If you know just one daylily, it is probably ‘Stella de Oro’, (although like so many you probably know it by the incorrect name of ‘Stella d’Oro’). This fabulous rebloomer, with an abundance of small yellow blooms, has become the go-to variety for landscapers and gardeners alike. Sometimes, though, we might want a different color – but a plant that is just as prolific with blooms and just as good at reblooming like crazy. That’s the time to turn to the Ruby Stella Daylily – unrelated, but just as great. The profusion of flowers on this little beauty are cranberry-red, and don’t fade in the hottest sunlight. This fabulous color adds so much to your garden and landscaping, and don’t worry, because it is just as prolific and good at reblooming as ‘Stella de Oro’. Reblooming daylilies have revolutionized the use of these classic perennials in gardens and raised them to new heights of popularity. Why settle for the traditional few weeks of blooms when you can have months, with flowers coming back through late summer and fall?

Growing Ruby Stella Daylily

Size and Appearance

The Ruby Stella Daylily is a hardy perennial plant that forms an annual clump of foliage and blooms from a strong and long-lived root. The narrow, glossy leaves are light green, and rise to form an attractive mound of foliage about 12 inches tall and 18 inches wide. It begins to bloom early, in May in hot zones, through June in most areas, and in July in cooler zones. Flowers return in late summer or fall for another complete cycle, meaning weeks and weeks of blooming, with this plant rarely out of bloom from early summer to mid-fall. The flowers grow in abundance on stems that stand about 18 inches tall – above the foliage but not on gawky tall stems. Each bud – and there are many – is open for just one day, but because they open in succession, not all at once, each stem lasts for at least 2 weeks. The flowers are 3 inches across, the same size as ‘Stella De Oro’, with broad, full petals. The amazing color is one that is rare in daylilies, a bold ruby to purple-red, with a yellow throat showing a little green deep inside. The flower is open and flaring, with the petals slightly recurving, and decorated with a bold clump of stamens rising from the center. The flowers are also fragrant, and attract both butterflies and hummingbirds.

Using Ruby Stella Daylily in Your Garden

A perfect ground cover daylily, the Ruby Stella Daylily is ideal to plant for an edging or a dense, weed-proof cover on slopes and banks. Space plants 12 to 15 inches apart for dense, continuous coverage. Grow it in front of spring shrubs, to keep beds blooming all summer; along the base of a fence or wall; in the levels of terracing, or even in pots from zone 6 onwards. It can be planted alone or with other daylilies – ‘Stella de Oro’ is an obvious choice, blending them together for a fabulous gold/purple color combination you will love.

Hardiness

The Ruby Stella Daylily can be grown in almost every zone, from zones 3 and 4 (where you cannot expect so much reblooming) and in all warm and hot areas right into zone 9 and the southeast. In planters or pots it will overwinter outdoors from zone 6.

Sun Exposure and Soil Conditions

Grow the Ruby Stella Daylily in full sun for the best result and the most abundant reblooming, although it will also be fine with a couple of hours of shade each day. Rich, moist, well-drained soil is best, but established plants have excellent drought resistance, and it will grow in just about any soil that isn’t wet, including heavy clays and difficult urban soils too. In dry spots some summer watering will be appreciated, and encourage reblooming.

Maintenance and Pruning

You won’t have any problems with deer eating the Ruby Stella Daylily, or with rabbits. Other pests or diseases are also very rare, and this is a super-easy plant to grow with almost no attention. It looks neater if you cut out flower stems once they have stopped blooming, and the only other job is to cut back the foliage to the ground in late fall, once it has withered. Put some rich mulch down at that time too – garden compost is great – and it will be set for another great year.

History and Origin of Ruby Stella Daylily

All our garden daylilies, or Hemerocallis, are complex hybrids created from just a few wild species originally coming from Japan, Korea and China. You might know the old orange daylily Hemerocallis fulva, whose tall flower stems decorate many ditches and abandoned gardens across America. Many varieties date back to last century, and one, ‘Pardon Me’, was among the first reds developed.

When Dave Van der Sman, the owner of Gardenworld nursery, in Cottage Grove, Minnesota, was looking for exciting plants for his new Growing Colors™ range, he used his Dutch connections and contacted breeder Leo Barbee, at Lisse, the Netherlands, home of the world-famous Keukenhof garden, known for its amazing spring bulb display. Leo had been growing some seedlings, possibly of ‘Pardon Me’, when in 1992 he found a new variety. He named it ‘Berrub’, and was in the process of patenting it in the USA – something that was never completed (application US20050193452P1). Gardenworld nursery took over the plant and christened it Ruby Stella, because it was so much like ‘Stella de Oro’, although unrelated.

Buying Ruby Stella Daylily at the Tree Center

The Ruby Stella Daylily is all set to become as famous as ‘Stella de Oro’, because it is just as good, and red too. It is still new on the market, so order now, and be the first one to have the future of miniature reblooming daylilies in your own garden – don’t hesitate, as our stock is strictly limited, and shipping out fast.