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missylin_gw

had to cut back daylily plants

missylin
11 years ago

I had rust which was not responding to the various things I tried, so I cut all my day lilies in the front beds down to the ground sometime in March. Most started growing back very quickly. I live in Florida and have had daylily flowers in April before. Since they were cut back, what can I expect this year. Our peak daylily season is May-June here. I have tried to find daylilies that are late season here, but the most I can hope for normally is later season rebloom. I do have one scape (I normally would have far more) but I wonder if I should even cut it off? The plants that are normally larger are growing at a decent clip but the smaller plants, or ones that have a tad more shade are growing more slowly. Alll of them are evergreen. Thank you so much.

Comments (5)

  • dementieva
    11 years ago

    If they're established plants and you didn't cut them below the ground, they should come back just fine. They might not flower as much. I think it's your judgment call whether to cut scapes -- it might be helpful on brand new plants that haven't settled in yet.

    The bad news though is that they will probably get rust again if all you did was cut them back. If you want to completely eradicate the rust, you'll probably have to use fungicides.

    Nate

  • missylin
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    I did use fungicides earlier, but the rust did not go away. Anything you recommend? All the plants were well established. Thank you so much.

  • Ed
    11 years ago

    Hi missylin,
    The rust grows inside the green foliage, and then spreads from spores on the surface of the leaves and sometimes scapes, so leaving the scapes might be a source for re-infection. Your call. If you cut off all the green foliage, then you just need to prevent any rust spores from re-infecting the plants as they grow out. You probably won't get quite as much bloom as you would have, but if you keep them watered and maybe give them a little extra dose of an organic fertilizer as they grow out. The difference should be minimal.

    Now, what to use to kill the rust spores. Not all fungicides are effective on the spores. I think I would use one of the following:
    1. Mancozeb, Maneb or Protect DF
    2. Bravo, Daconil 12787 or anything with Chlorothalonil in it
    3. Sun Spray Ultra-fine Oil, Ultra-Dawn at 1% concentration
    Using on contacts, you need to spray at least weekly for 3 weeks. Spraying every three days would be best.

    Some plants are very susceptible to rust and very hard to rid of it. If you have a particular plant that seems to be a continuous problem, maybe eliminating it from your garden would be a good idea. And don't hesitate to come on here and bad-mouth the plant. Might save someone else from having to deal with it. Good luck, Ed

  • gardenofeden777
    11 years ago

    Oh this is the first I've heard of rust on a daylily. I've never had rust before. But I only have 25 different varieties. Thank you for the info. I didn't know to be aware of dayliles that are rust susceptible. Thank you for the heads up. Wish I could help... Rena'

  • Ed
    11 years ago

    I should make a short follow-up to my earlier post.
    The most effective fungicides against daylily rust are systemic in action, but they are expensive and hard to come by in small quantities. If you use only the contact fungicides as listed in my earlier post, you must thoroughly cover the plant's leaf surface. The fungicide must come in contact with the spore to kill it. Cover the underneath side of the leaf as much as the top.
    Here's a link to the AHS rust page. I should also mention that some daylilies are very resistant to the rust while others may be susceptible. Shop carefully. The rust is only a major problem for people in hardiness zone 8 and greater, as cold winters will kill it. Ed

    Here is a link that might be useful: AHS Daylily Rust Page

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