Reproduction of the daylily by dividing the bush
As you know, daylilies are rhizome plants, therefore the most convenient and simple way to reproduce them is to divide the bush. Thus, you can not only get new bushes, but also help an adult, highly overgrown plant, because the thickening of the bush directly affects the quality and abundance of flowering.
When to seat?
It is best to start planting daylilies:
- in May, when plants begin to actively grow green mass and rhizome;
- in August, when they begin to prepare for the dormant period and growth processes freeze.
If for some reason the time for reproduction of the bush in the spring was missed, the daylily can be planted in the summer. It has very powerful thick roots that quickly adapt to new conditions and begin to deliver food to the aerial part of the flower.
How to divide a bush?
It is best to dig up the bush before dividing. If you divide it directly into the ground, you can damage the roots or cut off a part of the bush without a rhizome with a shovel. In the latter case, it will no longer be possible to plant it and you just have to throw it away.
Then you need to prepare the plant:
- Rinse the root system well to get rid of the remnants of the soil, which may contain pathogenic microflora, especially if day-lily not brought from one's own garden. In addition, it is good to divide a clean rhizome - you can see both young bushes and damaged roots in it.
- Cut off the peduncle (it will draw from the plant the strength it needs to root in a new place).
- Trim the leaves at an angle on both sides to help the moisture evaporate more slowly.
All parts of the rhizome damaged in the process of digging and cutting should be treated with ash or charcoal.
How to plant?
The garden bed for planting the divisions must be prepared in advance by digging it up with fertilization:
- for spring planting - preparations containing nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium;
- for autumn planting - potassium-phosphorus fertilizers without nitrogen.
On the prepared bed, make planting pits corresponding to the size of the cuttings themselves. In the center of the hole, build a mound and install a daylily on it, straightening the roots on the sides. At the end, cover with earth, compact and water.
The ground should cover the bush a maximum of 3 cm above the root collar.
Having introduced fertilizers when planting a daylily, there is no need to additionally feed young plants in the first year after it. The set of nutrients available is quite enough for them. Starting from the second year of life, flowers must be fertilized at least twice a season.