Hemerocallis 'EIGHT MILES HIGH'

Daylilies are flowering queens for one day. Each bloom lasts a day but there is no need to worry – every stem bears more blooms and as the plants grow older they have numerous stems each. This low-maintenance perennial is a miracle for those who have limited time to spend looking after their gardens because apart from occasional watering on hot and dry summer day it needs ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. And still it can leave us gazing at their beautiful, lily-like blooms of every possible colour you can think of (except for blue and black).

Get ready for a warrior and fear shark's teeth of this daylily called Eight Miles High. Or don't. They are harmless and merely look like shark's dental dilemma. It is a large-flowered tetraploid (with 4 sets of chromosomes: total 44 in each cell) with enormous flowers that are up to 19 cm wide, and open from early July until early August. They are dark burgundy red, almost black, decorated with conspicuously serrated margins of lemon yellow colour, just like the throat. Stems are slender, 70-80 tall, and leaves are not as wide as with most other tetraploids. Bred by Lambertson in 2003.

The leaves are deep green, strong and healthy. They appear early in the spring and persist until winter unlike spring bulbs whose leaves wither away after flowering. Apart from occasional slug attack there are no pests or diseases they would suffer from. Put your day lilies on a sunny spot and fertilize it for better flowering every spring, if you want to. It tolerates all soil types and thrives in moist, humus rich soil. Very hardy to min. -40°C (USDA zone 3).

Last update 25-02-2018