Daylily 'Purple d'Oro'
Hemerocallis 'Purple d'Oro' · Asphodelaceae
Small, ruffled, reddish-purple flowers with a lemon-yellow throat, on a dwarf plant that flowers again and again.
- Size
- 20 in tall, 20 in wide
- Zones
- 3 to 9
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Late June to mid September
- Pets
- Toxic (severe)
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around daylily 'Purple d'Oro'
The planner designed this bed around daylily 'Purple d'Oro' 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 'Purple d'Oro' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Daylily 'Purple d'Oro' × 3, purple
- 2 Cheddar pinks 'Tiny Rubies' × 16, pink
- 3 Winter heath × 5, white
- 4 False sunflower 'Summer Sun' × 3, yellow
- 5 Italian bugloss 'Dropmore' × 5, blue
- 6 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 7 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 4, purple
- 8 Darwin hybrid tulip × 7, red
Why this plant
- The only trumpets. The others are open bowls, bells, daisies and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
Why here
- At the back. At 20 in it is seen over Cheddar pinks 'Tiny Rubies' (4 in) in front of it, and has nothing behind it to hide.
- A step in the back row. Next to Italian bugloss 'Dropmore' (4 ft) and false sunflower 'Summer Sun' (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 13 weeks. From late June to mid September.
- Closes the season. For its last two weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 4 of the 5 groups (80%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Italian bugloss 'Dropmore' and false sunflower 'Summer Sun' anchor the back corners of the bed: the tallest plants on the plan stand there. The flowers run from late January to mid September: 35 weeks in all.
The planner's own design check: 10 Excellent, 7 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 'Purple d'Oro' goes in a border
At 20 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium short (18 to 24 in).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
A purple companion for 'Stella de Oro', with the same size and repeat flowering. Plant the two together for a ribbon of gold and purple along a path.
- Edging and mass planting
- Repeat flowering
- Containers
What to plant with daylily 'Purple d'Oro'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Daylily 'Stella de Oro': purple against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, in flower together for 13 weeks.
- Threadleaf coreopsis 'Moonbeam': purple against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, in flower together for 11 weeks.
- Blue fescue: its blue-green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; low enough (10 in) to stand in front of it.
Questions about daylily 'Purple d'Oro'
Does daylily 'Purple d'Oro' need sun or shade?
Daylily 'Purple d'Oro' 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 'Purple d'Oro' 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 'Purple d'Oro' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late June to mid September. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 3 | Early July to mid September |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Early July to mid September |
| Zone 5 | Late June to mid September |
| Zone 6 | Late June to mid September |
| Zone 7 | Late June to mid September |
| Zone 8 | Late June to mid September |
| Zone 9 | Mid June to mid 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 'Purple d'Oro' be planted?
18 in (45 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 20 in (50 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 20 in (50 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many daylily 'Purple d'Oro' plants do I need?
At 18 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 5 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 7 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 17 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 'Purple d'Oro' 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 'Purple d'Oro'?
These come closest to doing what daylily 'Purple d'Oro' does, and no toxicity is recorded for them:
- Japanese aster 'Blue Star': the same job in a bed, the same size and the same flowering time; lavender, not purple.
- Stokes' aster: the same job in a bed, the same size and the same colour; flowers late June to mid August.
- Wood sage 'East Friesland': the same job in a bed, the same size and the same colour; flowers late May to late July.
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 'Purple d'Oro'?
Daylily 'Purple d'Oro' is over by mid 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.
- October daphne: from mid September to late October, 8 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Meadow saffron: from mid September to mid October, 6 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does daylily 'Purple d'Oro' look like in winter?
Daylily 'Purple d'Oro' 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 'Hyperion' Hemerocallis 'Hyperion'
- Daylily 'Pardon Me' Hemerocallis 'Pardon Me'
- 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
- 20 in (50 cm) tall, 20 in (50 cm) wide
- Plant
- 18 in (45 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium short (18 to 24 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Late June to mid September; trumpets; purple
- 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.