Hemerocallis 'BIG SMILE' daylily
size/type
mid-sized perennial,mid-sized perennial
usual height
0,6-0,8m
usual width
0,3-0,5m
leaves
deciduous broadleaf
colour of leaves
flowers
showy
colour of flowers
blooming time
July
location
full to partial sun
USDA zone (lowest)
3 (down to -40°C)
winter protection
for zone 5+6
for zone 7
categorized
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).
Description of the plant:
Daylily name Big Smile does not lie. Just a quick glance at this beauty and you feel like smiling, too. It is a Darrel Apps introduction from 1999 with large, happy yellow flowers with slightly ruffled, salmon pink margins of the main 3 petals. Flowers are fragrant and come out in July atop about 70 cm tall stems. Leaves are deciduous. Big Smile is a cross between Slug Buster and Siloam Harold Flickinger.Dr. Darrel Apps is an American breeder who turned to daylilies at the University of Kentucky in late 1960's. He introduced his first hybrid in 1969. Dr. Apps specializes mostly in improving southern varieties for northern climate, and possibly his biggest success is a patented series Happy Ever Appster® which comprises of varieties that bloom at least three times during summer. Altogether his career was very fruitful, he registered 420 daylily varieties and in 2006 he was awarded the most prestigious Bertrand Farr Silver Medal for excellence in daylily breeding. One year later he sold his nursery and retired. He moved to his home Wisconsin where he continues breeding daylilies.
Daylily 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 daylilies in a sunny spot and fertilize it for better flowering every spring, if you want to. It tolerates all types of soil, preferably it likes moist soil. Very hardy to min. -40°C (USDA zone 3).
Last update 12-01-2019
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