How to Keep Stella de Oro Daylilies Blooming All Season
Daylily gardeners were thrilled when the first reblooming daylily plant hit the market in the 1970s. Stella de Oro, created by Walter Jablonski in 1975, was an immediate hit not just for its new and rich yellow-gold color, but for its reblooming habit.
While most daylilies bloom only for a short time during the growing season, leaving behind a ragged mass of long, grassy foliage, Stella de Oro blooms continuously, that is, with the proper maintenance. I’ve been growing Stellas for five years, but it took the first two of those years to learn the craft of keeping them blooming all season long: deadheading.
When my daylilies begin to bloom in late spring, I am on the spent blossoms like a beagle on a fox. In one day this season I removed 167 faded blossoms from a planting that measured only six feet long by two feet wide. Two days later, I removed 285 spent blossoms from the same planting. Yes, I counted them all.
Without removing the spent flowers throughout the growing season, the Stella de Oro daylily plants will become a sea of ugly greens and dull, dead, brown sticks with few to no blooms.
Deadheading Is the Key to Continuous Stella de Oro Blooming
Deadheading is the practice of removing old blossoms before they have a chance to produce seeds. It is a form of pruning that encourages flowering plants to put their energies into producing more blossoms, thereby promoting an extended display of form and color in the garden.
Without deadheading, re-blooming daylily plants put their energies into producing seed instead of blossoms, leaving you with a ratty display of plant material. However, there is a right and a wrong way to deadhead daylilies. First, let's do a quick lesson of the parts of the daylily that are involved in deadheading.
Know Your Stella de Oro Anatomy
Scape
This is the stalk that produces the daylily blooms. One Stella de Oro scape may produce as many as a dozen buds.
Bud
The bud is the immature flower. For the most part, only one bud on every scape will bloom per day, although a scape will not necessarily produce a fully formed flower every day. In other words, if there are eight buds on a scape, the scape may produce blossoms over a two-week period or longer.
Flower Stem
The part of the plant that attaches a daylily flower to the scape is the flower stem, or pedicel.
One-day-old Blossom
If you haven’t grown daylilies before, you may mistake a one-day old blossom for a bud about to bloom. Both are similar in color and shape; however, the old blossom will not have the fresh aspect of a bud about to bloom and the tips of the petals will show a watery, translucent appearance. Don't worry though. With practice, you will learn quickly!
Two-day-old Blossom
This one is easy to spot. It’s completely withered and dry. Three-day old blossoms look much the same, only more withered. Both are still attached to the plant, but without deadheading, the spent petals will drop off the scape and create a mess under the greens. Worse, these older dropping petals will be a sure sign that the plant is producing seed and taking the plant's energy away from blossoming.
Ovary
This slightly swollen area at the bottom of the flower is where seed will be produced if fertilization is successful.
Exhibit 1a: The Ovary With Spent Blossom Still Attached
Exhibit 1b: The Developing Ovary With Spent Blossom Removed
How to Deadhead Stellas for Continuous Bloom
Deadheading a daylily plant means removing both a spent blossom and its ovary from the scape by detaching the blossom from its flower stem or detaching the flower stem from the scape.
Deadheading Methods
1. Snapping or Pinching Off
You can pinch through the flower stem with your thumb and index finger or snap the flower stem off the scape in a quick, downward motion. When you need to deadhead your way through 285 spent blossoms, snapping and pinching make the most sense. However, until you're well-practiced with these techniques, you will be more likely to damage the scape and dislodge neighboring immature buds.
2. Cutting
You can use a small, sharp pair of scissors to cut through the flower stem. This method is more time-consuming but causes less damage to the scape and its remaining buds.
Deadheading Tips
1. Don't Let the Dry, Withered, Oldest Petals Fool You
You will find that the withered petals of two- and three-day-old spent blossoms come away more easily than those of one-day-old spent blossoms. In fact, when touched, the older faded petals almost fall away by themselves, but the ovary is left behind, still attached to the flower stem. The ovary must be removed, by snapping, pinching, or cutting, to prevent the production of seed and encourage new Stella de Oro scape and bud growth.
