Best Plant Food & Daylily Fertilizers
Daylilies are not heavy feeders and do pretty well without any plant food. But, if the soil assessment shows a deficiency, feed them with nitrogen-rich balanced fertilizers.
When the growing medium is fertile, daylilies do not need a lot of fertilizer. Hence, the light application of plant food also works for them. You can apply fertilizers before the flowers bloom or use a slow-release or continuous fertilizer when planting.
The best daylily fertilizer should have a decent mix of potassium, and phosphorous, with high nitrogen composition. Balanced NPK 1:1:1, meaning 20-20-20 or 10-10-10, can work well for all daylily varieties.
The only difference between these two variants is that the former has 2X nutrients in the same amount and will be costlier. However, it is safe to opt for slow-release and liquid fertilizers as they do not unnecessarily shock the plant.
Daylilies are easy to grow in backyards and pots. But when the soil is not adequately fertile, it impairs the blooming process and the overall growth. Thus, you need to use fertilizer. However, not every fertilizer is equally good.
Hence, the difference between the best plant food for daylilies and an average pick can be pretty drastic. This choice will also result in a difference between achieving dull, lifeless daylilies and beautiful, vibrant counterparts.
Sadly, picking the wrong plant food can be disastrous and usually impossible to recover from. So, to help you make the right pick, we present below a few of the best alternatives for daylilies.
Ideal NPK for Daylilies
As stated, daylilies love the balanced formula in NPK. Thus, you must always aim for nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium in a 1-1-1 ratio, like 10-10-10 or 5-5-5.
However, if you are a serious planter and need a precise NPK ratio while shopping for daylily fertilizer, you can follow our below-listed recommendations:
- 20-20-20 or 10-10-10 NPK is ideal during the fall. It can help the plant grow taller and stronger. In addition, it can also help the daylilies grow more flowers in number and size. A balanced NPK is also vital for maintaining healthy and vibrant blooms.
- 10-50-10 is a good NPK to achieve excellent daylily bloom all summer.
- 16-4-8 is ideal for good leaf and plant growth. You can opt for it in spring.
As much as the choice of a good fertilizer is vital, you must also ensure that you do not over-fertilize the plant. Ideally, fertilizing once a year with mulching is recommended for optimal growth. It is always safe to err on the moderation side than overfertilizing the daylilies.
Best Daylily Fertilizers and Plant Food
Top Picks for Asparagus Fertilizers
- Best Slow Release – Espoma Organic and Natural Flower Tone Plant Food
- Overall Best Pick – Smart-Release Osmocote Plant Food for Vegetables and Flowers
- Water-Soluble Fertilizer – Miracle-Gro Bloom Booster Plant Food
- Best Organic Pick – Jobe’s Organics Fertilizer
Here is a list of some of the best fertilizer options for daylilies. Let us discuss them one by one.
1. Espoma Organic and Natural Flower Tone Plant Food
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It is an organic and natural fertilizer that is an excellent pick for flowers like perennials and annuals. You can use it on daylilies and roses. It is also a good alternative for fresh-cut flowers.
This Espoma plant food helps promote excellent blooms. It has a rich blend of some of the finest organic ingredients, accentuated with the proprietary Bio-tone formula.
The fertilizer has a 3-4-5 formulation, with five percent calcium. It is safe for the environment and can contain no toxic ingredients or sludges.
You can use this across the growing season. The application is simple. You can add to the soil around the plant’s drip line and water thoroughly, and your flower-tone fertilizer is activated.
It needs no further mixing. It is excellent for organic fertilizing and is a registered Organic Input Material. Hence, anyone seeking organic production will love this fertilizer.
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2. Smart-Release Osmocote Plant Food for Vegetables and Flowers
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If you need one of the top-quality daylily fertilizers, you cannot go wrong with Osmocote. It is a nutritious plant food that helps promote sufficient growth and builds a solid root system. Hence, your flowers are groomed beautifully and are vibrant and attractive.
