Hemerocallis 'Strawberry Candy'

Hemerocallis 'Strawberry Candy': Strawberry Pink with a Rose-Red Bullseye

'Strawberry Candy' looks like it fell out of the candy jar at the bank. Strawberry pink petals, a rose-red eye and a golden green throat, reblooming like it has a sweet tooth to feed. SUGAR RUSH, NO CAVITIES.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Hemerocallis 'Strawberry Candy'
• Common Name: Daylily
• Height: 65 cm (26 in)
• Spread: 55 cm (22 in)
• Flowers: Strawberry pink with a rose-red eye zone and a golden green throat, about 10–11 cm (4–4.25 in) across
• Bloom Time: Midsummer (July to August), with rebloom
• Foliage: Arching, grass-like green leaves; a semi-evergreen type
• Features: Reblooming, Stout Silver Medal winner

Where to Plant: Use it in the middle of a sunny border, in foundation beds, or massed on a bank for plenty of summer colour with little work. The eyed flowers read well from a distance, so place it where you see it from the street or the kitchen window. It copes well with clay soil, but protect it where deer and rabbits roam, since they enjoy the buds.

Companion Plants: Symphyotrichum laeve rises behind the pink daylily with lavender asters from August to October. Kalimeris 'Blue Star' adds blue daisies from June to September. Edge the front with Geranium 'Biokovo', whose white flowers from May to July open the season. This easy grouping is happy in full sun or part sun.

Plant Care: Plant in full sun for the strongest colour and the most rebloom. It will grow in part sun, with fewer flowers. Average, well-drained soil is fine. Water regularly in the first season, then only in extended dry weather. Remove faded flowers each day or two to keep the plant looking fresh, and cut finished stems at the base. Clean up the leaves in late fall or early spring. Divide every three to five years, in spring or late summer, when the clump gets crowded.

History: Pat Stamile bred 'Strawberry Candy' and registered it with the American Hemerocallis Society in 1989, and as a tetraploid it has heavy flower substance and strong colour. It won AHS awards in 1994 and 1995, then took the Stout Silver Medal, the society's highest honour, in 1998.

Final Thoughts: Plant it where the kids walk by and watch them ask if they can eat it. They can't. LOOK, DON'T LICK.