Daylily

Daylilies are among the most forgiving long-bloom perennials in the prairie garden: each flower lasts only a single day (hence the genus name, Greek for 'beauty for a day'), but each scape carries 8 to 20 buds that open in succession over several weeks. Hardy to Zone 3 throughout Alberta with most modern cultivars, and to Zone 2 with the toughest old varieties (such as the classic orange 'ditch lily', H. fulva). Bloom colour spans every shade except true blue: yellow, orange, red, pink, mauve, melon, near-black, plus bicolours, eye-zones, and ruffled or spider-shaped petal forms. Re-blooming and extended-bloom cultivars (such as 'Stella d'Oro', 'Happy Returns', 'Pardon Me', 'Rosy Returns') flower from late June into September with deadheading. Daylilies tolerate clay, lean soil, drought once established, and almost any pH; their main need is sun. The biggest pet warning is for cats: ingestion of any plant part, even pollen on fur, can cause acute kidney failure in cats. Plant only in dog yards or yards with no cats; the risk to feline companions is not worth the bloom.