Off with their Heads!

It’s 7 a.m. on a steamy July morning.  Dragging myself out of my ’76 Caprice Classic, I join a crew of sleepy teenagers congregating in the work shed, stamping their time cards and slathering on sunscreen.  We trudge through the wet grass toward a mist-laden field like a silent army: a horticultural special forces unit, if you will.  Faded blooms break off as I move along the row, gathering them.  Five minutes into the task, my hands are red, orange and purple, dyed with the stain of a beautiful yesterday.  It’s daylily season at Hornbaker Gardens.

If you’re unfamiliar with daylilies (Hemerocallis sp.), you don’t have to wander far to find them.  Their hardy nature has launched them into every landscaper’s repertoire.  Mainstays, like 'Stella d’Oro' and 'Happy Returns', are planted with such regularity that we ought to nominate them to be the new State Flower.  They are, simply put, lily-flowers popping out of grassy foliage. 

Daylilies are billed as low-maintenance perennials, and they can be.  If you ignore them, they’ll grow and bloom in spite of you.  But a wee bit of effort – and believe me it is a cathartic experience for deadheader and daylily alike – will reap results worthy of the expenditure. 

The concept behind deadheading is more than just removing that which is unsightly.  It's about building the plant.  At the base of each blossom lies an ovary.  Once the flower fades, the ovary begins to grow and form a seed pod.  On a daylily, seed pods do two things well: they look unattractive and they suck resources from the plant.  So the simple act of snapping dead blooms off nips this waste in the bud….literally.  Next year’s crop will get a boost of resources from the extra nutrients stored in the tubers (roots).  Translation: more blooms and larger plants next year.

Isn’t that what we all want?  But more than just the promise of a better year to come, we have a better day to enjoy.  Deadheading is like making one’s bed.  Will it be undone again in the morning?  Of course, but it sets the tone for the day, and fills the garden with beauty.  So get out there and trudge through the misty morn.  You'll be glad you did.