2. Plan to Deadhead at Least Every Third Day
Every other day is best to make sure you nip the ovaries in the bud, so to speak, but you will get into your own rhythm based on your finickiness and schedule. Try not to panic at the thought of this effort, because after the first riotous weeks of blossom production, things will slow down and you won't be removing hundreds of faded blooms every two days. Only dozens, perhaps.
Video: Deadheading Daylilies
Exhibit 2a: Stella de Oro Planting Before Deadheading
Exhibit 2b: Stella de Oro Planting After Deadheading (300 Deadheads Later)
Stella de Oro and Other Daylily Variety FAQs and Information
Are Stella de Oro Daylilies Edible?
Some say yes, definitely, and some say yes but with caution. Some even say no. If you have never eaten daylilies before and would like to eat your Stella de Oros, you should know that many people eat them with no ill side effects, while others believe they are harmful to humans and other animals. Here's an article on the edible daylily dispute for some more information.
Does a Daylily Really Only Last for One Day?
Gardeners in temperate regions know that the shortest-lived blossoms in the garden belong to members of the genus Hemerocallis and are commonly called daylilies. The daylily flower lasts only for a day, hence the name. At the beginning of its day, the daylily bud unfurls to show its full form and color, but by the next day, the flower has wilted and faded.
Why Do I See Stella de Oro Spelled So Many Different Ways?
You may have noticed while shopping for Stella de Oro daylilies that the spelling is not consistent. You may see Stella d’oro, Stella doro, and other variations. The person who originally created the hybrid, Walter Jablonski, also had the honor of naming it. He chose the name Stella de Oro. While the name looks like it might be Italian or Spanish, it's actually neither (or both)! Stella means star in Italian, and de Oro means of gold in Spanish.
Obviously, the name has been misspelled every which way and now one of the most common spellings is Stella d'Oro, which actually corrects the name to what it would be if it were all Italian. There's a section in this article that goes a little more in-depth into the linguistic background of the plant.
Is Stella de Oro the Only Everblooming Daylily?
Although Stella de Oro is the most popular daylily (re-blooming or not) in the world, it is no longer the only re-blooming variety. Take a look at Just Plum Happy (rose-pink and purple), Happy Returns (lemon yellow), When My Sweetheart Returns (lemon cream and rose, with ruffles) and more re-bloomers. (PDF document.)
Where Can I Find More Information About Planting and Caring for Stella de Oro?
Here are two resources that have good information on becoming a daylily master. The third link is a bonus article about the history of the Stella de Oro variety.
What Do You Think?
Please leave a comment below to join the discussion on this article and share your thoughts. Let me know what you think.
© 2012 Sally's Trove. All rights reserved.
Questions & Answers
Comments
To Rose from Michigan and all those who asked about stalks from deadheaded lilies: once all blooms have been removed properly, the stalk will get stiffer and start to brown. Yes you should pull it out. I find that you should wait until it browns: with 2 hands and a firm pull it will come right out, but if it doesn't just wait a few days and try again. I only answered because it seems that the author isn't answering anymore. Good luck!
Fantastic! Most informative article I've come across on this subject. Been having trouble getting these lilies to repeat their bloom. Your pictures are excellent at showing precisely where to deadhead. Will give this a shot. Thanks for posting!!
Hi! I read this article last year and have followed the instructions for deadheading meticulously. However, my day lilies aren't re-blooming except for a few I found, oddly, right close to the ground. How long does it take to re-bloom? I also have been pulling the dead or dying leaves and there are more and more each day. Is this normal and should I be pulling them out? Thanks! Eileen
What about the scape? Should brown spent scrapes be removed? Will their removal increase blooms ?
will the flower be on a new scape or will it use the old one that I have dead headed?
Very educational post. Thanks !!!!!
