roark wouldn't approve?? Hey, I've got a five yr. old boy who plays hard on that lawn. It's just no match to a dog's pee though. :no:

Noahsnana
07-01-2006, 03:37 PM
Well it is just beautiful your DH should be proud of his anal attributes :rofl:

Rita in Il
07-02-2006, 01:01 AM
Talk about mass plantings! Beautiful home and yard!

tnovak
07-02-2006, 01:45 AM
Your flowers are very pretty, but your home is BEAUTIFUL!!!!

Koimum
07-02-2006, 08:05 AM
Gorgeous mass plantings!

steveamy
07-02-2006, 09:04 AM
The house is nice, the flowers are pretty but dang, who else has a boat dock on their koi pond:eek:.

ponderingkoi
07-02-2006, 09:09 AM
Yeah, that would be nice! The koi get the same lake water though and seem to be thriving in it (UV sterilyzers zap it good first). We get to see a lot of bass, perch and sunfish swimming around and under the dock though...just nothing as colorful as my koi. :no:

pskorf
07-02-2006, 10:22 AM
I can not speak about the way your mowers did the look but believe it is the same way ball parks do it. there is a roller after the cutting deck that gives it a bend and sunlight gives it that look after grass grows a little it goes away.since she mentioned the extra mowings that what gives it the box look .went one way then the other.

ponderingkoi
07-02-2006, 12:49 PM
Yeah, they mow it one way straight across the lawn and then mow it again the other way..to give it that checkered look. This time they actually had to mow it THREE times, each at a slightly lower height because it grew so long and we had so much rain, that they couldn't mow it earlier in the week. The cutting deck is 60" wide which gives you that broad box look. Hell, when I mowed it, I just circled around the edges and worked my way inward with consecutive smaller circles..till I was done. They do it with a large walk behind powered mower that lets them turn on a dime at the edge. It has hand controls. I just couldn't compete with that!

maryvonne
07-02-2006, 01:02 PM
Stella is a very nice daylily. Quite the display!

ponderingkoi
07-02-2006, 01:32 PM
We have a bunch of "Happy Returns" too, more lemon yellow colored than the stellas. When I had more time, I used to deadhead them all...just used to sit on a little garden scooter and make my way around the property. Now, we've figured out that it's easier to just cut them down to the ground after the initial flush of blooms and they come right back up green and putting up tons of new shoots. Sure saves on all that deadheading. We just have too many to keep up with doing it that way. I do deadhead individual stalks on some focal point daylilies, ironically called 'Heron'...which are by far our favorites. Will post some of those photos when they bloom. Can't say I feel the same way about the great blue heron that flies by every day. :mad:

Tired and overworked
07-02-2006, 02:18 PM
Awesome flowers and yard, :D: Maryann.

savannahrobinson
07-02-2006, 02:48 PM
You mow your daylilies? :eek:

gray cat
07-02-2006, 02:52 PM
I love your lilies & your home. :yes:

Jeannie
07-02-2006, 03:55 PM
Absolutely lovely home and day lilies. I love that they grow so fast too. In a few years you can create your own mass plantings without having to buy so many. Yours are lovely. I'd love to see more as they bloom. Very nice place you have. Jeannie

ponderingkoi
07-02-2006, 07:10 PM
Actually we use a hedge trimmer type device to trim the stellas down after the first bloom...and they grow right back up within a week or so. They bloom so heavily initially that the dead stalks look like a million antlers. I was initially against this approach but once we tried it, we knew it was the way to go. It keeps them looking lush and green all summer. If I only had a few, I wouldn't use this approach, but we have a stella border going around almost the entire property covering 2 and 1/2 acres...just way too many for me to individually deadhead. I do deadhead the ones along the lakefront though...but maybe this year, I'll hack them down too. You would be surprised how fast they grow right back. :yes:

ponderingkoi
07-02-2006, 07:42 PM
Steve, the 'boat dock' to the koi pond, I'm afraid, is bigger than my little koi pond. :yes: We set up this water slide with climbing wall on the back side on top of the boathouse for the kids. It's 7:30 pm. and they're still on it. (A few of the adults even tried it, after a few drinks!) :cool: . Another shot of more stellas from the house balcony, and our guest dock.

Noahsnana
07-02-2006, 10:55 PM
We have a bunch of "Happy Returns" too, more lemon yellow colored than the stellas. When I had more time, I used to deadhead them all...just used to sit on a little garden scooter and make my way around the property. Now, we've figured out that it's easier to just cut them down to the ground after the initial flush of blooms and they come right back up green and putting up tons of new shoots. Sure saves on all that deadheading. We just have too many to keep up with doing it that way. I do deadhead individual stalks on some focal point daylilies, ironically called 'Heron'...which are by far our favorites. Will post some of those photos when they bloom. Can't say I feel the same way about the great blue heron that flies by every day. :mad:


I have never tried cutting back after the first bloom :thinking:

