Hemerocallis Happy Ever Appster™ 'Happy Returns'

Hemerocallis Happy Ever Appster™ 'Happy Returns': Reblooming Yellow Built for the North

'Happy Returns' is the friend who keeps sending birthday cards long after everybody else forgot. Lemon-yellow flowers, a light fragrance and one round of blooms after another. MANY HAPPY RETURNS, LITERALLY.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Hemerocallis 'Happy Returns'
• Common Name: Daylily
• Series: Happy Ever Appster™, a reblooming daylily group bred by Dr. Darrel Apps
• Height: 40–45 cm (16–18 in) in flower
• Spread: 45–60 cm (18–24 in)
• Flowers: Lemon yellow, lightly fragrant, about 8 cm (3 in) across
• Bloom Time: Early summer to early fall, with repeat flushes (June to September)
• Foliage: Narrow, arching green leaves; dies back in winter
• Features: Reblooming

Where to Plant: Its short height makes it a front-of-border plant, so line a walkway with it, edge a driveway bed, mass it on a slope where mowing is a chore, or plant it in a large container. It tolerates heavy clay, which defeats plenty of perennials in Ontario and Quebec yards.

Companion Plants: Plant 'Happy Returns' in a sunny or part-shade bed with a pink peony, Stargazer lilies and pink phlox. Paeonia 'Alexander Fleming' opens big pink double peonies at 75 to 90 cm in May and June. Phlox Super Ka-Pow™ Pink adds pink heads with a hot-pink eye at 45 to 50 cm from June to August. Lilium 'Stargazer' brings fragrant pink lilies at 60 to 90 cm in July and August. Miscanthus 'Little Zebra' stands behind at 90 to 120 cm with gold-banded blades.

Plant Care: Plant in full sun for the best rebloom. It manages in part sun, with fewer flowers. Any average, well-drained soil works. Water through the first season, then mainly during dry stretches. A steady supply of water in summer helps it keep reblooming. Remove spent flowers and cut finished stems to the base to keep the plant tidy and pushing new buds. Clean up the foliage in late fall or early spring. Divide every three or four years in spring or early fall when the clump gets crowded. Daylilies are toxic to cats.

History: 'Happy Returns' was bred by Dr. Darrel Apps, who worked for decades on reblooming daylilies for northern gardens, and it descends from 'Stella de Oro'. Apps and Danny Blew of Centerton Nursery in Bridgeton, New Jersey later gathered his best rebloomers into the Happy Ever Appster™ group.

Final Thoughts: Line the driveway and let it welcome you home all season. Drought tolerant once settled. THE PARTY FAVOUR THAT KEEPS ON GIVING.