Viette.com
July E-News from Viette's                                     Volume 13: No. 7

Lori Jones, Editor                                                                                                      July/2017

Daylily 'Viette's Eye Shadow' July is DAYLILY Time at Viette's!

Thousands of daylilies are
blooming throughout our fields
and display gardens!
   
Plan a visit to Viette's while the gardens are alive with the beautiful blooms of our huge collection of colorful daylilies. 
         
Our gardens are ALWAYS OPEN for you to enjoy!
Quick Links
Daylily 'Lullaby Baby'
Daylily 'Lullaby Baby'
All Daylilies

 
ON SALE
 
 NOW!

20% OFF 

Both potted daylilies and bare root orders!

We have over 80 different varieties of daylilies in pots! If you don't see what you like in pots, pick up a copy of our Daylily List and wander through the display gardens. Mark the ones you like and then place an order in our garden center or over the phone. We will dig them fresh just for you! Your fresh dug daylilies can be picked up later at our garden center or we can ship them right to you.

Daylily 'Lady Rebecca Staunton'
'Lady Rebecca Staunton'
Daylily 'Cherry Carnival'
'Cherry Carnival'
Daylily 'Black Friar'
'Black Friar'
 
Find these and MANY more fantastic daylilies 
ON SALE NOW 
at Viette's!

Can't make it to Viette's during  
daylily time? 
       
No worries!
     
Browse our complete
visit the daylily photo galleries on our website. It's almost as good as being here (but not really!)
    
Choose
the ones you want and give us a call at 800-575-5538. We will be happy to take your order and give you the 20% discount!

Your daylilies can be shipped to you or you can pick them up here.
If you enjoy our newsletter, please pass it along to your gardening friends!

 

Plant of the Month
Beautiful summer gardens at Viette's
Hemerocallis 
Daylily

Daylilies add sparkle to the sunny
summer garden!
         
Nothing says "summer" better than the colorful blooms of daylilies! However, although you can create a wonderful long-blooming perennial garden using just daylilies, most gardeners prefer to add a variety of other perennials to spice up their perennial beds.
       
Stunning Accents
Daylilies can make an outstanding focal point or bright accent amidst a myriad of other plants. And what an accent ...  
A well established daylily clump can produce as many as 400 blooms in just a single season! Depending on the varieties you choose, each plant can flower over a 4-5 week period or even longer for the everbloomers or rebloomers. Now that's a major splash of color in your perennial bed!
Daylilies brighten a summer perennial garden
Daylilies bloom among many other perennials in a sunny garden.
Splashes of Daylily Color
If you pick your daylily cultivars carefully and place them strategically throughout your bed, you will always have brilliant bursts of daylily color popping up in your garden; first here, then there - always changing, always delighting!
      
Between the Clumps
There are so many wonderful perennials for the sun garden that combine beautifully with daylilies that you will have difficulty narrowing down your selection! If you plant carefully, you can create a garden that is colorful from early spring through the fall with exciting new and different blooms appearing each month of the season. Just wander through the display gardens at Viette's once every 2-3 weeks to see how these beautiful combinations create a dynamic, ever-changing scene throughout the season in a well-planned perennial garden.
Echinacea variety
Colorful coneflowers make excellent companions for daylilies.
       

Colorful Complimentary Blooms

When picking companions for your daylilies, be sure to choose perennials that thrive in full sun or bright shade. Choose a combination of spring, summer, and fall flowering perennials and shrubs to have colorful blooms all season. Echinacea, Perovskia, Achillea, Coreopsis, Phlox, Salvia, and Buddleia are wonderful daylily companions and will bring your garden alive with the flitting of butterflies and hummingbirds. Ornamental grasses make an outstanding backdrop for daylilies.

Black Swallowtail butterfly on Buddleia
Butterfly bushes are great in combination with daylilies
Color From Foliage 
Don't limit yourself to getting your color only from flowers. Think about the beautiful all season color that comes from foliage. You don't have to hunt very hard to find perennials with foliage in almost all the shades of perennial flowers! Consider the shimmering silver of Artemisia 'Silver Mound', the beautiful silvery blue of Perovskia (Russian Sage), the reds, yellows, and blues of Sedums, and of course, my favorite, the amazing Heuchera! Bright apricot leaves of Heuchera 'Caramel' are striking on their own but with a slight breeze, flashes of ruby red from the undersides of their leaves add a whole other dimension - like the dancing "Rockettes" flaunting their petticoats!
Heuchera 'Caramel' adds unique color from foliage to the garden.
Heuchera 'Caramel' combines well with daylilies in the garden.
Join Our List
Gardening Questions?
Andre  answers a listener's question during a broadcast of 'In the Garden'

Listen to Andre
on the radio every Saturday morning from 8:00-11:00 on 
 
"In the Garden  
with Andre Viette"
 
Click for a station list or  listen live from our flagship station WSVA.  
    
