Daylily 'Ruby Spider'
Hemerocallis 'Ruby Spider' · Asphodelaceae
Enormous, long-petalled flowers of ruby red, as wide as a dinner plate, with a golden throat that runs out along each petal.
- Size
- 3 ft tall, 2½ ft wide
- Zones
- 3 to 9
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Early July to mid August
- Pets
- Toxic (severe)
- Job in a bed
- Specimen
A bed built around daylily 'Ruby Spider'
The planner designed this bed around daylily 'Ruby Spider' 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 'Ruby Spider' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Daylily 'Ruby Spider' × 1, red
- 2 Cheddar pinks 'Tiny Rubies' × 16, pink
- 3 Winter heath × 8, white
- 4 Brown-eyed Susan × 3, yellow
- 5 Wild quinine × 5, white
- 6 Spurge 'Blackbird' × 3, purple leaves
- 7 Schubert's allium × 3, pink
- 8 Hyacinth × 12, blue
Why this plant
- The only trumpets. The others are open bowls, bells, daisies and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only red.
Why here
- In the middle. At 3 ft it is seen over winter heath (10 in) in front of it.
- One plant, alone. A feature plant is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- In flower for 7 weeks. From early July to mid August.
- Part of the bed's peak. With brown-eyed Susan and wild quinine in late July: 3 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as an English border: 6 of the 6 groups (100%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The back corners are held by brown-eyed Susan and wild quinine, the tallest plants on the plan. The bed is balanced: the left half carries 45% of the visual weight and the right half 55%.
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 'Ruby Spider' goes in a border
At 3 ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium tall (2½ to 3 ft).
Its job: specimen. A feature plant with a shape of its own. It stands alone with room around it, and repeats only at a distance.
A single flower can be seen across the garden. The spidery form is lighter than the round, ruffled shapes of most modern daylilies and suits a looser planting.
- A dramatic flower for the middle of a border
- Hot colour schemes
- A focal point
What to plant with daylily 'Ruby Spider'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Feather reed grass 'Karl Foerster': in flower together for seven weeks, from early July; tall enough (5 ft) to stand behind it.
- Yarrow 'Moonshine': in flower together for six weeks, from early July.
- Bee balm: in flower together for six weeks, from early July.
Questions about daylily 'Ruby Spider'
Does daylily 'Ruby Spider' need sun or shade?
Daylily 'Ruby Spider' 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 'Ruby Spider' 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 'Ruby Spider' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers early 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 | Early July to mid August |
| Zone 6 | Early July to mid August |
| Zone 7 | Late June to early August |
| Zone 8 | Late June 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 'Ruby Spider' 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 3 ft (85 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many daylily 'Ruby Spider' 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 one, with clear ground around it: a feature plant is seen as an object, and a group of them is a thicket.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is daylily 'Ruby Spider' 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 'Ruby Spider'?
These come closest to doing what daylily 'Ruby Spider' does, and no toxicity is recorded for them:
- Bee balm 'Raspberry Wine': the same flowering time and the same colour; a drift, not a specimen, 6 in taller.
- Coreopsis 'Full Moon': a drift, not a specimen, 6 in shorter.
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 'Ruby Spider'?
Daylily 'Ruby Spider' 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.
- Lilyturf: from early August to mid September, 16 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Japanese anemone: from mid August to early October, 3 ft tall.
What does daylily 'Ruby Spider' look like in winter?
Daylily 'Ruby Spider' 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 'Purple d'Oro' Hemerocallis 'Purple d'Oro'
- 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
- 3 ft (85 cm) tall, 2½ ft (75 cm) wide
- Plant
- 24 in (60 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium tall (2½ to 3 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- Early July to mid August; 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.