Daylily 'Chicago Apache'
Hemerocallis 'Chicago Apache' · Asphodelaceae
Velvety, intense scarlet-red flowers with ruffled edges and a small green throat, late in the daylily season.
- Size
- 2½ ft tall, 24 in wide
- Zones
- 3 to 9
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Late July to early September
- Pets
- Toxic (severe)
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around daylily 'Chicago Apache'
The planner designed this bed around daylily 'Chicago Apache' 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 daylily 'Chicago Apache' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Daylily 'Chicago Apache' × 3, red
- 2 Winter heath × 5, pink
- 3 Coral bells 'Firefly' × 11, red
- 4 Brown-eyed Susan × 3, yellow
- 5 Foxglove beardtongue × 5, white
- 6 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 7 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 2, purple
- 8 Hyacinth 'Delft Blue' × 12, blue
Why this plant
- The only trumpets. The others are bells, airy sprays, daisies and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
Why here
- At the back. At 2½ ft it is seen over coral bells 'Firefly' (10 in) in front of it, and has nothing behind it to hide.
- A step in the back row. Next to brown-eyed Susan (4 ft) and foxglove beardtongue (3½ ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- 3 plants in one group. Massed, one kind reads as a single shape. Scattered, it would look spotty.
Why now
- In flower for 7 weeks. From late July to early September.
- Part of the bed's peak. With coral bells 'Firefly' and brown-eyed Susan in late July: 3 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as an English border: 6 of the 7 groups (86%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The front edge is finished with silver sage, winter heath and coral bells 'Firefly'. Hot and cool in equal measure: red and yellow against pink, purple and blue, with 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 daylily 'Chicago Apache' goes in a border
At 2½ ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium (24 in to 2½ ft).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
The standard by which red daylilies are judged: the colour neither fades nor spots in sun and rain. It flowers after most others have finished.
- True red for late summer
- Extending the daylily season
- Hot colour schemes
What to plant with daylily 'Chicago Apache'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Black-eyed Susan: in flower together for seven weeks, from late July.
- Switchgrass 'Shenandoah': its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; tall enough (4 ft) to stand behind it.
- Yarrow 'Moonshine': in flower together for three weeks, from late July.
Questions about daylily 'Chicago Apache'
Does daylily 'Chicago Apache' need sun or shade?
Daylily 'Chicago Apache' 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 daylily 'Chicago Apache' 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 daylily 'Chicago Apache' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late July to early September. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 3 | Early August to early September |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Early August to early September |
| Zone 5 | Late July to early September |
| Zone 6 | Late July to early September |
| Zone 7 | Mid July to early September |
| Zone 8 | Mid July to early September |
| Zone 9 | Mid July to early September |
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 daylily 'Chicago Apache' be planted?
20 in (50 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 24 in (60 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 2½ ft (70 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many daylily 'Chicago Apache' plants do I need?
At 20 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 4 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 7 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 14 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 three in one group.
Is daylily 'Chicago Apache' 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 daylily 'Chicago Apache'?
These come closest to doing what daylily 'Chicago Apache' does, and no toxicity is recorded for them:
- Coneflower 'Cheyenne Spirit': the same job in a bed, the same size and the same colour; flowers late June to early September.
- Black-eyed Susan 'Goldsturm': the same job in a bed and the same size; flowers late July to late September, yellow, not red.
- Coreopsis 'Full Moon': the same job in a bed; 4 in wider, flowers late June to mid September.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after daylily 'Chicago Apache'?
Daylily 'Chicago Apache' is over by early September. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Garden chrysanthemum: from mid September to late October, 24 in tall.
- Bottle gentian: from late August to early October, 20 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Blue mistflower: from late August to mid October, 2½ ft tall.
What does daylily 'Chicago Apache' look like in winter?
Daylily 'Chicago Apache' 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
- Citron daylily Hemerocallis citrina
- Daylily Hemerocallis
- Daylily 'Catherine Woodbery' Hemerocallis 'Catherine Woodbery'
- 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
- 2½ ft (70 cm) tall, 24 in (60 cm) wide
- Plant
- 20 in (50 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium (24 in to 2½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- Late July to early September; trumpets; red
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; 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.