Listen to podcasts.  

 

Tip of the Month 
Summer Garden at Viette's
              
Summer is Upon Us!                 

The summer heat is here and many folks wonder how the heat and humidity might affect the garden!

      
Well ... according to Andre, the heat affects the GARDENER much more than it affects the garden!!

Daylily 'Viette's Cranberry Red' In fact summer is one of the biggest planting and potting times for many nurseries! If it were true that you couldn't garden in the summer, then there would be no flowers or gardens in tropical places where it is summer all the time!
               
Here are some important things to remember when you are planting and gardening in the summer heat:
 
Water Deeply!
Deep watering encourages the development of deep root systems which will help your trees, shrubs, and perennials better tolerate drought conditions.
  • When is the best time to water? Andre says, "It doesn't matter. You can water day or night. It is a fallacy that watering at night promotes disease".
  • How much and how often should I water? The best watering practice is to water slowly so you have very little runoff and deeply so you only have to water once every 10 days or so. Watering everyday is not healthy for your garden.
  • Aim to put down 1" or better yet 1 1/2" of water over an 8-10 hour period each time you water. This slow watering allows the water to penetrate deeply with very little runoff and wastage.
  • Do not try to water by hand! It is time consuming and rarely puts down enough water to do the garden any good. In fact, it may actually be harmful to the plants because normally you won't be watering deeply enough which might cause the plants to develop shallow root systems which would leave them susceptible to drought stress.
  • More information on proper watering techniques
It's NOT too hot to plant!
Planting in the heat of the summer does require some extra attention, though.
  • Prepare the soil well according to the Viette recommendations. Of course it's important to do this ANY time you plant!
  • Using organic fertilizers like Espoma Plant-tone or Holly-tone is important because they won't burn the roots! The new formulation of the Espoma "tones" also contains beneficial mycorrhizal fungi and bacteria which attach to the roots of the plant and increase water and nutrient absorption - a plus during a hot, dry summer.
  • Water deeply after planting and apply a good quality mulch to retain soil moisture.
  • Take frequent water breaks for YOU too!
     
Mow the grass high! 
GreenGrass Nothing is worse for the lawn during a hot, dry summer than to cut it short! Never remove more than a third of its height.
  • Andre suggests setting your mower blades to cut the grass no lower than 3".
  • Grass mowed high develops extensive root systems to better tolerate drought conditions.
  • Taller grass will shade out and compete better with broadleaf lawn weeds, too.

Beetle Watch!  
Japanese beetles can be destructive in the garden.Last weekend I saw my first Japanese beetles in the garden! They were on the corn foliage.
Keep on top of these destructive pests before they wreak havoc on your perennials, trees, roses, and vegetables! 
Effective controls for Japanese beetles are:
  • Bonide Eight
  • Bonide Captain Jack's Deadbug Brew
  • Bayer Advanced All-In-One Rose & Flower Care
  • Bayer Advanced 3-In-1 Insect, Disease & Mite Control

Always read and follow the label directions! 

              

You should know! 

Even natural or organic products can be deadly to pollinators like bees. If possible DO NOT spray when plants are in bloom. If this is not possible, spray early in the morning or later in the evening when bees are less active and ALWAYS read the label!
 
July Lectures at Viette's   
Join us at the farm!
   
Saturday, July 8 at 1:30 PM
Saturday, July 15 at 1:30 PM 
The Wonderful World of Daylilies  
Daylily 'Late Plum'
Daylily 'Late Plum'

Learn why the daylily is described as the "perfect perennial". Andre and Mark will discuss the best varieties for your garden and how to incorporate daylilies into an existing garden. Discover all the other wonderful summer perennials which combine well with daylilies and add color and interest to your garden.

You will be taken on a personal tour of the beautiful summer gardens after the talk. See the gorgeous daylilies and all the other wonderful summer bloomers!  Free lecture

 

From the Viette's Views Blog ...
Azalea gall envelops part of a rhododendron flower   06-25-2015 10:23:35 AM
A few weeks ago, Eric and I took a trip down the Blue Ridge Parkway. We tried to time our trip to coincide with the rhododendron bloom in the North Carolina mountains, specifically at Craggy Gardens on the parkway just north of Asheville. While the native rhododendrons, Rhododendron catawbiense, were just beginning to show some [...] ...»
 

Happy Independence Day!

   From the "Viette's Views" Archives ...

            

Sassafras flowers in springFloral Fireworks!

  07-04-2014 

It's Independence Day and the flowers are celebrating with us!

Well - it might take a little imagination in some cases but there are lots of flowers that burst into bloom with an explosion of colorful petals reminiscent of our Fourth of July fireworks. [...]...»  

 

Did You Know?  
Daylily 'Dunrobin Red Velvet'
Daylily 'Dunrobin Red Velvet'
Daylilies Have Different Blooming Seasons!

