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Day lilies, Can they be mowed down?

I have daylilies by my garage, I know I used to mow them down at the farm but I am wondering if they will come back for me if I mow them this year. I live in Central IL and we have harsh winters. Please give my you expert advice.

PS I do not know the species but they are orange and I have 3 clumps of them in a bed about 6 foot by 3 foot.

Thanks in advance.

7 Answers

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  • 1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    By all means, yes!

    This is an ideal time to cut back daylillies.

    This is a good time to clean-up the area they've been growing, and, this is a great time to dig up, divide, and replant to increase your garden size, or give away.

    Being that they will be dormant ,"above" ground, gives their tubers a chance to settle in to a new location before/until and if the ground truly freezes hard this winter.

    Dividing them now will give you the opportunity to cull out small tubers and thin-out over-crowded areas.

    I'm in No. IL, zone 5., that's what I do.

    Mulch if you desire, but they are really hardy.

    Hope this helps, Dave

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    On any bulb plant, they gather their energy for the next year through the green that is left after they bloom. I would clip all the dead brown off, as it has no purpose once the green is gone. Never let them go to seed. After each bloom, cut the top off and the energy goes to the bulb. If you have the original old fashioned orange, they grow here where old homesteads used to be, totally neglected and always are beautiful to drive by and look at. We are zone 5. Once they are brown, cut them down. Next year the new growth won't have to try to push through that, also you won't have bugs nesting in the decaying foliage. I used to have a full collection of hybrids and the old fashioned. I moved, but went and got some old fashioned ones. I tend to neglect them, but they are beautiful and thriving, getting thicker each year.

  • 1 decade ago

    You could mow them down, but make sure you mulch the top to protect to make sure they come back for you. You could also let them fade on their own and the leftover will be a natural mulch. in the spring when you see the growth starting to sprout----just pull up the dead leaves. Theyu should come up quite easily. Since you have really cold winters----I would protect them with either fallen leaves, pine needles, or hay straw to protect the tuber.

  • 1 decade ago

    Sounds like you have tiger lilies. They are almost impossible to get rid of. They reproduce form tubers under the soil, so as long as there is a tuber under the ground, they should come back. I would thin them in spring so your garden doesn't get taken over.

    Source(s): I've been gardening for over 20 years
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  • 1 decade ago

    Yes. Mowed down, cut off, trampled on, burnt, once you've got them they are difficult to get rid of, any bits of the roots left in act as cuttings.

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    At my home...YES!!!

    ALL/ANYTHING can be mowed or, Weed Be Gone'd, LOL!!!

    Actually after mowing ALL down 2 summers in a row...ALL came back!!! Prettier than prior???

  • momcat
    Lv 4
    1 decade ago

    Sure, mow them down. They are a bulb, and should come back next spring.

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