It is an excellent choice if you are growing the Stella D’Oro daylilies, as it will help produce long seasons and beautiful flowers.
This fertilizer has a slow and smart release formula that continually works on the plant. So, they will persistently feed the plant vital nutrients that it needs. Hence, when you apply this fertilizer, your plant will get the nutrition it needs.
However, you do not have to re-apply repeatedly. Moreover, it has a vast range of coverage capacity. Every pound of fertilizer can cover around forty square feet of area. Thus, allowing you to feed a bigger space at a low price. It keeps the plant well-fed for four months.
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3. Miracle-Gro Bloom Booster Plant Food
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Miracle-Gro is one of the top fertilizer brands in the market, and this one is indeed a good fertilizer for daylilies. It is a super bloom fertilizer full of balanced nutrients that helps you achieve maximum blooms for your flowering plants.
In addition, it also helps achieve vibrant color and more flowers per plant. This plant food comes with an easy and instant-release formulation that provides the nutrients necessary for the plant.
Hence, after application to the plant, it will feed the nutrition that daylilies need, and the flowers bloom more beautifully. You get it in a 5.5 lb package that can fertilize a 2200 sq. ft. area. It can keep the plant well-fed for one to two weeks.
What Is The Best Organic Fertilizer For Daylilies?
Jobe’s Organics Fertilizer
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Organic fertilizers are growing in popularity as people are becoming more environmentally conscious. So, if that’s what you seek, too, this one from Jobe’s Organics can be an excellent pick.
This plant food comes with an excellent mix of vital microorganisms that do a good job of rearranging the balance between the plant and soil. Consequently, the garden soil gets better in quality sans any chemical additives.
Moreover, it also has a biozone and archaea blend that partially breaks down the nutrients in the garden soil. Hence, the soil’s conditions get better over time. It is pet friendly and completely free from harmful chemicals.
Thus, it is a good pick for the environment too. Lastly, as it is a granular fertilizer, it is easy to apply. You can re-apply within four to eight weeks or as per your plant’s requirements and the manufacturer’s suggestions. If employed as directed, it will not burn the plants.
Homemade Fertilizer For Daylilies
If you do not want to invest in store-bought fertilizers, you can make some on your own. Here are a few options.
Are coffee grounds good for daylilies?
Coffee grounds can be an excellent addition to the compost pile and help your daylilies.
Beyond helping the daylilies, they also have a plethora of other benefits. They can be worked into the soil, where they work as excellent organic matter. They better soil aeration, improve water retention, and better overall drainage.
Coffee grounds also help microorganisms thrive better. These tend to decompose. Thus, they become organic matter in the soil. You can also spread them onto the soil surface as mulch.
Some worry that coffee grounds can make the soil more acidic by lowering the pH. It only holds for unused coffee grounds, but once you wash them through the brewing process, the pH becomes almost neutral.
Is Epsom salt good for daylilies?
Yes, Epsom salt has a neutral pH that breaks down sulfur and magnesium, two of the most crucial nutrients for daylilies.
Epsom salt is not salt. Instead, it is a magnesium sulfate mineral compound that does not build up in the soil over time. Hence, it is an excellent additive and is safe for daylilies. Both magnesium and sulfur in Epsom salt are beneficial for chlorophyll production, which betters blooming and helps with greener foliage.
Is baking soda good for daylilies?
Baking soda is one of the most unusual picks for the daylilies.
You can add baking soda to your soil to make your daylilies bloom well. It can also help avoid fungal growth in plants.
Should I use banana peel for daylilies?
Banana peels can be good for daylilies as well. They are a rich potassium source. Hence, they can help better the flower’s growth and health.
How To Fertilize Daylilies?
In all honesty, fertilizing the daylilies can be a little tricky. However, the suitable method for maintaining and feeding them is only a matter of opinion. These plants are not heavy feeders, and choosing between the organic or chemical best daylily fertilizer is also a matter of personal choice.
