Last Daylilies of the Summer
One pernicious thing about August is that it is the gateway month for autumn. Not that I don’t enjoy autumn, I do. It’s just that summer never seems quite long enough.
In August the flowers of mid-summer come sputtering to a halt. Daylilies (Hemerocallis), for example. Right now, just two of my Dayliies are still putting on a good show: ‘Egyptian Spice’ and ‘Chicago Apache’.
You can see them above, lining the Left Bank Bed where our ‘Donald Wyman’ crabapple stands sentinel. ‘Egyptian Spice’ is apricot-colored and a mid- to late-season bloomer, ‘Chicago Apache’ is red and considered to be a mid-season Daylily.
I’m not sure how the Apaches feel about having a namesake Daylily, especially since they never lived in the Chicago area. Whether or not the name is problematic,though, this is a fine Daylily that blooms vigorously without pampering.
Just past ‘Egyptian Spice’ you can see the beginnings of the Herbs, Tomatoes, and Cutting Bed.
For more early August vignettes, check out the blog Flutter and Hum.
Do you still have lots of Daylily blooms as we head into August?
gardeninacity 
That’s some magenta!
Maybe it was the “vigorously without pampering” that led to the Apache name? As for Chicago… well, I’m at a loss there. I have a few baby Daylilies of a variety called Watchyl Dancing Spider (crazy name, I know…) and an H. citrina that bloomed earlier. I think the babies are still working on their roots – only one flower yet. Yours, on the other hand, look quite luxurious!
Thanks – they’ve been settled for a few years.
I’m looking forward to fall, we haven’t had any appreciable rain since early June, and I’m so sick of watering. Cooler temps mean I can get out there and cut back some of the crispy bits. Our daylilies here have been pretty much done for a while now. I didn’t realize Chicago Apache had a darker red eye, it’s very pretty.
Except for a couple of weeks, our summer has been pretty mild, otherwise I might feel the same.
Like Alison..I’m super ready for fall. It feels like it should be the end of August around here instead of the beginning. I do love daylilies though and yours are very charming 🙂
I hope your gardening weather improves!
Most of my Day lilies finished before the beginning of July so I think you are doing pretty well. I am longing for the autumn rains when my garden will come to life again after its summer dormancy
There are some plants here that are dormant in summer but many of the autumn flowers actually will get their start in August.
‘Chicago Apache’ has wonderful color. I have only a couple and they finished long ago.
You have a much longer summer where you are, I assume.
No daylily is blooming here. They are long past. They might have lasted a little longer if we hadn’t been in a drought. We haven’t had measurable rain since about this time in July. I woke to rain pattering on the windows this morning. I couldn’t wait to get up to watch it rain. I was so thankful. My poor daylilies are barely green. They have laid down most of their strappy leaves to help conserve water. They will perk up some after this rain. Your daylilies look so healthy. Good to see. I haven’t met many daylilies that I don’t like.
Well, at least daylilies are very tough and they will bounce back after going dormant.
I’m about where you are with some blooming but many gone by. I stretch August out as long as I can. Raking leaves provides no sense of satisfaction for me and then the next thing requires a shovel.. LOL
Ugh, don’t talk about shovels – at least not if they are snow shovels.
No, I refuse the say the four-letter word that starts with ‘s.’ 🙂 Enjoy a sunny August weekend.
That chicago apache is lovely.
It’s a keeper.
The last daylily to bloom for me is Hyperion. Its very fragrant and then the entire plant dies back and goes dormant after it blooms.
I never think of daylilies as being very fragrant.
Chicago Apache is beautiful and a fitting finale to your day lily season. My old stalwart, Stella d’Oro, is still putting out occasion blooms and will probably put out even more once the weather cools down in September. Here, August with its high nineties temps and humidity is hard on garden and gardener. Fall is our second spring, and I am looking forward to it!
Weather that hot does make all outdoor activity a challenge. One reason I don’t like it. Here there haven’t been too many days like that this year.
‘Chicago Apache’ is a tetraploid daylily hybridized by Chicago area hybridizer James Marsh and introduced by nurseryman Roy Klehm after Marsh’s death. All of Marsh’s tetraploid daylilies carry the “Chicago” prefix, so it really has nothing to do with the “Apache” part of the name. Marsh’s diploid introductions all had a “Prairie” prefix (i.e., ‘Prairie Blue Eyes’).
Thank you for the background info! I had tried to find information on the name but fell short.
Most of my daylilies only now start to bloom, the weather was very cold this summer. You have nice collection of daylilies, Jason! Lovely ‘Chicago’!
I hope your daylilies bloom for a good long time to make up for all that waiting, Nadezda!
Sadly, my Daylilies did not perform well this year. Fortunately, the Asiatic and Oriental Lilies made up for it with spectacular blooms. I have no idea why this happened. I have a few orange “Ditch Lilies” still blooming, but that’s about it. This is the time of year that I really appreciate my veggie and flower-cutting garden, which keeps blooming prolifically until the first frost. And, in recent years, I’ve been adding more and more late-summer blooming plants, like Agastache, Blue Mistflower, and a few Asters. For some reason, the previous owner didn’t have many late-summer bloomers and it took me years to add them. Now, if I can only keep the bunnies away until they get established! 😉
I have lots of late summer blooms, but need more for mid-summer to provide companionship for the Monardas. I’m considering Echinops or an early aster like frikartii.
No daylilies over here. I love how all the colours work together in your collection. Both are pretty but I like the Egyptian Spice a lot. That’s one I could see working in my little spot.
In Texas they might want some afternoon shade.
I bet you are right! I do see them in lots of gardens. They are so nice for late summer colour.
It sounds like you need to get some late bloomers. There are many.
I have quite a few blooming now but they’ve been here so long I’ve forgotten their names.
Some late blooming daylilies would be a nice addition.
Daylilies tend to be an afterthought here, but yours are exceptional. The few I do have ran out of steam long ago.
Is that normal or just because of your hot, dry summer this year?
I think they are usually exhausted by now.
Beautiful daylilies. My blooms pooped out about a month ago. Here it’s just the opposite — summer isn’t SHORT enough!
I get that, given the climate difference. Some years we are more inclined to feel that way, especially if there is a drought.
I have soooo many daylilies from our garden club still blooming. The only problem is they grow so fast and need dividing. You have them planted nicely where they can expand.
I have not yet divided them, and now I’m trying to remember when I planted them. At least three years ago, I think.
I’m not pleased at all with this talk of autumn. Summer goes into September as far as I’m concerned and I won’t even start thinking about the season of death until then…. Although I should start a few late season vegetables now. I guess time is running out.
To me the big things that define summer are the long days and the strong light. September can be a fine gardening time, but it just doesn’t feel like summer.
Summer has simply flown by this year, it seems to go by faster each year…..Egyptian Spice is beautiful!xxx
It’s definitely one of my favorites.
As a matter of fact I do right now and was in awe of this and how many have returned as we cooled and now are in a long humid heat wave starting. If I cut mine back a bit they would flower even more I think…what a year for daylilies.
They are not my #1 favorites but they are a dependable source of color – and you have to like the flower shape and strappy foliage.