Just What Are Daylilies? 
WHERE, HOW AND WHEN SHOULD WE PLANT DAYLILIES 
Daylilies are not bulbs. They are herbaceous 
perennials that should be planted from a single, 
well-formed, vigorous root. The first season 
should produce one to three bloom stems with 
from five to twenty flowers on each stem; if left 
undisturbed, the clump will increase in size and 
give many more bloom stems with more and 
larger blooms to the stem, every year thereafter. 
After six or seven years the clumps may be taken 
up and divided, and if some soil is left on the 
roots the clump can be halved or quartered. If 
it is not possible to leave enough soil on the roots, 
then it is better to plant individual divisions 
with one, two or three crowns. 
There are varieties that grow 12 inches tall 
and others 2, 3 and even 4 feet or more high; 
some have blooms not much larger than a half 
dollar, and others are larger than a salad plate. 
Then you must, of course, understand that dif- 
ferent varieties bloom at different seasons of the 
year. Each variety blooms from four to six weeks 
after becoming established, and by careful plan- 
ning one can have profuse flowers in the garden 
from four to six months of the year. 
We never introduce a new variety here at our 
nursery until it has produced as many as 300 
bloom buds in its third season and every year 
thereafter and is thoroughly tested for every de- 
sirable characteristic. Imagine, if you can, an 
array of these gorgeous flowers in your garden— 
every clump producing an abundance of blooms 
in colors selected by yourself. No disease has 
ever been known to touch a Daylily. We have 
never spent 5c for insecticide in our nurseries. 
Daylilies will grow in the hottest sun or partial 
shade. I do not recommend them in locations 
where they don’t get at least half sun. They can 
be planted in groups of three to five in the gaps 
between the shrubs that are usually naked at 
the ground; their lovely clean foliage will solve 
that problem by filling unsightly bare spots. 
Many people use them for naturalizing through 
partially shaded woods. I sold 33,000 Daylilies 
for that purpose to seven customers alone last 
season. I will be glad to give you the names of 
these clients if you are interested. Our varieties 
have proved hardy from Maine to California and 
they have never been equaled for dependability 
by any other garden subject. 
You who have grown Daylilies need no advice 
as to their culture, for you know all about their 
miraculous performance. It’s to you who have 
not grown them yet that I give this brief in- 
formation: In planting Daylilies simply spread 
out the roots, cover them with only 1 inch or so 
of soil, and water. I like to plant Daylilies from 
18 inches to 3 feet apart, depending on the 
variety. When your plants arrive not all of the 
roots will be the same size; that depends alto- 
gether on the variety. Some varieties with the 
largest bloom have smaller plants, while some 
small blooms have huge, robust plants. Use the 
low-growing varieties for the foreground of your 
perennial borders and rock gardens and the taller 
kinds interspersed among your annual and 
perennial beds, along the banks of streams, 
pools, etc. 
When you find some plants in bloom and you 
wish to change their location, simply take a 
spade, leaving some soil on the roots, and move 
them while in bloom. Then water them imme- 
diately. In all my experience I believe that any 
time is the best time to plant Daylilies, provided 
you get them in the ground a month or six weeks 
before your severest freezes. Even if the tem- 
perature is 15 or 20 degrees below zero, it will 
not injure the Daylilies. They are perfectly 
hardy—they can really take it. The flowering 
time mentioned in this catalogue for each variety 
is for Texas; it will be about a month to six 
weeks later in extremely cold climates. 
If you like a particular color, you can order 
several different varieties in that color that bloom 
at different times and give you a_ prolonged 
blooming season of from four to six months, de- 
pending on location. Leave your Daylily clumps 
alone and they will continue to grow larger and 
more compact and give you more bloom each 
season. After five or six years they can be taken 
up and divided, but I have seen clumps of Day- 
lilies growing undisturbed in the same location 
and blooming most profusely from fifteen to 
twenty years. Remember, our plants are tested 
and proved hardy and you shouldn’t lose one 
plant out of a thousand because of your weather 
conditions. 
I believe Texas-grown Daylilies are better be- 
cause of the husky, vigorous root growth they 
have when they are shipped from our nursery. 
You may order when you like and we will hold 
your plants until you wish them delivered. Order 
early to avoid the disappointment of some va- 
rieties being sold out. 
RUSSELL GARDENS, 
SPRING, TEXAS 
Please Note—IMPORTANT 
The size of the illustrations in this catalog is no indication of the actual size of the bloom. Some 
varieties shown here in a small illustration are actually much larger than some of the large photographs. 
The description of each variety will tell you the size of the bloom. Why not use the ruler at the bottom 
of page 19 in trying to visualize the true size? 
RUSSELL GARDENS, SPRING, TEXAS 
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