Dividing and replanting daylilies

When is the best time to divide and replant daylilies?

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**FULL QUESTION** Dear *Gardening Life*, I’ve had daylilies for three years and they are multiplying rapidly. My friend would like to have some for her garden. When is the best time to divide them and then replant them? *—Kathleen Tennant*

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**FULL ANSWER** Kathleen, Daylilies are best divided before or after flowering (early spring or early fall). You can dig up clumps in spring and cut them into pieces with a sharp spade or knife. As long as each division has shoots and roots, it will be fine. Plant the divisions as soon as possible in moist, well-draining soil augmented with lots of organic matter such as leaf mould or compost, and water well. Really large clumps of daylilies may be divided without uprooting them entirely. With a sharp spade, slice off chunks from around the plant. Fill the spaces with compost or enriched soil and you’ll get new plants and feed the old one at the same time. Keep daylilies well watered for best blooming. If dividing them in fall, cut the foliage back by a third and proceed as above. Good luck! *—Karen York, Botanical Editor* Other questions recently answered by the GL team: Eliminating earwigs from clematis flowers Beetle damage to spruce trees Removing whiteflies from hibiscus leaves Building a cactus garden Maintaining redbud trees Maintaining Boston ivy growth Using black walnut leaves for mulch Stopping powdery mildew on maples Planting trees near a swale Growing on a septic field How to battle weeds between flagstone and alternative options Mysterious orange powder on the lawn What to do with end-of-season potatoes on the vine How to control Japanese knotweed What to grow in a dry area The proper way to plant astrantia What is the star flower and how do I manage it? How do I eliminate my ant problem? Preventing red beetles from attacking lilies Vine types to grow on a new pergola Maintaining purple fountain grass Keeping bougainvilllea healthy throughout the winer How to rid invasive green goutweed Good garden uses for fireplace ashes Growing grape hyacinth indoors The best way to convert a lawn into a meadow The proper way to grow rhododendrons Eliminating beetle damage to spruce trees Annual resembling Japanese maple Planting ivy near cedar trees In search of the 'Sundance Kid' sunflower Caring for canna bulbs A supplier for barren strawberry ground cover Winter care for roses Cutting back mauna loa The best time to harvest curly-leaf lettuce Eliminating invasive trumpet Caring for double-flowering hibiscus trees Eliminating white aphids from honeysuckle vine Where to purchase Japanese blood grass An alternative to rhododendrons Growing a vegetable garden over a septic field

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