Why do daylily leaves turn yellow in May? Spring daylily disease

In today's article we will talk about proper daylily care. Very often there is a tendency that the more beautiful the plant looks, the more difficult it is to care for it, but the beautiful daylily flower is a wonderful exception to the rule. It is not picky and quite easy to care for, especially if you initially plant it in a suitable place.

Suitable place to plant daylilies

Daylilies need plenty of sunlight. If you plant a flower in shade or partial shade, then most likely it will not bloom. Therefore, when choosing a suitable place for planting, first of all pay attention to the illumination of the area.

Also, when choosing a location, you need to take into account the composition of the soil; as a rule, it is rich loam. The daylily bush should be planted on a hill, but if the garden has excellent drainage, this is not necessary. In such soil, one can expect abundant and long-lasting flowering from the plant; in all other soils, daylily flowering will be much poorer and shorter lasting.

Advice: When choosing a suitable place, you need to take into account that this plant needs a lot of space, about 1 meter in diameter.

Optimal watering

The root system of the flower goes quite deep, thanks to which it easily saturates the plant with water when it is needed. You need to water rarely, but generously, and this should be done at a time when the sun is hiding or has not yet come out; early morning or late evening are perfect for watering.

Advice: You cannot water a daylily flower with rain, when moisture gets on the leaves and flowers; it is better to direct a watering can or hose under the root of the plant, then there will be less harm to the flower from such irrigation.
Advice: If the summer turns out to be quite rainy, then the daylily does not need to be watered at all; the soil needs to be moistened only during periods of drought.

Necessary fertilizers for daylilies

The decorative quality of daylilies depends on the quantity and quality of fertilizers, so the plant needs feeding. The most important are two feedings: the first is spring, which is carried out before flowering with complex mineral fertilizers, and the second is immediately after flowering, it helps to lay the required number of buds for the next year.

Mineral fertilizers are scattered between the bushes of the plant, after which you need to water the flowers, as mentioned above, this must be done carefully so that water does not get on the flowers and petals.

Advice: Excessive amounts of fertilizer are dangerous for daylilies, therefore, if you do not know the exact proportions, then it is better to under-apply than to add too much fertilizer.

Advice: If you want to extend the flowering time of daylily, try immediately removing flowers that have bloomed, since the plant spends a lot of energy on forming seeds.

Transplanting a daylily to a new place

Daylily is not one of those plants that needs to be transplanted to a new place every 2-3 years; it can remain in the old place for quite a long time, but if the plant is mature, then you can divide the bush and plant parts of the flower as independent plants. When replanting, it is very important to pour fertilizer - peat and compost - into the dug hole, then the flower will have enough strength to bloom abundantly in the same year.

Advice: When replanting, the roots should be washed with water and carefully examined; all rotten or damaged roots should be cut off, then treated with ash and only then planted in a new hole.

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Daylily propagation methods

Propagation by seeds
Seeds are sown in late autumn or early spring, their germination rate is quite good, although flowers should not be expected earlier than after 2-3 years.

Reproduction by dividing the bush
This method can be used in the spring; a plant that is 5-6 years old is dug up and divided into several parts by hand or with a knife, after which it is treated with ash. The new plant is planted in a suitable place, after which it is watered abundantly.

Rice. Red daylily. Left - cuttings before planting, right - after rooting

Before planting, it is necessary to cut out dead, rotten parts of the roots, shorten long roots to stimulate the formation of new ones. The cut areas should be treated with a fungicide, or sprinkled with crushed coal, or fresh cuts should be dried in the sun for several hours.

Reproduction by air layering.

This method of propagation preserves all the varietal characteristics of the mother plant. At the end of the flowering season, small rosettes of leaves - aerial layering - appear on the peduncles of some varieties of daylilies from dormant buds in the leaf axil.

If you decide to use them for cuttings, then you need to let the flower stem ripen properly(stage of natural drying of the stem). The longer the rosette is on the stem, the better it will develop in the future. The resulting rosette must be separated with a piece of the stem. Leave approximately 3-4 cm of stem above and below the place where the rosette is attached. The leaves on the cuttings need to be shortened by about one third. Sometimes it happens that the rosette has not yet had time to form roots. Then place it in a container of water and wait for fat, white roots to appear. I plant the prepared cuttings next to the mother plant, but do not deepen them too much. At first I periodically spray and water regularly. I water with Kornevin several times. You can place a cut plastic bottle on top of the handle, neck up. The plug must be unscrewed for ventilation. For the winter, the cuttings must be mulched with earth or leaf humus. Such cuttings can bloom in 2-3 years.

