a nocturnal bloomer Hemerocallis citrina opens in the afternoon and blooms through the night. Also producing a fragrance, Hemerocallis citrina has 5-inch very tight trumpet like blooms. 

 The Hemerocallis species are of interest to people who wish to know more about the history and development of the daylily. Many species have unique characteristics and an understated natural beauty that lends itself to centerpiece plantings, cottage gardens and more .For further information, a good source is A.B. Stout"s book, Daylilies, 1934, 1986, J.M Dent & Sons, London.

DID YOU KNOW..?

Hemerocallis (hem-er-o-kal-lis), the botanical name for daylily means in Greek ""beautiful for a day". Each flower only opens for one day. After it is spent, it is succeeded by the next day"s blossom. Established clumps bloom vigorously for weeks and weeks.

The daylily is a monocot related to Orchids, Hostas and even Grasses. Daylilies are in the Lily family (liliaceae) and as such are related to true lilies (Lilium). and are in the genus Hemerocallis . Daylily species were originally found in Manchuria, Mongolia, Northern India as well as throughout China, Japan and Korea. In their natural habitat daylilies are found in swamps, seashore meadows, forests edges and on mountains up to 10,000 feet.

In the 1920"s Dr. A.B. Stout began to work with daylilies, hybridizing and identifying the species. Since then daylilies have become nearly as popular as roses. They are collected, grown and hybridized by people around the world.

It is amazing to think that from approximately 20 species of daylilies over 45,000 varieties of daylily hybrids have been developed. While the colors of most species are orange, yellow or rarely pinkish there are now daylily hybrids in shades of red, purple, near white and more!

With so many daylily varieties to choose from why would one want to grow daylily species?

Besides the historical interest of growing a species there are many traits that makes a species desirable. First in foremost in our opinion is the simple natural lines and form that species exhibit. The trumpet or simple star shapes of the blooms, the graceful narrow foliage and the loose growth habit of many of the species is delightful.

Secondly as plants that have evolved over millions of years they contain potential adaptability that may not be present in some of the more modern cultivars. Finally from a breeding standpoint the species may contain genetic material that could produce new yet undiscovered traits.