Question
QUESTION: Hi the beginning of May I planted 4 stella dora daylillies.  The gardening center said they would do good in part shade.  They were flowering but now have stopped.  The shoots, where the flowers bloom, now brown.  We did give it fertilizer a couple of weeks ago.  The rest of the plant is nice and green but it has ceased to flower anymore.  I did find a black flat kind of bug on one of the flowers a few days ago.  Can you help?

ANSWER: Hi Elaine,
Thanx for your question.  As much as the big boys and girls in the flower industry try to convince us that Stella d'Oros are perennial bloomers, the more they are proven wrong.  There will generally be a big flush of blooms for a month or a month and a half and then...it stops.  Why?  The plant is a perennial.  It wants to set seed and often does and once it start setting seed, it stops blooming so it can concentrate all of its energy on the production of seed. Often, the plant will begin blooming again towards the fall albeit smaller, less profound blooms.  I don't think a bug has anything to do with it.  I hope this helps.  The best thing to do is, deadhead.  Remove the spent blooms and don't allow the plant to produce seeds.  This should increase flowering.  I hope this helps.
Tom

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QUESTION: Thanks for your help last year with our stella dora's.  This year, they flowered once and then when it was time for them to flower again, the buds started off green and then turned brown.  They had seeds in these little pods.  I cut them off, hope I did the right thing.  What would have caused them to turn brown at the top?  I did not fertilize them this year, should I have?  Am new to gardening, so I hope with your help I will learn what I am doing right or wrong.  Thanks

ANSWER: Hi Elaine,
Thanx for the additional information.  If I'm understanding your question correctly, the plants flowered, the bloom wilted and a resulting green pod formed.  This is the seed pod as you discovered.  Don't let it turn brown.  Cut it off as soon as the flower has wilted.  If you allow the seeds to ripen the plant will stop blooming.  So, you did the right thing.  I would just cut them off before they form too much.  The pods will turn brown as they ripen.  I would not fertilize the plants.  At the beginning of the season you can side dress with composted manure but I wouldn't do too much or all you'll get is lots of green growth and a little blooming.  Sprinkle some bone meal at the base of the plants in the spring.  I hope this helps.
Tom

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QUESTION: Hi I planted these three flowers this year.  Now that they have bloomed and it is the end of the season, what do I do with them.  Do I cut them down to the ground?  Do I leave them alone?  thanks

Answer
Hi Elaine,
Thanx for your question.  Now is a good time of year to clean up the flower beds and cut away and remove wilted or brown leaves and dead flowers, seed pods, etc.  Cut them down to about 3 inches above the ground so they appear like a small fan.  I hope this helps.
Tom