Hemerocallis v Iris

[Jonah]

Hello all,
I've been browsing the J Parkers catalogue and quite fancied Iris Chrysographes 'Black Form' [pg. 46] and Hemerocallis 'Emanuelle' [pg.54]. Both are purple/ black and would be in a sunny border.
As my only experience with Hemerocallis is a large clump of the bog standard orange variety inherited with the house, and some Iris Germanica that have yet to flower, I was wondering if you chaps wouldn't mind offering your opinions in my poll, and telling me your reasons for or against one or the other. I don't know whether it is a realistic comparison, but I would value your feedback or alternative suggestions.
Thank you.

[Susie Snowdrop]

Hemerocallis every time! I love iris but, they are just too short lived for my liking!

S x

[4pygmies]

Yep, me too.

[Juliet]

Ooh, that's difficult. I like hemerocallis better, no question, but I wouldn't have them in my garden because I'd be worried about killing someone's cat

And I'm not a big iris fan, but I do love that black one!

[Susie Snowdrop]

WHAT

Don't tell my they are also poisonous

[Juliet]

They are members of the lilly family - were also mentioned in the original article about lillies killing cats

[Chuckles]

Iris for me, they are such beautiful and elegant flowers and they stand so poud. Look closely at the flower, fabulous detail

I like Hemerocallis but they can end up looking so messy with the flowers dying off daily, also when the leaves flop. They also spread like wild fire in my gdn, so bad that I dug all mine up gave some away and put some in pots.

Definately Iris

[sweetleaf]

I love Iris(es), they are very easy to grow and dont shed pollen all over the place. They wont hurt my cats either. ;D

[Plocket]

I'm not the greatest fan of iris but Chrysographes is STUNNING! I've had it for a few years now and although the flowers aren't huge and blousy they really are stunning. Here's a piccy of mine, and I can honestly say it looks blacker in real life:

[Jonah]

That does look lovely Plocket
I don't have cats, but I thought I remembered from a discussion on the beeb that the chances of a cat actually getting poisoned were very slim. I expected the blooms of the Iris to be more striking than the Day Lily, but it appears the day lily will last a bit longer and is probably a bit less fussy.
I suppose I could find room for both. ;D

[Plocket]

I can't find a picture of the Hemerocallis you mentioned, but I would suspect it isn't as dark as the iris. If you've got room for both then go for it!!! ;D

[Jonah]

I've scanned the day lily;



I'm going to have plenty of gaps when I move plants to the back, so it's a good excuse to get both if I can't make up my mind! ;D

[Plocket]

Hehehe! The day lily is nice but I'm not a great fan of lilies. What I like about the iris is how velvety the flowers look, and of course how black they are!

[Deleted]

Hemerocallis. Not only do they look good but they apparently kill cats. I'm going to get loads in the hope that it does the job for me.

FA x

PS - To all you animal lovers, I'm kidding.

PPS - Or am I........?

PPPS - yes, I am. Honest. I like hemerocallis. I really do. Got some orange ones in my garden. They're lovely.

[Jonah]

I must admit when we moved here I didn't know what these orange lily flowers were, when they started to bloom I thought they were dying before opening, so I moved them incase it was a disease or bugs [like that would help? ] . The next year it did the same, I resorted to tying string round buds to see if they opened. It was then I realised that it was the blooms that had opened for a day then died! What a plonker. But that was ages ago...... [2 years ]

[Alicat]

Hi Jonah

My vote is for iris I think they look stunning and after seeing one in plockets garden i'm going to treat myself to some for my empty border.

But if you have room go for both why not.

[Plocket]

Hey we all have to learn one way or another Jonah!

[roxann57]

Love them both, but day lilies just keep on going throughtout the summer and are not trouble to look after as they keep coming up year after year

[Mr Grinch]

Day Lily's win it for me (even though i went out and bought 6 Iris last week). So many colours, sizes etc... When they are not in bloom double up as excellent architectural grass !

I LOVE DAY LILLIE'S

Mr G

[Deleted]

I like both!

What are those dark day lillies called please Jonah?

Sara

[Deleted]

Sorry muppet brain this am, I have seen what they are called.

Sara

[Jonah]

Well looks like the daylily is a bit more popular, mainly due to longer flowering time, but those irises do look stunning.

They're both on my list I think, hemerocallis in the border, and irises in a nice pot, so that when they've finished I can move them. Thanks everyone, at least nobody said neither! ;D

[Jonah]

Just bought a packet of seeds of the iris. Might take a few years before I get any flowers, but worth a go! No harm in trying. I have some other irises I have germinated ok, so we'll see.

[Rosefriend]

Must admit that I have voted for Hemerocallis. I have had Irises in the garden and some of the new varieties are absolutely stunning, but I prefer to have clumps of flowers.

As my OH (for some reason) loves dead heading the Hemerocallis every day, they tend to look good. Lilies as such - well I gave up because of the red lily bug - horrible things.

Rosefriend

[madonplants]

I voted for hemerocallis for nearly the same reason as Mr Grinch. I also prefer iris flowers in the pond.

Keith