Plant Patent #13,223. 'Stella d'Oro,' watch your back! 'Apricot Sparkles' is here, and its continuous June-through-October bloomtime gives just about any Daylily a run for its money! And these aren't plain yellow blooms, either, but luminous apricot beauties overlaid with a silvery sparkle best described as a "diamond dusting."
As if each petal had been showered with glitter, the blooms of this diploid hybrid sparkle and wink in bright sunlight. Up to 4 inches across and borne in great abundance -- 9 per stem is the usual count -- the flowers are exquisitely lovely on plants 18 inches high and slightly wider. This Daylily makes a splendid alternative to overused Liriope as an edging, and is stunning enough to form the centerpiece of the sunny perennial border.
'Apricot Sparkles' was bred by Dr. Darrel Apps, source of the Happily Ever Appster series of reblooming Daylilies. 'Apricot Sprinkles,' however, blooms so continuously that it can only be called an everbloomer. We visited this plant on June 5 in a New Jersey growing field and observed its plentiful color; when we returned on October 15, it was still going strong!
Like most Daylilies, 'Apricot Sparkles' is wonderfully resistant to drought, heat, and humidity, and thrives in any soil, even those of poor fertility. It can be sheared mercilessly in late fall, only to return with fresh beauty in spring. Very long-lived and as tough as nails, it is one of the few perennials that I would truly call carefree. Space plants 18 inches apart in full sun and moist, well-drained soil, and water well the first year to get them established. Hardy in zones 4-9.