Thank you so much! This was so helpful. The illustrations, video and detailed tips are wonderful. I should of searched and done my homework before cutting off the scapes. :(
After most of the deadheading is done, do you cut the long stems that they were on. I have a lot of stems sticking up with nothing on them. Will new stems shoot up from the ground?
Great info about daylilies thank you
So glad I found this article. I've been deadheading all wrong, never removing the ovary. Just pulling off the spent blossom is not the way to do it. Thanks for all the great information.
question.....should I remove the long Stella d'oro flower stalk when all of the buds have bloomed on that stalk?? Want to keep plant in flower as long as possible..... what do you suggest????
Great illustration and information. What and how much fertilizer do these plants need. i don't get a lot of blooms after frost bloom.
Thank you so much! I never was sure if I should dead head my Stella de Oro lilies, and if I would have done it, it would have been
wrong! Now I can take better care of them, and I know why other people's re bloom! Now I'm going to check on my orange day lilies! Thank you again!
After all blossoms on a stem are spent, and have been removed, do you cut the stem back down to the ground??
SUPER THOROUGH article! THANK YOU! I've grown Stellas for a few years, and always wondered if I was deadheading them correctly. I tried to research it, but found only articles without pics, or not clear & thorough enough. Thanks again!
Thank you so much for this great article. It is sooo useful. And sooo practical. You have done a great work. Thanks!!!
When there are no more buds on the scape, should they be cut back to the ground?
I didn't see any reference to that.
Great information and it helped me make my day lilies bloom even more.
Thank you,
Do you feed your plant?
I plent day lilies lest year with slots of blooms this year they came back slots of green leaves no blooms help me what I need to do
What happens if I cut the scape?
I don't understand your deadheading advice since I see Stella d'oro lilly
all over my area (Pike/Wayne counties- PA). I guarantee you no one deadheads these flowers and they come back every season. Meanwhile
my bank of lillys produce only one or two blooms per clump. I'm quite frustrated by this.
Thank you for the tips. I have "reblooming" lillies but never knew all of this and though I deadhead, I am doing it way too late. I really appreciate you sharing.
Thank you so much for the tips... My day lilies are now no reblooming and I will be out there first thing tomorrow deadheading
The only thing is that deer will eat enough of your day Lillie to keep it from ever blooming
What do I do if my daylillies already have seed pods on them? Can I prune them off now, or is it too late?
Absolutely loved the article! The diagram and through explanation were so valuable. I'm headed out to dead head right now. So excited that I can get my Stella de Oro daylilliies to rebloom. And keep them looking tidy!
I am confused about the deadheading. I have had my Stella doro daylilies for about 5 years. I believe I have been getting blooms back because I mistakenly deadheaded some of them the right way. What I want to know is the stem that is left with little white leaves attached will they bloom or do I have to cut the stem down for more daylilies to bloom.
Thanks for your article which I just found. Like Bonnie, above, I am wondering if it's too late for me to get more Stella flowers from my plant that I just got this spring, since I've left ovaries in place and seed is definitely being produced, and now there are no more flowers coming, after a month or more of bloom. Could you please let me know if I deadhead tomorrow I can hope for a new round of flowering? Sorry I didn't see your excellent article earlier, but am glad I found it!
Awesome article and very informative.
Informative article! Outside Boston, the thoughtful gardener cuts through the time, expense, and effort by planting Stella d'oro in the sun and hosta in the shade. Both are terrific for dividing and sharing.
Thanks for the detailed info. Only thing is when you show in the video how to pinch off the dead blooms, the words on the page cover up what your hands are doing so I couldn't see! Just my constructive thought!
What if I am late starting the deadheading process and there are already many ovaries? Should I snap them off? Cut the stem at the ground? Thanks!
Once the last bloom on the stem is removed should i cut the stem down or will new blooms appear on it ir will a new stem begin to grow?
Why would my Stella be dark red?
Great article, and the illustrations are super! Thanks for keeping it simple, clear, and complete.
