Hemerocallis Custard Candy | Creamy Rebloomer With Maroon Centers

Hemerocallis ‘Custard Candy’ is a hardy interspecific hybrid daylily that produces ruffled, creamy-yellow blooms with rich maroon centers and green throats, reblooming from midsummer into early fall in USDA zones 3 through 8.

Most daylilies bloom for a few weeks and call it a season. The Custard Candy variety keeps sending up stalks from July through September, with individual plants capable of pushing out two hundred flowers per summer. The color combination—buttery yellow petals with a deep burgundy ring and a green throat—stands out in borders and mass plantings alike. It handles cold down to -40°F, shrugs off deer and rabbits, and grows as well in city gardens as it does in open beds.

What Does Custard Candy Daylily Look Like?

The flowers are about 4.25 inches across with ruffled, trumpet-shaped petals. The base color is creamy yellow with a maroon (burgundy to plum purple) band around the center, a bright green throat, and thin gold ribbons—called picotee—along the outer edges. The plant reaches 20–24 inches tall and spreads 18–24 inches wide. The foliage stays green through the season, so the plant still looks good when it is between bloom cycles.

Hardiness and Growing Zones

Custard Candy is reliably perennial in USDA zones 3 through 8. Some growers list it as hardy from zone 3a to 9b, meaning it survives winter lows down to -40°F and handles the heat of the upper South. It is rated as highly tolerant of urban pollution, so it performs well in inner-city and roadside plantings where air quality and soil compaction are issues.

Sun, Soil, and Water Requirements

The plant needs at least 5 hours of direct sun each day to produce full bloom volume. It tolerates partial shade, but fewer hours of sun will reduce the flower count. Average garden soil with good drainage works fine—this daylily is not picky about pH or soil texture. Water needs are moderate. In containers or during heat waves, increase watering frequency to keep the soil from drying out completely.

How To Plant Custard Candy Daylily Correctly

Space plants 18–24 inches apart for a mass planting. If you want each plant to reach its full width, space them 26–30 inches apart. Dig a hole deep enough to spread the roots without crowding them, set the crown at soil level, and backfill with native soil. Water thoroughly after planting. The best window for planting is spring or early fall, giving the roots time to establish before extreme temperatures arrive.

Pruning and Deadheading for Maximum Blooms

Each individual flower lasts only one day, which is normal for all daylilies. Remove spent flowers daily to keep the plant looking tidy and to encourage the next round of buds. Once a flower stalk has finished blooming, cut it back to the base of the plant immediately. This signals the plant to produce another stalk instead of putting energy into seed pods. In late autumn, trim all remaining foliage to ground level.

Fertilizing for Continuous Rebloom

Apply a balanced liquid fertilizer once a month during the growing season. Avoid high-nitrogen formulas, which push foliage at the expense of flowers. A 5-10-10 or 10-10-10 works well. Stop fertilizing by late August so the plant can harden off before frost.

For more detail on daylily care across varieties, the Custard Candy profile at Garden Center Marketing includes sizing and bloom timing from grower trials.

Common Problems To Watch For

Fewer blooms than expected. The most likely cause is too little sun. Move the plant to a spot that gets at least 5 hours of direct light. Yellowing leaves. Check soil drainage—daylilies rot in standing water. Flowers fading fast in hot weather. Increase watering and add a 2–3 inch layer of mulch around the base to keep roots cool. Deer and rabbits rarely touch this variety, so chewed foliage points to slugs or snails in damp springs.

Is Custard Candy Daylily Invasive or Toxic?

It is not considered invasive and grows in clumps rather than spreading by runners. The plant is generally non-toxic to humans and pets, though deer and rabbits avoid it, which suggests low palatability. Do not confuse the name with an edible product—this is an ornamental perennial, not a food crop.

Custard Candy vs. Other Reblooming Daylilies

What sets Custard Candy apart from other reblooming varieties is the specific color pattern—creamy yellow with a defined maroon band and green throat—combined with its cold hardiness in zone 3. Many rebloomers are limited to zones 5 or warmer, but this one survives -40°F without protection. The heavy bloom count (up to 200 per season) comes from its interspecific hybrid genetics, which also gives it better disease resistance than older daylily cultivars.

Where To Buy and Typical Price

Custard Candy is widely available at online nurseries such as Plant Addicts, Gertens, Hirts Gardens, and Prides Corner Farms. It is also sold through Ball Seed as the Daylily 500™ Custard Candy variant. Most retailers ship a 4-inch pot, and prices typically range from $12 to $20 depending on the source and quantity. The plant is covered by a one-year guarantee at some online nurseries.

Finish With Healthy Plants and Strong Rebloom

Plant in full sun with 18–24 inch spacing, water regularly during the first growing season, and deadhead spent stalks promptly to trigger repeat blooms. Apply balanced fertilizer once a month from spring through late summer. In autumn, cut foliage to ground level and mulch the crown for winter protection in zones below 5. By following these steps, a single Custard Candy daylily will produce two hundred or more flowers per season for roughly a decade.