Citron daylily
Hemerocallis citrina · Asphodelaceae
Slender, pale lemon trumpets on tall stems open at dusk and close the next morning, with a strong scent of lemon and honeysuckle.
- Size
- 3½ ft tall, 2½ ft wide
- Zones
- 3 to 9
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Mid July to late August
- Pets
- Toxic (severe)
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around citron daylily
The planner designed this bed around citron daylily when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why citron daylily stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Citron daylily × 4, yellow
- 2 Cheddar pinks 'Tiny Rubies' × 21, pink
- 3 Winter heath × 5, white
- 4 Switchgrass 'Cheyenne Sky' × 3, purple
- 5 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 6 Caucasian scabious 'Fama' × 3, blue
- 7 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 3, purple
- 8 Spring starflower × 12, blue
Why this plant
- The only trumpets. The others are open bowls, bells, airy sprays and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only yellow. The one hot colour: every other flower here is cool or neutral.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 3½ ft it is the tallest plant here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to caucasian scabious 'Fama' (24 in) and switchgrass 'Cheyenne Sky' (3 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- 4 plants in 2 groups (3 and 1). Seen again further along, the same plant ties the bed together.
Why now
- In flower for 7 weeks. From mid July to late August.
- Part of the bed's peak. With switchgrass 'Cheyenne Sky' and caucasian scabious 'Fama' in late July: 3 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as an English border: 5 of the 6 groups (83%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Cheddar pinks 'Tiny Rubies' repeats along the bed to tie it together. Cool colours (pink, purple and blue) with yellow as the warm note, and white to calm things between them.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 6 Good.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where citron daylily goes in a border
At 3½ ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is moderately tall (3 to 4 ft).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
A night-flowering species for a seat or terrace used in the evening, when its pale flowers shine. By day the closed buds are still elegant.
- Evening scent beside a terrace
- Moon gardens
- Tall, graceful foliage
What to plant with citron daylily
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Garden phlox: purple against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, if you choose those colours, in flower together for six weeks.
- Japanese anemone: in flower together for two weeks, from mid August.
- Catmint 'Six Hills Giant': in flower together for seven weeks, from mid July.
Questions about citron daylily
Does citron daylily need sun or shade?
Citron daylily grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day) and part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does citron daylily grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 9. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does citron daylily flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers mid July to late August. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 3 | Mid July to late August |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Mid July to late August |
| Zone 5 | Mid July to late August |
| Zone 6 | Mid July to late August |
| Zone 7 | Early July to mid August |
| Zone 8 | Early July to mid August |
| Zone 9 | Late June to early August |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should citron daylily be planted?
24 in (60 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 2½ ft (75 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 3½ ft (110 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many citron daylily plants do I need?
At 24 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 3 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 6 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 10 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.
In the bed above, the planner used four in two groups.
Is citron daylily poisonous to cats?
Yes: severe toxicity to cats. Extremely poisonous to cats: eating even a small amount, including pollen, can cause kidney failure. Not considered poisonous to dogs or people.
It is not recorded as toxic to dogs.
Rated from the ASPCA. Where references disagree, the more cautious rating is used.
Is there a pet-safe plant like citron daylily?
These come closest to doing what citron daylily does, and no toxicity is recorded for them:
- False sunflower: the same job in a bed, the same size, the same flowering time and the same colour.
- Bee balm 'Jacob Cline': the same job in a bed, the same size and the same flowering time; red, not yellow, wants moist soil.
- Brown-eyed Susan: the same job in a bed and the same colour; 6 in narrower, flowers late July to early October.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after citron daylily?
Citron daylily is over by late August. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Japanese anemone: from mid August to early October, 3 ft tall (a recorded partner).
- Garden chrysanthemum: from mid September to late October, 24 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Sedum 'Autumn Joy': from mid August to mid October, 24 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does citron daylily look like in winter?
Citron daylily dies down to the ground and there is nothing to see until spring. The old stems can be cut in autumn, or left until spring as shelter for overwintering insects.
More Hemerocallis
- Daylily Hemerocallis
- Daylily 'Catherine Woodbery' Hemerocallis 'Catherine Woodbery'
- Daylily 'Chicago Apache' Hemerocallis 'Chicago Apache'
- Daylily 'Happy Returns' Hemerocallis 'Happy Returns'
- Daylily 'Hyperion' Hemerocallis 'Hyperion'
- Daylily 'Pardon Me' Hemerocallis 'Pardon Me'
- Daylily 'Purple d'Oro' Hemerocallis 'Purple d'Oro'
- Daylily 'Ruby Spider' Hemerocallis 'Ruby Spider'
- Daylily 'Stella de Oro' Hemerocallis 'Stella de Oro'
- Daylily 'Strawberry Candy' Hemerocallis 'Strawberry Candy'
- Lemon daylily Hemerocallis lilioasphodelus
- Tawny daylily Hemerocallis fulva
In these guides
Zone guides: Zone 3 · Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 3½ ft (110 cm) tall, 2½ ft (75 cm) wide
- Plant
- 24 in (60 cm) apart
- Height class
- Moderately tall (3 to 4 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Mid July to late August; trumpets; yellow
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; dark green
- Shape
- Arching, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 9
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Asphodelaceae
Checked against ASPCA poison lists. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.