I'm so glad I came across this article in Pinterest. I have Stella d'Oro for years and I've been wondering why there were buds left in summer but never opened.
I will try deadheading this time and I hope it works. Thanks a lot for this info.
Moved to new home in NE Ohio and believe that I have Stella d'Oro lilies to come. Thank you for the tutorial on dead heading- I plan to do it!!
Great tips...I have had Stellas for a few years and was wondering why they didn't continuously bloom as advertised...getting only two rounds of blooms - early summer and again with less in late summer. Your tutorial was great and look forward to dead heading this summer. Can they be divided? if so how/when and at what size should they be split?
Such wonderful info, we just planted them tonite and shall now know how to do it!
Cheers
I had these for years never knew that had to be deadheaded, but use to pull the spent flowers off. Thanks soooo much for the info. Love this site, I just found it. You are super, thanks again. I'll be back.
This is a very informative and useful hub. I hope these daylilies are in my home country Philippines. I want to plant them in my tropical garden. Thanks for the tips.
too bad, I don't find this type of flowers here, any tips for bougainvilleas?
Thanks for this information. I've been religiously pulling the spent blossoms off, but didn't know about the ovaries. No wonder my efforts didn't seem effective ;-)
For the last 2 summers, my Stella de Oro do not produce much flowers.
My plants are 8 years old. They do look a bit crowded. Should I be removing some of the plants or reducing each plant individually.
I do the deadhead procedure...
So many thanks
This was very helpful to me.I have a row of 10 Stella de oro's in a brick border.They look pretty healthy & many blooms,didn't know how to deadhead properly tho..there are these big,green,pod thingys growing.Are those the ovary's growing?Also,why would the leaves turn yellow.Not all just a few on the bottom.Thanks!
Sherri, this was just beautiful and useful on how to grow and deadhead daylillies. I love those flowers! Thanks for sharing and voted up!
I got only 2 blooms on my daylilies this year. Very disappointing. What went wrong?
Beautiful hub and very useful info. So many nice flower pictures
Easy and practical tips about how to create an abundance of blossoming day lilies for the garden. I had no idea that you have to be so precise about how to remove the lilies after they have bloomed. What a difference this will make.
Very useful information. We have many of these plated by the previous owners of our home and I had never known the proper way of deadheading them. They are beautiful and will flower nearly all summer long.
Thank you for the detailed information. This is only my 2nd year growing Stella's. I remember reading about deadheading last year a little too late in the season. But knew there was a right way and a wrong way to keep them blooming. I have watched and/or read about 10 other postings and none of them even mention the importance of removing not just the spent blossom but the ovary as well. They just started blooming the last two or three days and I am so glad I finally found your post! Thanks again.
Thank you very much for your knowledge about Stella Dora's.
Beautiful flowers, helpful info. Thanks!
nice,thanks
I have beautiful day lilies in my yard, and just planted some in front of my grandmother's house. I'll have to try deadheading to keep the flowers coming. Thanks for the advice!
Love day lilies. Very informative. Awesome pics. Who knows something about daylilies called naked ladies...
All day lilies are beautiful, they add so much color to the garden. Your photos are great and your illustration the perfect compliment! I bet there will be more day lilies in gardens after reading this informative hub. Thanks for all this great information.
Voted up, useful, awesome, and interesting.
What a gorgeous blossom. If dead heading is the key to more beauty in the garden then I am there!
This is such helpful information that no doubt many will say 'thank you thank you.' The only reason know it is that my Momma used to plant tons of them and she taught me how to care for them. And I am so thankful that she did.
Your clear instructions will make this a project that might otherwise be a nightmare.
Voted up++++ and shared
Angels are on the way to you this afternoon ps
I had some orange daylilies that were self-propogating (if that's the right word) and they took over the garden so I removed them. They had very tubular roots. Do the Stella de Oro daylilies do the same?
