Hemerocallis Enchanted Forest - Daylily

Hemerocallis 'Enchanted Forest' is an exquisite evergreen and delicately scented variety that bears large round pastel flowers with wide undulating edges. Their colour is a creamy yellow with salmon hues, surrounding a green throat. This tetraploid cultivar develops deciduous foliage in winter. It blooms abundantly in June-July, then again in August-September. A very beautiful perennial, to be placed prominently in the garden!

The genus Hemerocallis belongs to the Liliaceae or Hemerocallidaceae family according to classifications. These are perennial and hardy plants with deciduous foliage, sometimes semi-evergreen. The variety 'Enchanted Forest', obtained in 2003 by Reilly, is the result of cross-breeding between the cultivars Pearl Harbor and Siloé Ralph Henry. It is a tetraploid variety, possessing a double stock of chromosomes, which gives it increased vigour and oversized flowers compared to classical diploid varieties. It forms a relatively dense clump that will reach about 70 cm (28in) in height, with a relative spread of 50-60 cm (20-24in).  Hemerocallis tend to spread a little when they like the terrain. The flowers measure about 15 cm (6in) in diameter. They are composed of 3 large, thick, slightly wavy, rounded petals with very undulating edges, and 3 smaller tepals. The colour palette includes various shades of soft yellow, more or less salmon, with the petal edges being more distinctly yellow. The throat is yellow and the centre green. Each flower opens in the morning, lasting no more than a day, but flowering is renewed between late June and late August. The flower stems have 4 branches, bearing up to 25 flower buds that open one after the other. The foliage is linear, bright green, deciduous in winter: it emerges from the ground in spring and dries up in autumn. Hemerocallis are plants with short rhizomes and fleshy roots that tolerate dry soils, but are more luxuriant and floriferous in moist soil.

Very easy to grow, these plants thrive in both shade and sun. Some of them are a bit invasive, so do not hesitate to divide the clumps every four or five years, preferably in autumn, after flowering. Hemerocallis is often called 'the perfect perennial plant', because of its vibrant colours, its ability to tolerate any type of environment, but also due to its lack of modesty, it is beautifully exuberant and goes well with other perennials. Plant them in generous clumps in the background of your flowerbeds.  Summer bulbs (lilies, agapanthus, ixias...) can be planted alongside hemerocallis. 'Enchanted Forest' is a particularly decorative variety, to be showcased next to white or mauve blooms. It goes well with grasses, lavenders and chamomiles, for example. The flowers are edible: they brighten up salads and decorate desserts.