There are other propagation methods such as: the propagation method by cutting off the central shoot, the vertical dissection method using stimulants and growth hormones. I don’t use these methods and, unfortunately, I can’t tell you anything about them. And be sure to read about the method of meristem reproduction in the article “Meristem - myths and reality.”

Many people believe that daylilies still have one and only drawback. Faded flowers remain hanging on the branches like rags, especially if it has rained. This picture really spoils the look of the flower garden. Every morning, walking around my garden, I need to clean the flower stalks. Unfortunately, there are no ideal plants and constant care is required to maintain the ideal beauty of flower beds. Although, this drawback can be looked at from the other side. What if this is dignity? After all, every day we can see new flowers, not worn out by the winds and not beaten by the rains. After flowering, flower shoots must be cut off.

If you want your daylilies to look healthy, well-groomed, and delight you with abundant blooms, give them a little of your precious time. Using these simple agricultural techniques, you will certainly achieve good results.

Methods of use.

The possibilities for using daylilies are practically unlimited.. This plant will find a worthy place for itself everywhere and will decorate any flower garden, any area, be it a very small courtyard or a large park. Daylilies can be planted in large groups or single specimens on the lawn. In this case, groups can be selected from one variety, from different varieties of the same color, or from a mixture of different colors. At the same time, the same plant will look strict, majestic or fun, mischievous.

Daylilies look good planted in small groups against the background of coniferous or deciduous trees and shrubs. Here it is important to choose the ratio of the color of the foliage of tree species and the color of daylily flowers. Yellow-flowered daylilies stand out well against a dark background; they can also be planted in the background. Dark-flowered varieties are planted only nearby. A group of only dark varieties will look gloomy. In single bushes or small groups, daylilies are planted with other perennials and annuals. This takes into account not only the decorativeness of the daylily during flowering, but also the color of its leaves and the appearance of the entire plant.

Daylilies can be used to create beautiful borders. For this purpose, dense bush varieties are selected that do not produce long layerings and are identical in bush height, excluding peduncles. A dense border is obtained from varieties whose flower stalks only slightly rise above the leaves. Low-growing varieties and species, as well as small-flowered daylilies, look good next to stones on a hill. They look very natural on the shore of a pond or along a river. But the possibilities of using daylilies are not limited to this. They can be planted in containers and included in the range of winter gardens. Daylilies also stand well when cut, with all the buds opening. But still, they are used mainly for ceremonial bouquets at celebrations, when a bouquet is needed for one evening. Dry daylily boxes are good in winter bouquets.

Daylily buds are used as food in Chinese cuisine: for stewing with meat, making soups and canning. Large buds are selected 2-3 days before they dissolve.

Partners: When planting daylilies in flower beds, one should not forget that many varieties at the end of summer lose their decorative properties, their leaves begin to turn yellow and die. Therefore, in advance you need to carefully think through compositions with other plants that will cover the fading foliage of daylilies. You can use yarrows of different shades, ornamental grasses, liatris, point loosestrife, and physostegia.

Diseases and pests of daylily.

Thrips. This insect is very small - an adult is a little more than a millimeter, and the larvae are even smaller, pale yellow in color, almost indistinguishable to the naked eye. They overwinter in the ground, in the roots, and in the spring, when the temperature rises to 10-12 degrees above zero, thrips begin their destructive activities. They climb onto the leaves of the daylily, and when the buds appear, they penetrate inside them and suck the juice from both the leaves and petals, mercilessly deforming them. With the onset of autumn, thrips leave the flowers and with the first frosts go to the roots to spend the winter. The surge in the number of this pest is always timed to coincide with hot and dry summers, when the flowering of daylilies could be most impressive.

Struggle. If a thrips infestation is detected, it is best to cut off the damaged peduncle at the root and burn it. If the leaves are also damaged, then do the same with them. In autumn and spring, treat the ground around the bush with an insecticide. Even the simplest Intavir helps, although newer drugs give better results. Naturally, do not leave plant debris in the flower beds - the remaining thrips can overwinter there.

Lily mosquito. The adult lays its eggs in the buds. The hatched larva begins to feed inside the bud, spoiling and deforming it. Visually, the bud looks crooked, underdeveloped, paler than other buds not marked by the presence of this larva. Usually a tiny number of buds on the plant are damaged.

Struggle. If they are found, the buds should be removed and burned.