Thanks for the info, This is my first year having any kind of flowers of my own, and the Day lilies are my favs by far. But when the scape has no more blooms on it, are you supposed to prune them...I was told after there were no more blooms on a scape to cut right at the bottom of the scape so more scapes with blooms would emerge. Is this right? I also have the purple De Oro's are they rebloomers?
Thanks for the valuable information. Will be deadheading my Stellas and other daylilies.
I've looked everywhere, may have overlooked! The lily greens are healthy, but look overgrown. Can I trim the leaves? Not deadhead, but "maintenance" the leaves? Thanks very much!
Thank you for the info on deadheading .......... But is it too late to see more blossoms? Needless to say I have NOT deadheaded my plants and have lots of seed heada. Will I damage the plants if I snip off the seed pods now?
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Jenn-Anne, the best way to tell if your daylilies are Stellas is to take a sample to your local extension service (every state in the US has an extension service). You could also bring a sample to any commercial nursery, and they'd be happy to advise. Meanwhile, the internet has wonderful .edu resources for identifying plants, so you might try searching for "stella de oro identification site:edu" (without the quotation marks). I found this identification resource quickly, and it might be helpful -- http://www.personal.psu.edu/rdb4/hort131/weekly-le...
Thanks for the great comment. You asked a wonderful question.
Is there a way to tell if the lilies at my house are of this variety? I didn't plant them - they were put in by the previous owner. Thanks for this useful hub! Deadheading works on other types of flower as well. Voted up!
Nice tips, the flower was gorgeous and beautiful as well
Thanks for the tips. I have some of those lilies and will be diligent in deadheading, being mindful to pinch off the ovary too.
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Lisa, thanks for the wonderful comment, and so timely it is. The Stellas have just put out their first scapes in my garden, and blooms should be just a few days away. What a way to celebrate the end of a long, cold winter and spring! I'm so glad you enjoyed the pics and vids. :) ~Sherri
Vellur, thank you for reading and commenting. These flowers are beautiful indeed. :)
Great hub, enjoyed the picture. Informative and useful. The flowers are so beautiful!
What a wonderful hub Sally. I thoroughly enjoyed it and have booked marked it. So informative and the pictures and videos are amazing. I love daylillies. they are so cheerful and warm a garden up so much. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us. Voted up+ and shared!--Lisa♥
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Stephanie and Sunshine, thanks so much for your lovely comments! Wishing you both a lovely spring. :)
What a beautiful and informative hub in honor of daylilies! Happy Spring to you Sally's Trove! :)
I didn't know that the Stella De Oro's would bloom all season. They are beautiful, bright flowers ...I must get some for my garden! Thanks for the beautiful, detailed pictures and for teaching us the proper names for different parts of the plant. I regularly deadhead my other flowers to keep them looking nice and extending their blooming period. Great hub, voted up, interesting, useful an beautiful... and shared!
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ktrapp, you are going to have a marvelous display next season, front and back!
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Sheila, thank you so much for featuring this hub on your beautiful blog.
http://www.sheilasflowergardengetaway.blogspot.com...
Just keep removing those dead blossoms through the season, and this plant will reward you for ever. It's October 25, and I have 5 new blossoms on the plants. That's not a lot, of course, for as prolific as these bloomers are, but so late in the season, it's a real treat. I know I have these late blossoms only because the plants were deadheaded consistently. Go for it!
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@rebeccamealey, one of the beautiful things about daylilies is that you can plant them at almost any time (short of chopping through frozen ground), and you can hack them apart mercilessly in the process of digging them up, and they still survive. There is nothing delicate about their constitution. Yes, get the word out there! :)
@StephSev108, no green thumb is needed with daylilies. They want only sunshine and water, and thinning every few years. Once they get established, they will be your best garden friends.
Thanks for the info. I do not have a green thumb however this info may help me.
I have these day lilies throughout my front and back landscape. Thanks for the invaluable information to get more blooms. I'm looking forward to an even showier display of flowers next season. Thanks.
