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One of the unsung heroes of my daylily beds is ‘Wayside King Royale.’ Every year for well over a decade now my little collection of plants puts on an impressive several-week display of grape-colored blooms:
This daylily cultivar is 30 years old this year (1987), and its breeder is also responsible for some of my favorite trustworthy and heavy-blooming bird-named daylilies like ‘Cedar Waxwing’, ‘Scarlet Tanager’ and ‘Ruby Throat’.
‘Wayside King Royale’ has 6-inch purple flowers with a yellow-green throat. The flowers start appearing in late June on 36-inch scapes, and the display lasts for weeks. This daylily is hardy in Zones 3-9.