Last updated on May 20th, 2023 at 10:14 pm

Daylilies have been treasured by people all over the world for centuries for their beauty. Its strong yet beautiful floral scent makes them even more beautiful. 

Daylilies are also one of the most carefree flowering plants that grow almost anywhere in the world with any soil. There are a lot of other kinds of lilies that you will find in the market, but daylilies have a unique beauty and charm.

Every person loves these flowers, and if you see a garden full of daylilies, you will be mesmerized by their beauty. Daylilies have been around for a long time. We can find references for this flower in Greek and Chinese mythologies. With time, even more species of this particular flower have developed.

Even though the name daylilies suggests the term ‘Lily,’ this flower is quite different from lilies. Although both flowers have a similar shape, the lilies fall under a different family, the Liliaceae family. 

The daylily is also the perfect perennial, available in various colors, shapes, and sizes. This flower also starts blooming in late spring and keeps blooming until autumn.

Scientifically named Hemerocallis, daylily also belongs to the Asphodelaceae plant family. The scientific term, Hemerocallis, is derived from two Greek words, ‘Hemera,’ meaning ‘day,’ and ‘Kelles,’ meaning ‘beauty.’ This beautifully describes the flowing as the one that blooms with the sunrise and withers at sunset.

Daylily flower has its roots in how it blooms every day. Each flower lasts only one day, and you can also find many flower buds on this plant.

Although Daylilies are available all over the world these days, this flower is native to Asia, Europe, and North America. Since the 1930s, much work has been done toward hybridizing daylilies. 

As a result, you can find a variety of colors like – white, yellows, pastels, reds, oranges, purples, and even blues. If you walk down the streets of North America, you will find the roadside filled with yellow and orange daylilies.

What does the Daylily flower symbolize?

The daylily flower’s meaning and symbolism go back to Greek mythology. According to Greek mythology, Zeus, the unfaithful husband of Hera, had a son named Hercules with a mortal woman named Alceme. Even though his mother was a mortal, Zeus wanted Hercules to have supernatural powers. So, he brought Hercules and fed him Hera’s milk while she was asleep. When Hera woke up, she removed the child, and the milk fell into the universe and formed the Milky Way. The drop of milk that fell on earth gave rise to the first lily flower.

Daylily flowers have another important history attached to them. In China, many pregnant mothers who want to bear a son wear this flower. It is believed that this flower has the power to fulfill its dream of giving birth to a suitable boy. This flower symbolizes the relationship between a mother and a son.

Other than signifying the love of a mother and a son, daylily also means “Wong Yu” in China, meaning forgetting all the worries. It is believed that daylilies help people to forget the bad things in the past and move forward.

In some parts of the world, this flower also symbolizes flirtation. Daylilies bloom in the morning and wither during the sunset symbolizing a relationship that is only for fun and will never turn into anything serious.

All in all, the daylily flower symbolic meanings are:

  • innocence
  • purity
  • devotion
  • forgetting worries
  • flirtatious 
  • fertility
  • motherhood

Meaning of the Daylily flower colors

White color

The white daylilies signify purity, innocence, and truth. It is also related to spirituality and faith.

Red color

The red daylilies signify love and passion. This color symbolizes your love for your romantic partner. Daylilies also symbolize flirtation, and this color represents love and passion that will not last for long.

Pink color

The pink daylilies signify joy, happiness, prosperity, and abundance. Pink daylilies are a great gift for your friends, parents, and loved ones. This flower color symbolizes that you wish them a happy and prosperous life.

Yellow color

The yellow daylilies signify thankfulness. It shows how grateful you are to someone for helping you during a tough time. It shows your gratitude towards them.

Orange color

The orange daylilies indicate pride, wealth, and confidence. The flower’s bright and bold color is a great gift option when you want the other person to become confident and trust themselves.

Interesting facts about the Daylily flowers

  • Daylilies are available in 15 species.
  • These are valuable in almost every part of the work, from East Asia to Central Europe.
  • In the Elizabethan era, these flowers had medicinal properties and cured fever, wounds, and arthritis.
  • Because of their beautiful aroma, they are used for making perfumes, anti-aging creams, and cosmetics. A mixture of lilies petals with honey was also believed to remove aging marks on the skin.
  • In some parts of China, people eat daylilies. They stir-fry them or make soups.

How to grow Daylily flowers

The daylily is an incredibly low-maintenance (almost no upkeep) perennial that is easy to cultivate, almost disease and pest-free, and tolerant to drought, uneven sunlight, and poor soil. There are also thousands of lovely daylilies to pick from. Combine early, midseason, and late blooming daylilies with repeat bloomers to have daylilies in bloom from late spring until the first frost of the fall.

  1. Plant the daylilies in nutrient-rich soil about an inch below the ground.
  2. Place them in a spot with full sun.
  3. Provide them with an inch of water a week.
  4. Keep the soil moist with mulch.

How to care for Daylily flowers

  1. Water newly planted daylilies once a week until they establish themselves.
  2. Mulch around the plant to keep it moist and reduce weeding.
  3. Apply a little general-purpose fertilizer once a year in early spring as new daylily top growth develops.
  4. Remove spent blooms to discourage seed generation and promote more blossoming.
  5. Remove the dead leaves from the previous year’s growth before fresh growth begins in the spring.
  6. Amend the soil surrounding the plants with aged manure or compost in the spring.

Best time to gift Daylily flowers

There is no specific time to gift daylilies to someone; you could gift them to anyone for any occasion. Due to its significance in motherhood, it would be great to give this to your mom on Mother’s Day. This would signify your appreciation and thankfulness to them for everything they endured to raise a child. It is a great way to recognize their efforts as a mother.

You could also gift this flower to someone starting a new chapter in their life, as it would indicate your best wishes to them. You can also give red or pink daylilies to people you love and adore.

Conclusion

The actual meaning of daylilies is revealed during their intimate blooming period. While admiring the beauty of these flowers, you will notice that their blooms are so fleeting during the day that their iconic name literally indicates that it is a flower that is only gorgeous for a day. These blooms are a daily display of grandeur in the morning.

These flowers also serve as a reminder to find joy in the little things in life. They also have additional spiritual aptitudes. It brings traumas and familial bonds together and cures them in illuminating ways. It is also used as a charm in houses to ward off grief and bad luck.

If you want to know and learn more about flowers, we at PansyMaiden can help you. Check out our fun, easy-to-read, and informative flower-related content that you will surely enjoy!