Rainbow Rhythm® Ruby Spider Daylily

Dark ruby-red flowers up to 9 inches across, with spoon-shaped petals and a golden yellow throat, open on this daylily in summer. Hemerocallis Rainbow Rhythm® 'Ruby Spider' grows 34 inches tall in bloom and 18 to 24 inches wide in full sun to part sun, hardy from Zone 3 through Zone 9, and reaches full size over two to three summers. Despite the name, it is officially classed as an unusual form (spatulate) rather than a spider. It won the American Hemerocallis Society's Award of Merit in 2002 and the Lenington All-American Award in 2011, and it is a dormant tetraploid. Daylilies come from eastern Asia. Each flower lasts a single day, but the buds open in sequence along branched stems, so one plant stays in color for weeks. Thick, fleshy roots store water, which carries established plants through dry spells and lean soil. Bloom is heaviest in full sun; with four to six hours of sun they still flower, with fewer buds. Tetraploid varieties carry twice the chromosomes of diploids, which shows in heavier petals and sturdier stems. Dormant varieties die back to the ground in winter, while semi-evergreen and evergreen ones keep some foliage where winters are mild. Deer and rabbits eat the buds and young leaves. Works mid-to-back border beside fine-textured grasses or gold foliage that set off the dark red.