Question
QUESTION: I PLANTED THESE LILLIES THIS MAY 09 IN FULL BLOOM. THERE HAS NOT BEEN ONE SINGLE BLOOM AFTER THOSE ORIGINAL BLOOMS FADED. THEY ARE IN A SHADY AREA THAT GETS EARLY MORNING SUN BUT ARE WELL LIT WITH INDIRECT SUN ALL DAY.

ANSWER: Hi Becky,
Thanx for you question.  Stella d'oro day lilies do best with at least 6 hours of direct sunlight.  They will grow but they won't flower very well in the shade.  I suggest you move them to a sunnier place.  Also, after the plant blooms, remove the spent flowers before the round seed pods form.  Seed production makes the plant think it has done it's reproductive duties and has a tendency to make the plant either stop blooming or slow down the blooming process.  I  hope this helps.
Tom

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I appreciate your help. What perennial can I plant in their place that will bloom all summer ??? Also, these lillies are at all the freeway exits in my area. Who do you suppose deadheads them ???????? Is there another yellow blooming lilly that would be more appropriate?  Thanks again, B

Answer
Hi Becky,
Thanx for the followup.  Hardy hibiscus will bloom all summer but are kind of a small shrub and you may not want something that full but still your issue is lack of direct sunlight.  This is preventing the effective blooming of your lilies and would adversely impact the hibiscus too.  I'm hard pressed to think of a perennial that will bloom effectively in relative shade for the entire summer.  Hostas will bloom in the shade but only for a month or so and depending on the type bloom in different times in the summer.  The leaf colors and designs though, could make up for the blooming.  Monarda will bloom in part shade but it's not going to bloom all summer long.  

I'm sure you do see daylilies on the highway blooming.  We have them here too.  What I notice about them, in my opinion, is they are not what I would want landscaping my road because they have so many seed pods and non-blooming stems amongst the ones blooming and no, no one is deadheading them.  But, to me, they look too unkempt.  You will have much better blooming and the plants will look a lot neater if they are deadheaded and not allowed to form seedpods.  You'll eventually get some more blooms but the main issue you have is not enough shade.  I know it's disappointing.  Most perennials do not bloom all summer long.  That's why the Stella d'Oro series is so popular.  And finding a bloomer for shady areas is even more difficult.  At best, you're most likely to find plants that bloom just for a few weeks out of the year.  That's why people look for foliage plants like hosta and heuchera.  Heuchera or coral bells comes in a variety of colorful foliage from light yellows to deep burgundy.  The flowers are like tiny coral colored bells suspended on long wands.  They are very delicate looking but in actuality pretty tough plants.  You can do a lot with foliage in the shade.  

I have a shade garden underneath a large pin oak tree in the front yard.  I have various types of hostas, heucheras, Jacob's ladder, comfrey, lungwort, wild ginger, columbines, wood poppy, crested iris, crocus, tulips, hyacinths and so I get a smattering of flowers from late spring to fall.  Something here and there is blooming but the real interest in my shade garden is the foliage colors, textures, shapes, etc.  People are constantly commenting on the shade garden and it's just something I kind of put together over the years.  It's compact, it's neat in appearance and it is interesting in the colors, shapes and textures.

I hope this helps.
Tom