Fortunately, daylilies are pretty adaptable. But it is always safe to conduct a soil assessment to understand what fertilizer works best for the daylilies to thrive. Please remember every plant is different.
Hence, the fertilizing needs will also vary from one plant to another. Even though they do not need as much feeding as others, they still seek some nutrition to grow and thrive in the garden. Hence, a soil assessment is an excellent way to understand what plant feed will work the best for your garden.
Good fertilizers for daylilies quickly feed the plant and supply it with the necessary nutrients over the next few months. You can choose between organic or chemical fertilizers. Whatever you choose, ensure that you evenly spread it around the daylilies.
You can manually disperse or use a fertilizer spread to spread the fertilizer. It is ok if you do not want to invest in a fertilizer spreader. You can shake the bag over the daylilies to evenly pour the fertilizer.
Water the garden for it to seep deep into the roots after applying the fertilizer. You must water right after or within the next two to three hours. Please do not delay beyond 24 hours.
If using water-soluble product, you must water it instantly after applying the granular product. It is mandatory to avoid fertilizer burn, which might occur if the food comes directly in contact with the roots.
At all times, read through the instructions on the manufacturing label to ensure you do not make a mistake.
Related: How to grow daylilies from seed? | Post-bloom daylily care
What Is The Best Time To Fertilize Daylilies?
You can fertilize daylilies with the best daylily fertilizer across the growing season. It helps support the plant and achieve fantastic results. You can feed daylilies in the fall, mid-summer, and early spring.
It is a fool-proof fertilizing schedule and helps promote daylily growth at all stages while simultaneously preparing the plant to endure the harsh winters.
How Often Should Daylilies Be Fertilized?
How often you feed the daylilies depends on the soil and fertilizer.
- As a general rule, you must:
- Fertilize every four to six weeks during the growing seasons before the buds show.
Once the daylilies bloom and the petals drop onto the ground, you must stop fertilizing.
If you opt for slow-release plant food for daylilies, you will not have to fertilize as much. In addition, if your soil is loamy, you do not have to apply fertilizer repeatedly. However, if the soil is sandy, you will have to fertilize more frequently.
Further, organic fertilizer does not require frequent application, whereas weekly feeding works with liquid plant foods. Also, do not forget to rotate the feed across the flower gardening season.
It will ensure that the plant gets the right degree of a nutrient mix. Only employing a single type of fertilizer can result in an excessive build-up of one kind of nutrient, which will harm the daylily.
Daylilies Plant Food Requirements and Common Doubts
Ques 1. Is bone meal good for daylilies?
Ans. Bone meal can be one of the best organic fertilizers for daylilies. It is a slow-release fertilizer and is a rich source of calcium, nitrogen, and phosphorous. Bone meal is rich in protein and balances other soil amendments.
It is an excellent mix of coarsely and finely ground animal bones. Beef bones are employed for this product. However, please follow the instructions while using bone meals for daylilies. You must also get a soil assessment to ensure it has the proper pH level.
The pH should be lower than seven before mixing bone meal into it. Use only one tablespoon for every two square feet of soil, which is 10 pounds for every 100 sq. ft. of the garden.
Ques 2. Is holly tone good for daylilies?
Ans. Yes, Holly tone is one of the best daylily fertilizer.
It is a slow-release fertilizer that provides daylilies with optimal nutrition. Holly tone has a pleasant mix of potassium, nitrogen, and phosphorous and an excellent blend of microorganisms that helps with blossoms and builds a robust root system.
Ques 3. Is 10 10 10 fertilizer good for daylilies?
Ans. Regardless of the daylily variety, a 10-10-10 or 5-10-10 NPK ratio works well for daylilies. Daylilies usually require three pounds of nitrogen for every 1000 sq ft of land.
Ques 4. Can I use Miracle Grow on daylilies?
Ans. Yes, you can use Miracle-Gro to feed daylilies. It can help them grow big and strong, courtesy of the natural ingredients present in them that help feed the plant above the ground and below the soil.
