The toy cameo daylily is a winner for 2010

(NAPS)—Hemerocallis, the scientific name for daylily, combines two Greek words meaning “beauty for a day,” but don’t be misled. The phrase refers to each individual bloom and doesn’t reflect the long-term, luscious color many new varieties display from early spring until late in the season. These versatile, easy-to-grow flowers provide ground cover, add focal points of visual interest, and fill your garden with drifts of color.

The All-American Daylily Selection Council’s 2010 All-American Winner is “Toy Cameo,” which is also a winner in the Landscape Category. The benchmarks for excellence are based on the data collected from more than 6,000 varieties, and the winners are the rare cultivars that score highest across five USDA hardiness zones.

“Toy Cameo” packs powerful performance into a petite, perfectly proportioned plant. Its compact habit, graceful foliage, well-groomed appearance and repeat blooming habit makes it a top choice in its color category for a low ground cover, border plantings and patio containers. The peppy, peachy-pink petals surround a chartreuse-green throat and harmonize well with tropical sunset colors in the landscape. The 31⁄2-inch blossoms are perched atop 15- to 20-inch bloom scapes, surrounded by tidy, vigorous, deciduous foliage.

The initial blooming period is mid to late season, with repeat blooming providing late-season color. “Toy Cameo” increases rapidly, is rust resistant, thrives in USDA zones 4–9, and blooms an average of 45 to 80 days a year. “Toy Cameo” joins the ranks of 17 other All-American Daylily winners that have proven themselves in this unsurpassed test program, as well as in gardens across the nation. While growing daylilies is easy, here are a few tips that can help improve their performance:

1. Before planting, incorporate organic matter into loose soil. Daylilies require a minimum of six hours of direct sunlight daily for best performance. Daylilies will thrive in any good garden soil as long as it is well drained.

2. Plant in a hole 11⁄2 times the size of the root-ball and place the crown (where the roots and fan meet) of the plant at one inch below ground level. Space the plants 12 inches apart. Cover the roots and pack the soil firmly around the plant base.

3. Water thoroughly and keep watered well for the first 30 days. Give extra water if you experience especially warm weather; otherwise, daylilies should be happy with the same amount of water the rest of your garden receives.

4. In USDA zones 6 or cooler, protect your daylilies from hard freezes with one to two inches of mulch.

Other All-American Winners include Dream Souffle, Summer Valentine, Buttered Popcorn, Chorus Line and Frankly Scarlet. For more information on these and other winners, visit the All-American Daylily website at www.allamericandaylilies.com.