Hemerocallis 'Pardon Me'

Hemerocallis 'Pardon Me': Unapologetic Cranberry Red

'Pardon Me' is far too polite for how loud it looks. Cranberry-red flowers with a green-yellow throat, fragrant and reblooming, on a neat little clump. EXCUSE ME, COMING THROUGH, LOOKING FABULOUS.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Hemerocallis 'Pardon Me'
• Common Name: Daylily
• Height: 45 cm (18 in) in flower
• Spread: 45–60 cm (18–24 in)
• Flowers: Cranberry to burgundy red with a green-yellow throat, lightly ruffled, about 7 cm (2.75 in) across, fragrant
• Bloom Time: Midsummer to early fall, with repeat bloom (July to September)
• Foliage: Arching, blade-like green leaves; dies back in winter
• Features: Reblooming, fragrant

Where to Plant: Its size makes it a front-of-border plant, so use it to edge a walk, fill a container, or run a ribbon of red through a sunny bed. It suits small urban gardens where every plant has to earn its spot, and it tolerates clay soil.

Companion Plants: Echinacea 'Mellow Yellows' brings yellow coneflowers from June to October, a warm partner for the red daylily. Delphinium 'Mini Stars' adds blue flowers from June to August at 45 to 75 cm. Edge the front with Ceratostigma plumbaginoides for blue flowers from August to October. It is an easy, long-season planting for full sun or part sun.

Plant Care: Plant in full sun to part sun in average, well-drained soil. Full sun gives you the best rebloom. Water through the first season, then during dry spells. Steady summer moisture helps the later flushes of flowers. Remove faded blooms and cut each stem to the base when it's finished. Clean up old leaves in late fall or early spring. Divide every three or four years in spring or early fall. Daylilies are toxic to cats.

History: 'Pardon Me' is a 1982 diploid bred by Dr. Darrel Apps, one of the best-known breeders of reblooming daylilies, and it received the American Hemerocallis Society's Award of Merit in 1987. Apps later used it as a parent of his 'Rosy Returns'.

Final Thoughts: Tuck it at the front of a sunny bed and let it interrupt every conversation. NO NEED TO APOLOGIZE. IT WON'T.