Day lilies and night bloomers?

I live in kentucky and i just purchased night bloomer seeds and day lily plants, which came in sealed green bags. I have no idea how to plant any of these, or when. Do i need to use actual soil, or can i put them in the dirt? Do i need to water them, or will the rain be enough? Can i plant them now, or will they die (the temp is about 60 during the day and 40 at nite)? And what other plants can i mix w/ day lilies that will look nice and thrive?

Day lilies and night bloomers?
Now is a good time to plant daylilys. Early spring or very late fall are the most desirable planting times in the South.



By night blooming did you mean Hemerocallis citrina?

If so other night blooming plants include; Daphne, Nicotiana, Oenothera Evening primrose, Mahonia Oregon grape (smells like lily of the valley in March), Night phlox Zaluzianskya ovata



Do i need to use actual soil, or can i put them in the dirt?

Dirt and soil are synonyms. So yes you can plant them in your garden but you may wish to improve or ammend the soil. Daylilys prefer good drainage so sandy soils with lots of organics are the best. Organics includes composted manure, compost, %26amp; peat moss.



Good soil, topsoil, consists of 93% mineral, in roughly equal parts clay, sand, %26amp; silt, and 7% bioorganic substances. The bioorganics include the decaying plant parts and the animal, fungal, and bacterial soil residents.



Do i need to water them, or will the rain be enough?

Daylilies take quite a bit of water and food so they shouldn't be planted to close to trees or shrubs which compete for the moisture and nutrients. Although daylilies can tolerate drought, they perform best when they receive a deep watering of an inch of water or more each week. More frequent watering may be necessary if they are planted in sandy soils. Daylilies grow best in slightly acidic, well drained soil which has a high organic content; sandy loam. They grow in full sun, however they will tolerate light shade. This means just morning shade or dappled sun %26amp; shade for part of the day. Many light yellow, pink, and pastel blends develop a better color value in very sunny situations.



Remove the seed capsules after the bloom has faded to prevent seed production which weakens the plant and would decrease the number of flowers next year. In the South, they also need a dose of balanced fertilizer (5-10-10) after the first blooms fade if they are to keep on flowering.

Never plant daylilies so that the crown (where foliage and roots join) is more than an inch deep.



And what other plants can i mix w/ day lilies that will look nice and thrive?

You didn't say what colors. So this is just in general...

purple Catawba Crape Myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica `Catawba`) or on the sunnier sides of Nikko Blue Hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla `Nikko Blue`)



Underplanting with daffodils is particularly effective because the daffodils display early then fade as the daylily appears. Alliums also work well inter planted.



Medium height grasses look good; grasses that grow 2-5 feet tall, like Little Bluestem, Pennisetum, and Stipa tenuissima.



Try

Agapanthus x `Monmid` with gold lilys

Crocosmia (MONTBRETIA) 'Lucifer' with yellow daylily cvs, %26amp; Kniphofia (yellow cvs.)

Asclepias tuberosa (Butterfly Weed) - right orange wildflower

Cleome spinosa (Spider Flower) Adds height and keeps blooming until frost

Foeniculum vulgare 'Purpureum' (Bronze Fennel) with orange daylilys

Nicotiana alata (Flowering Tobacco) for the night blooming companion
Reply:I love day lilies, but I'm not an expert on growing them. They need sun, and I don't think they need a lot of water. They have loads of them in Wisconsin, so they don't suffer from the cold once they are established.