Are they Stella Doro or Blackeyed Stella... They look to large to be doro

ponderingkoi
07-03-2006, 06:22 AM
They are Stella Doro and yes they are large. I need to divide soon. Anyone want any? We also have a smaller garden with Blackeyed stellas but I didn't take a picture of those. Everything seems to grow larger than normal here, but I think it's due to DH and his diligent care of them. Unfortunately, for any flower or shrub that doesn't hold the mustard for him...it's gone by the next season and replaced by something else. Most of our friends have very lovely gardens from all of his 'rejects'. I've learned to live with it.

madeyna
07-03-2006, 12:50 PM
:cool: When you are ready to sell and divide I am sure we will all be ready to buy

ponderingkoi
07-03-2006, 01:56 PM
I don't want any money for them...maybe just someone to help me dig them out :D: They grow big here and have huge root balls. It drives me crazy when DH hacks something out of the ground (a perfectly fine shrub or tree etc) because it's easier than digging it out more carefully so that it can be given to someone else. But, like I said, I've learned to live with it and I do know how much work it is to preserve the roots and repot it and carry it somewhere to store until someone can come up and get it...and he may have twenty or more to remove...AND then I have to keep them watered etc. until they can be retrieved. Will see what we can do about getting anyone who wants some...just send us addresses and amount wanted. You can PM me.

ponderingkoi
07-04-2006, 07:05 AM
Savannah, I'll get a photo of the guys doing the mowing for Roark, and any tips they will divulge. :D: They should be here on Thursday, maybe earlier.

savannahrobinson
07-04-2006, 08:18 AM
Savannah, I'll get a photo of the guys doing the mowing for Roark, and any tips they will divulge. :D: They should be here on Thursday, maybe earlier.

That would be GREAT!
Roark loathes most plant life - won't eat the sex organs of plants, or at least broccoli or asparagus - but he obsesses over his lawn.
Or maybe his lawn tractor. 60 inch cut, John Deere.

ponderingkoi
07-04-2006, 08:26 AM
I bet he can turn that thing on a dime with a beer in one hand! I think he may well be able to duplicate the pattern. He's got the spread (60")! Must be a guy thing...generators and lawns. Glad my DH is obsessed with gardening and perennials. Though I think most men aren't. A male friend asked me the other day ..."How often do you fertilize those bicentenials?" :rofl:

savannahrobinson
07-04-2006, 09:00 AM
I bet he can turn that thing on a dime with a beer in one hand! I think he may well be able to duplicate the pattern. He's got the spread (60")! Must be a guy thing...generators and lawns. Glad my DH is obsessed with gardening and perennials. Though I think most men aren't. A male friend asked me the other day ..."How often do you fertilize those bicentenials?" :rofl:

Its very English to be male and a gardener. Little old men in England putter about the garden, trimming their roses... :D:

I want to grow up to be a little old japanese gardener. The kind that have the garden so well under control, they wander about with chopsticks, picking up fallen leaves among the bamboo. :To funny:

I'll probably end up like a Mexican grandma = gardening flowers in tomatoe cans in the desert... :no:

ponderingkoi
07-04-2006, 09:13 AM
Its very English to be male and a gardener. Little old men in England putter about the garden, trimming their roses... :D:

I want to grow up to be a little old japanese gardener. The kind that have the garden so well under control, they wander about with chopsticks, picking up fallen leaves among the bamboo. :To funny:

I'll probably end up like a Mexican grandma = gardening flowers in tomatoe cans in the desert... :no:

DH used to be like that old Japanese gardener, me too...then we had a baby and there's just not as much time or priority to do things that way anymore...but we try to keep things under control.

ponderingkoi
07-05-2006, 06:40 AM
The poodle cut Hemlocks look like they'll have to stay that way for another week. :D: We still have some company visiting, last of the stragglers should leave today. :D:

savannahrobinson
07-05-2006, 08:44 AM
Kids are worth the extra effort... there will be plenty of time to garden when they are grown. :)

ponderingkoi
07-05-2006, 06:14 PM
That's what I figure, just not sure if my back will hold up at this rate. My five year old does help me hoe and weed and we both look for worms while we're at it...then we go fishing with them. :yes:

vipldy
07-05-2006, 06:37 PM
Please explain how you cut them down to the ground? You mean the leaves and all??

Marie :)

ponderingkoi
07-05-2006, 11:48 PM
For our stella border, once it has gone through it's first and heaviest bloom and starts to look 'tired', I cut them right down to about an inch or two from the ground. In our climate, they'll put leaves right back up, even in a day or two...but certainly you'll see lush green foliage again within a week. We think they look better than seeing the 'antlers' of all those dead stalks that I can't individually deadhead off. They'll again put up scapes with flowers but not as heavily as the first bloom of the season. This way they stay looking better and greener for our whole summer season. Then of course, we cut them back down to the ground in late Fall before the snow flies.
I don't do this on our focal point beds of daylilies, I'll deadhead the individual stalks by hand down to the ground, which keeps them blooming better and looking neater. I will post some photos of the stella border when we cut them down and will show how long it takes to get them looking lush again. You can use large nippers, or clippers, or a hedge type trimmer to cut them down as close to the ground as possible. If it wouldn't ruin the mower blades, I'd just mow them down with the lawnmower. :)