Hemerocallis 'Awesome Blossom'

Hemerocallis 'Awesome Blossom': Dusky Rose Rebloomer With a Plum Eye

The name is 'Awesome Blossom' and somehow that's an understatement. Antique rose and apricot petals with a raisin-plum eye and edge, like a sunset that took an art class. THIS DAYLILY HAS A SIGNATURE MOVE.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Hemerocallis 'Awesome Blossom'
• Common Name: Daylily
• Height: 60 cm (24 in) in flower
• Spread: 50 cm (20 in)
• Flowers: Antique rose to apricot with a raisin-plum eye and edge and a lime-green throat, about 12–13 cm (5 in) across. Each bloom lasts one day.
• Bloom Time: Midsummer to early fall, with rebloom (July to September)
• Foliage: Arching, strap-like green leaves. It's classed as an evergreen type, but a Canadian winter will still brown the leaves.
• Features: Reblooming

Where to Plant: Use it in groups of three in the middle of a sunny border, or along a walkway where you can see the eye pattern up close. It takes clay soil and cold winters in stride. Deer and rabbits nibble daylilies, so plant it closer to the house if they visit your yard.

Companion Plants: Plant 'Awesome Blossom' in a sunny or part-shade bed with soft pink peonies, big gold daisies and violet spiderwort. Paeonia 'Catharina Fontijn' opens soft pink double peonies at 90 cm in May and June. Tradescantia 'Concord Grape' adds violet-purple spiderwort at 40 to 45 cm from June to September. Rudbeckia 'Indian Summer' brings very large golden daisies at 80 to 90 cm from July to October. Festuca Beyond Blue™ edges the bed with intense blue tufts at 23 to 30 cm.

Plant Care: Give it full sun for the best colour and the most rebloom. Part sun works, with fewer flowers. Plant the crown about 2.5 cm (1 in) deep in average to rich, well-drained soil, and water well through its first season. Once established, it tolerates dry spells, but steady moisture in summer helps it push out a second round of flower stalks. Remove spent stalks after flowering. Clear the old foliage in late fall or early spring. Divide in spring or late summer every three to five years, or whenever the clump gets crowded.

History: 'Awesome Blossom' is a tetraploid daylily registered in 1996 and credited to the hybridizer Salter. The genus name comes from Greek words for day and beauty, a nod to flowers that last one day each.

Final Thoughts: It reblooms into early fall, so the compliments keep coming. Plant it where the sun lands. AWESOME IS JUST THE BASELINE.