Hemerocallis Happy Ever Appster™ 'Rosy Returns'

Hemerocallis Happy Ever Appster™ 'Rosy Returns': Rose-Pink Ruffles That Refuse to Quit

'Rosy Returns' looks on the bright side so hard it's a little suspicious. Ruffled rose-pink flowers with a deeper eye, a sweet fragrance and near-constant rebloom. ROSE-COLOURED GLASSES, PERMANENTLY ON.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Hemerocallis 'Rosy Returns'
• Common Name: Daylily
• Series: Happy Ever Appster™, a reblooming daylily group bred by Dr. Darrel Apps
• Height: 36–40 cm (14–16 in)
• Spread: 46–61 cm (18–24 in)
• Flowers: Rose pink with a deeper rose eye and yellow throat, ruffled, about 10 cm (4 in) across, fragrant
• Bloom Time: Early summer to early fall, with near-continuous rebloom (June to September)
• Foliage: Narrow, arching green leaves; dies back in winter
• Features: Reblooming, fragrant, salt tolerant, rabbit resistant
• Plant Patent: USPP 9,779

Where to Plant: Edge a path or the front of a sunny border with it, or plant a row along a driveway, where its salt tolerance helps after winter. It also works in containers and in small gardens that need one plant to bloom for a long time, and it handles clay soil and black walnut.

Companion Plants: Pink daylilies and Monarda Sugar Buzz® 'Rockin' Raspberry' make a soft pairing, with purple bee balm flowers in July and August. Chrysanthemum 'Mary Stoker' adds yellow flowers from August to October, so the bed keeps going into fall. Clematis 'Stand by Me' rises behind with blue flowers from June to August. This easy mix suits full sun or part sun.

Plant Care: Plant in full sun for the best bloom, or part sun. It grows in almost any well-drained soil. Water through the first season, then during long dry spells. Regular summer moisture supports the later flushes. Remove spent flowers and cut finished stems to the base to keep it tidy and blooming. Clear the old foliage in late fall or early spring. It grows quickly and forms many fans, so divide every three or four years in spring or early fall. Daylilies are toxic to cats.

History: Dr. Darrel Apps bred 'Rosy Returns' from a 1993 cross with 'Pardon Me', 'Happy Returns' and 'Sugar Cookie' in its pedigree, then selected it in Bridgeton, New Jersey in 1995 and patented it in 1997. In trials there it bloomed for up to 125 days and produced more fans each year than 'Stella de Oro' or 'Happy Returns'.

Final Thoughts: Plant it by the curb. Salt can't stop it and rabbits won't try. THE OPTIMIST YOUR STREET NEEDS.