Frequently Asked Questions

The farm sits on five acres of land, with over 2 acres of daylilies.

We currently have over 800 varieties of daylily on the farm- with over 300 varieties currently available for purchase.

As of 2025, 5 Acre Farm has taken part in over 70 introductions and have hybridized thousands of daylily crosses over the years. 78 official cultivars have been registered and introduced by 5 Acre Farms. Of these 78 cultivars: 7 are Whiteside and 24 are Valente. After Dr. Whiteside of Whiteside Gardens passed away, 7 of his unfinished cultivars were completed by Kroemer and Wuersch of 5 Acre Farms and officially registered and introduced. The same happened with 24 of Valente’s daylilies. This makes up a total of 78 official introductions. Each introduction goes through dozens, sometimes hundreds of crosses before getting something good enough to register and introduce. We have new introductions to the farm waiting to be registered and brought forward for retail.

Yes! We have several Valente and Whiteside daylilies as the two of them are interconnected with the farm’s history and past. We also carry cultivars introduced by Moldavon as well as dozens of various hybridizers.

No! Daylilies are in the genus Hemerocallis and are not toxic to humans or pets. True lilies are in the genus Lilium and are known to be toxic to pets, especially cats.

Daylilies and true lilies, while both flowering plants, have distinct differences in their growth habits, foliage, and bloom times. Daylilies are in the genus Hemerocallis, and grow from fibrous or fleshy roots, forming clumps of grass-like foliage with flower stalks (scapes) emerging from the base. True lilies, in the genus Lilium, grow from bulbs, have leaves spaced along a central stem, and the flowers bloom at the top of the stem. 

Here's a more detailed comparison:

Daylilies (Hemerocallis):

• Foliage: Long, flat, strap-like leaves that arch outward from the base of the plant, forming a fan-like pattern, hence why daylilies are sold in fans.
• Stems: Flower stalks (scapes) emerge from the base, not the stem. The stem of the daylily is known as a scape. Scapes have branching and below the branching is small leaf-like structure known as a bracket. Sometimes a small plantlet (proliferation) grows at the function of a bract and the scape. Flowers grow from branching along the sides of the scape rather than on the top, like in a lillium.
• Flowers: Each flower lasts only one day, but multiple buds on each scape ensure a long blooming period.
• Roots: Fibrous or fleshy roots and rhizomes that clump.
• Bloom Time: Blooms for several weeks, with new buds opening daily.  Bloom time varies depending on a number of factors, once a cultivar comes into bloom it will last for as many days as it has buds to flower.
• Toxicity: Generally non-toxic to humans and pets. 

True Lilies (Lilium): 

• Foliage: Leaves are spaced along the central stem. 
• Stems: Single, tall stem with leaves, and flowers at the top rather than blooming along branching, like in a daylily. 
• Flowers: Individual flowers last several days, but the overall bloom time of the plant is shorter than that of daylilies. 
• Roots: Lilies grow from bulbs and do not clump.
• Bloom Time: Bloom for a shorter overall period than daylilies, but the flowers individually bloom for longer than a day and are long-lasting in bouquets and arrangements.
• Toxicity: All parts of the lily are toxic, especially to cats. 

Daylilies come in various colors; however, certain colors are genetically impossible for daylilies to produce, such as blue and pure white.

For further details read below!

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Daylily colors result from different pigments in the layers of the petals, sepals as well as within the eye zone and throat of the daylily, creating a range of color combinations. Consequently, the same daylily can sometimes have blooms that appear purple-red and other times just deep purple, in spite of being the same cultivar of daylily. The variations depend on the development of colors in their layers as they grow, causing some flowerings of the same daylily to appear different in color than previous years, generally you can expect consistency, but most daylilies have a range in how the colors can manifest per cultivar. The overlapping colors of each layer is seen through the various layers of the epidermis of the daylilies flower parts. The layers are translucent and thus the overlapping can create the appearance of colors but what we perceive as the daylily color is the combination of those layers and their overlap as oppose to the true color. 

For example, occasionally, we observe what appears to be blue in the eye of the daylily, but this is not true blue. It is the combination of colors in the layers that creates an appearance of blue due to the overlapping blends of colors among the layers. Although most of the time it is more of a purple we are seeing. Similarly, "white" daylilies often have subtle pink or yellow tones. Parts of the petal may look white, but the layers contain off-white, peach, orange, yellow, pink, and other muted colors that blend in their overlapping skin layers to create a whitish overall look. True white and true blue are genetically impossible to achieve in daylily cultivars. While their foliage can include green, and some daylilies are referred to as black, true green and true black are also not possible in daylilies outside of green appearing in the eyes or the throat due to overlapping colors and perception and black and green in some cultivars can appear on the petals and sepals, but a solid consist green or black isn't possible in a daylily. 

The flowers of a daylily hold a lot of water and are a "juicy" flower. Because of how it is structured, the sun can damage the individual flowers and flowers can change during the day as the hours progress. There are even some daylilies that are known as changers and fade to white along the edges and in various splotches as the day progresses.

We recommended that you divide your daylilies every three to five years, preferably in mid to late fall. In Illinois, where we are based, cooler temperatures make mid-September to mid-October ideal for this task. Spring divisions are possible but may prevent blooming for the present physical year, and plants must be hardy enough to survive the division, so we don’t typically recommend it. Mulch greatly benefits fall divisions and are something we do promote. You should research what is commonly done and recomended in your area. Daylilies are grown for various growing zones and when and what is best varies based on factors we cannot possibly predict. We can only recommend based on our own experiences and expertise here in Central Illinois.