Frankly Scarlet Daylily

Frankly Scarlet Daylily (Hemerocallis 'Frankly Scarlet')

Frankly Scarlet Daylily brings bold scarlet-red flower color and dependable summer performance to the garden in a plant that feels both vivid and easy to use. Its saturated blooms hold their color well in heat, making it especially useful where you want a planting that stays bright and energetic through midsummer. This variety works beautifully in sunny borders, mass plantings, and practical landscape beds where strong flower power matters. Once established, it adds weeks of color with very little fuss.

Distinctive Features

Frankly Scarlet Daylily is prized for its bright scarlet-red flowers, often described as clear red with a contrasting green throat that sharpens the center of each bloom. The flowers are carried above dense blue-green to green arching foliage on upright scapes, creating a strong and tidy midsummer display. A conservative mature size is about 24 inches tall and about 18 to 24 inches wide, forming a substantial clump over time. Its clear red coloring gives it a brighter and cleaner look than many darker red daylily cultivars.

Growing Conditions

• Sun: Plant in full sun for the best flowering, though part sun is tolerated, especially in hotter regions.
• Soil: Grow in average, well-drained soil, though it adapts well to a wide range of garden soils.
• Water: Provide moderate water during establishment, then maintain average moisture, with best flowering from more consistent moisture.
• Zones: Hardy in USDA Zones 3 to 9.
• Habit: Expect a clump-forming perennial with dense arching strap-like foliage and upright flower scapes.

Ideal Uses

• Perennial Borders: Use it in sunny mixed borders where the bright scarlet flowers can add strong midsummer color.
• Focal Point: Place it in a visible section of the bed where its saturated blooms can create a vivid seasonal highlight.
• Mass Planting: Plant it in groups where repeated flowers can create a broad sweep of bright summer color.
• Slopes and Banks: Use it on sunny slopes where its clumping habit and dependable nature can cover ground attractively.
• Roadside and Tough Sites: Plant it in practical landscape settings where durability and repeat seasonal color are both important.

Low Maintenance Care

• Watering: Water regularly during establishment, then provide supplemental moisture during extended dry periods for best bloom performance.
• Deadheading: Remove spent blooms and old scapes to keep the plant tidy and improve appearance through the season.
• Division: Divide clumps every few years if needed to maintain vigor and support strong flowering.
• Cleanup: Remove worn foliage in late season or early spring to refresh the clump.
• Feeding: A light spring feeding can support healthy foliage and stronger bloom without pushing excessive soft growth.

Why Choose Frankly Scarlet Daylily?

• Clear Scarlet Color: Bright red blooms bring a vivid and highly visible look to summer plantings.
• Dense Foliage Clump: Strong foliage gives the plant a useful garden presence even when it is not in peak flower.
• Dependable Garden Performance: It adapts well to many soils and handles the everyday demands of sunny perennial plantings.
• Low Maintenance Nature: Once established, it asks for very little beyond occasional cleanup and division.
• Versatile Use: It works well in borders, groupings, slopes, and practical landscape plantings.

Frankly Scarlet Daylily is an excellent choice for gardeners who want a daylily with bright red flower color and dependable summer performance. Its clear scarlet blooms energize sunny borders and larger plantings without demanding much maintenance in return. In mixed perennial beds, mass plantings, and everyday landscape use, it delivers a vivid and hard-working summer display.