For some reason, I have never had much luck with my Stella de Oro. Now I know why! I always try to dead head all my flowers, but don't always have the time. From now on, I will definitely take more care with my Stellas. I am so glad to find this information! Voting up, useful and sharing on my Flowr Garden Get A Way Blog! All credits are yours, of course! :)
Wow! You have such an informative Hub on these day lilies! I see that you have mastered growing them. They are the coolest flowers! I am sharing so interest will be getting those bulbs in the ground for day lilies this fall!
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Thanks, Jeannieinabottle, for the good words and the up. :) I'm glad you appreciate these amazing flowers.
What beautiful flowers! I don't have a yard (I live in an apartment) but I see these flowers sometimes and admire them. This is a very useful hub for gardeners and those who need a little help with their "green thumbs." Great hub and voted up!
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Bill, daylilies are awesome for preventing erosion (not something that was appropriate to write about on this hub). Their roots lock the soil in and, once established, challenge any deluge to dislodge them. I'm glad you'll be incorporating these magnificent plants into your next year's plantings. If you have a slope on your property, you want these. Thanks for your comment.
They are so beautiful! This is our next project....planting daylillies for next year. Thank you for the information; you can bet we will be using it.
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Movie Master, indeed it is worth the work. As the summer progresses, deadheading becomes easier because the plant naturally produces less flowers than it does in the first spring spurt. Thank you so much for the good words!
Your lily border looks fantastic, 300 deadheads! it's worth the work:-)
Thank you for your wonderful in depth article, I know I will find this so useful, voted up!
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trish1048, the Daylily Parts illustration is my photo, enhanced with words and arrows via PowerPoint. I enjoyed doing this. It hearkens back to my days as a medical illustrator, although what we we used then were Leroy lettering tools in only one engineering font. We've come a long way!
Gardening IS a part of your life...you enjoy others' gardens with all your heart. That's enough to make your blessed grandparents very happy, and me too. :)
I'm betting your photo of the parts of the flower is your very own artistic drawing! If not, it very well could be. I still want your flower drawing that you did so many years ago :)
These are lovely flowers. As you well know, gardening is not a part of my life. Why it isn't I have no idea, given that I spent many, many hours in my grandparents' gardens, and loved every minute of it. I'm guessing I favored gathering the fallen fruit for my grandmother's wonderful pies :)
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LOL, drbj. What a sad dissolution the original Stella d'Oro bakery had (although the brand survives and is marketed today by Lance). The brand could use a shot in the arm...How about Stella de Oro Stella d'Oros (daylily biscuits)? Wonder if Lance would buy my 250+ blossoms per day?
What an awakening, Sally. Here I thought Stella de Oro were just cookies. Nice to learn they are such beautiful daylillies. Thanks for the gardening lesson.
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Jools99, I hope this info here helps. Glad you liked the photos of my daylilies!
I have some lilies in my garden this year, I'm not sure what type they are but thy're due to flower any day now. I will use your methods to see if it works with what I have.
Your border looks beautiful, what a show!
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Robie, you are so right about daylilies being so forgiving. They are any gardener's dream (or nightmare if you get picky over the re-bloomers like I do, lol). No matter where I've lived (except in southern California), daylilies have always been an important part of my garden. Thanks for your awesome comment, as always. :)
I love daylilies. They are perfect for lazy, ignorant gardeners like me:-) I will heed your tips and I love your photos. I don't know what variety I have, but they are orange not yellow and beautiful and never fail to bloom no matter how badly I treat them. Great hub as always
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cat on a soapbox (love your name!), thanks so much for the good words. Sounds like you know your re-blooming daylilies. So interesting that two "cats" are the first commenters here. :)
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Thank you, Feline, my friend. I'm glad you enjoyed the pictures. Do you know that cats love to nap under daylily plants? :)
Great tips! Daylilies are such wonderful heat-resistant blooms that naturalize in the garden. Yes, deadheading is the key to continuous bloom, and this variety is especially prolific. Thank you!
Since I have never tried to grow lilies of any sort, I just came along for the pictures, which are lovely! :)
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