 
Though each daylily flower lasts only a day, a good quality hybrid daylily will send up many flower stems that are well-branched and full of flower buds. As a result, an established clump will produce many, many blooms which will open over a period of several weeks. In addition, different cultivars flower in different blooming seasons. There are early bloomers, midseason bloomers, and late season bloomers. To create a full season daylily garden, choose a few daylilies from each blooming season.

Some of Andre's favorites are listed below.

 

Early Bloomers  

Elfin, Flavina, Maytime, Maytime Orange, Sooner Gold   

Daylily Siloam Button Box
'Siloam Button Box'

 

Early-Midseason Bloomers

Condilla, Eleanor Apps, Flames of Fortune, Frosted Velvet, Joan Senior, Lullaby Baby, Siloam Button Box, Siloam Ury Winnifred, Siloam Mama, Suzy Wong


Midseason Bloomers

Daylily Viettes Indy
'Viette's Indy'

Black Friar, Color Me Yellow, Cygnet Purple, Fairy Tale Pink, Fragrant Light, Lavender Eyes, Lovely Summer, Peach Fairy, Plate of Sunshine, Plum Beauty, Shenandoah Cabernet, Shenandoah Peach Ruffles, Soft Lavender, Treasure Gold, Viette's Apollos, Viette's Bingo, Viette's Indy, Viette's Parade

  
Daylily Colorful Summer
'Colorful Summer'
Mid-Late Season Bloomers

Art in Bloom, Bittersweet Honey, Bountiful Valley, Cherry Carnival, Colorful Summer, Evening Storm, Flamboyant Show, Glowing Cantaloupe, Glowing Cherry, Late Plum, Pleasing Yellow, Yellow Treasure, Viette's Aladdin, Viette's Bugler, Viette's Flamboyant, Viette's Gusty, Viette's Heirloom Red

 

Late Season Bloomers
Daylily Added Joy
'Added Joy'

Added Joy, August Ruby, Autumn Prince, Fall Glow, Gold Bullion, Graham Bell, Late Flame, Late Glory, Late Night, Olallie August Rose, Olallie Peach Parade, Orange Float, Star Dream, Viette's Charm, Viette's Late Royalty, Viette's Priscilla, Viette's Royal Purple

 

Very Late Season Bloomers 

Autumn King, Autumn Minaret, Barbara, Olallie Autumn Gold, Olallie Late Show, Olallie Mack, Ruby Showpiece, Viette's Late Wonder

 

Consistent Rebloomers - These daylilies bloom in one season, have a rest period, and then rebloom.

Daylily 'Viette's Cranberry Red'
'Viette's Cranberry Red'
Brilliant Sunshine, Capulet, Court of Honor, Dad's Cinnamon Giant, Fairy Tale Pink, Flaming Poppa, Glowing Cantaloupe, Honeysuckle Pixie, Late Find, Late Glory, Light Night, Lilac Snow, Little Cobbler, Little Orange Giant, Pardon Me, Raspberry Sundae, Remarkable Show, Rosewood Glaze, Super Purple, Viette's Cranberry Red, Viette's Harlequin, Viette's Charm, Yellow Reflection

 

Everblooming Daylilies - These daylilies bloom through all

the seasons. They may need to be

Daylily 'Viette's Tangerine Stella'
'Viette's Tangerine Stella'

sheared to encourage the production of new flower scapes.

Everblooming Doll, Happy Returns, Lemon Cap, Lemon Lollipop, Mini Stella, Offa, Ruby Stella, Stella D'Oro, Stella Supreme, Tetraploid Stella, Viette's Lavender Mist, Viette's Short N' Early, Viette's Tangerine Stella  

 

Did You Know This?
Everblooming daylily 'Stella de Oro'
Everblooming daylily 'Stella de Oro'
How do you keep everblooming daylilies blooming?
  
Many gardeners want to know the secret to keeping everblooming daylilies blooming all through the summer.
Here are some tips:  
  • Shear back everblooming daylilies to ensure continuous bloom.
    Shear the foliage to about 2"-4" above the ground
    Shear your everbloomers once they have finished their first flush of flowers. This is one way to help ensure a continuous bloom. Shearing them hard will shock them into producing new foliage, stems, and buds.
    Watch Mark's video tip on shearing the everblooming daylily 'Stella de Oro'.

Don't want to CHOP them?

  • Another way to keep your everbloomers blooming on and on is to remove the spent flower scapes. This will encourage them to produce more stems and flowers. If the seed pods are allowed to remain on the plant, further stem production and flowering will be reduced.

Other daylilies can be cut back as well!
Daylilies that have finished blooming for the season and where the foliage has declined and become unsightly can also be cut back hard. Although this will not result in new flower scapes (unless they are rebloomers), it will allow beautiful new fresh green foliage to grow out.

  

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