Daylily 'Hyperion'
Hemerocallis 'Hyperion' · Asphodelaceae
Tall, slender stems carry narrow-petalled, lily-like flowers of clear lemon yellow with a strong, sweet scent. Raised in 1924 and never out of commerce.
- Size
- 3½ ft tall, 2½ ft wide
- Zones
- 3 to 9
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Mid July to mid August
- Pets
- Toxic (severe)
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around daylily 'Hyperion'
The planner designed this bed around daylily 'Hyperion' 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 'Hyperion' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Daylily 'Hyperion' × 4, yellow
- 2 Winter heath × 3, pink
- 3 October daphne × 7, pink
- 4 Brown-eyed Susan × 3, yellow
- 5 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 6 Scarlet coral bells × 5, red
- 7 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 4, purple
- 8 Darwin hybrid tulip × 12, orange
Why this plant
- The only trumpets. The others are bells, dense clusters, daisies and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 3½ ft it is among the tallest plants 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 brown-eyed Susan (4 ft), scarlet coral bells (18 in) and ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' (2½ 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 six weeks. From mid July to mid August.
- Part of the bed's peak. With brown-eyed Susan and scarlet coral bells in late July: 3 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as an English border: 3 of the 5 groups (60%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Winter heath is the first into flower, in late January, and October daphne the last to finish, in late October. The back corners are held by brown-eyed Susan and daylily 'Hyperion', the tallest plants on the plan.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 5 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 'Hyperion' goes in a border
At 3½ ft it belongs in the middle 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.
The classic scented yellow daylily, elegant where modern ones are showy. Its height suits the middle of a border, and the flowers stay open into the evening.
- Scent in midsummer
- The middle of a traditional border
- Evening gardens
What to plant with daylily 'Hyperion'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Delphinium: purple against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, if you choose those colours, in flower together for two weeks.
- Catmint 'Six Hills Giant': in flower together for six weeks, from mid July.
- Shasta daisy 'Becky': in flower together for six weeks, from mid July.
Questions about daylily 'Hyperion'
Does daylily 'Hyperion' need sun or shade?
Daylily 'Hyperion' 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 'Hyperion' 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 'Hyperion' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers mid July to mid 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 mid August |
| Zone 6 | Mid July to mid August |
| Zone 7 | Early July to early August |
| Zone 8 | Early July to early 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 daylily 'Hyperion' 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 (100 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many daylily 'Hyperion' 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 daylily 'Hyperion' 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 'Hyperion'?
These come closest to doing what daylily 'Hyperion' does, and no toxicity is recorded for them:
- False sunflower 'Summer Sun': the same job in a bed and the same colour; 4 in narrower, flowers late June to early September.
- Bee balm 'Raspberry Wine': the same job in a bed, the same size and the same flowering time; red, not yellow, wants moist soil.
- Coreopsis 'Full Moon': the same job in a bed and the same colour; 12 in shorter, 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 'Hyperion'?
Daylily 'Hyperion' is over by mid August. 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, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Japanese anemone: from mid August to early October, 3 ft tall.
- Lilyturf: from early August to mid September, 16 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does daylily 'Hyperion' look like in winter?
Daylily 'Hyperion' 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 'Chicago Apache' Hemerocallis 'Chicago Apache'
- Daylily 'Happy Returns' Hemerocallis 'Happy Returns'
- 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 (100 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
- Middle
- Flowers
- Mid July to mid August; trumpets; yellow
- 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.