Root rot. In the spring, at the beginning of the growing season, when the time comes for the rapid growth of the above-ground part of the plant, this growth stops, the leaves that have already appeared by this time turn yellow, become brittle, and when you try to lightly pull them, they are easily pulled out of the ground.

Struggle. Dig up the plant, cut out all diseased parts with a sharp knife, then wash in a pink solution of potassium permanganate KMgO4. Treat the cut areas with any fungicide and dry. Dry well for two days, then plant back in the ground, naturally, in another place. Daylilies should not be planted in their previous location for at least a year. Of course, you shouldn’t expect flowering from such a daylily in the next couple of years.

Rust daylily is a terrible fungal disease, not yet known in our country. One of its intermediate hosts (rust has a very complex, multi-stage development cycle) is patrinia, a relative of our valerian.

When writing this article I also used materials from the sites:

Daylilies have been leading the rankings of popular perennials for many years. They have undeniable advantages: they are unpretentious in cultivation and care, decorative throughout the season, bloom for a long time, and the collection of varieties and hybrids includes tens of thousands of plants with flowers of different shapes and colors.

Choosing a landing site

It is believed that daylilies can grow anywhere, because in their homeland, the Far East, they thrive in shady forest corners.

But in the temperate climate of central Russia, daylilies in partial shade will not have enough warmth for luxurious flowering, and such planting will not allow the plants to show all their potential. It is better for them to choose sunny areas protected from the wind.

It is advisable that the plants are fully illuminated for at least 5–6 hours a day. Daylilies with delicately colored flowers need light throughout the day, while varieties with rich and dark colors require midday shading to prevent fading in the heat.

The soil

The soil for daylilies should be neutral or slightly acidic. The soil for plants is prepared in advance and carefully, because daylilies will have to grow in a permanent place for a long time - 6-15 years.

The soil is dug to a depth of 30–35 cm. Compost, peat, sand are added to heavy clay soil so that the moisture does not stagnate. Sandy soils, on the contrary, are light and do not retain water and nutrients well, so they are enriched with humus and clay is added.

When groundwater is close, daylilies are planted on ridges 10–15 cm high.

How to choose quality planting material when purchasing?

Shops and garden centers offer planting daylily rhizomes. Before purchasing, you should carefully inspect the transparent plastic packaging and make sure that the root system is alive, healthy and dense. It should be taken into account that if there are few roots and they are weak and thin, then such a plant will gain strength for flowering for another 2-3 years. The rhizome should not have soft or rotten parts.

When purchasing new products, you should find out how the variety or hybrid is adapted to the local climate. Every year hundreds of new daylilies appear on the market. Most of these plants were bred in the subtropics of the USA and it may happen that in the middle Russian latitudes their acclimatization will be difficult, so experts often advise flower growers not to forget about old, reliable and proven varieties.

Landing

An important point in growing daylilies is planting them in the ground. It is carried out in the spring in May or early September. Spring planting is preferable; such plants take root better.

If a seedling is purchased late in autumn or winter, then until planting, a healthy rhizome can be stored for several months without loss. Plants are placed until the buds awaken in a cool place with a temperature of 4-8°C.

Before planting, dead and rotten parts of the roots are removed and treated with a solution of any fungicide for disinfection. If the planting material has been stored for a long time and the roots have dried out, then it is soaked for several hours in a solution of humate or root. Healthy roots will quickly come to life with this treatment; dried parts will also be visible - they are cut off.

The diameter of the planting holes should be larger than the root system. The distance between them, depending on the degree of growth of the bushes, is 0.5–1 m.

A nutrient mixture of compost, garden soil, and peat is added to the prepared holes. Additionally, you can add mineral fertilizers and ash. The day before planting, it is advisable to water the soil so that the soil settles a little.

In the center of the planting hole, a small hill is formed on which the root collar is placed. It should not be deepened too much; this will have a bad effect on flowering. The depth of the root collar should not be more than 2.5–3 cm. The roots are freely distributed around the hole. The rhizome is carefully covered with earth, compacting the soil around the seedling and watered. In the first days after planting, the roots continue to be watered regularly.

Care

Watering

Moisture is especially important for plants in the spring, when flower stalks are formed, and in the summer during flowering. Regular deep watering is preferable to frequent and shallow watering. Depending on weather conditions, plants are watered once every 7–14 days. This watering regime is enough for the roots to accumulate moisture. Water in the morning or evening, being careful not to get water on the delicate petals of the flowers. After watering, the plants are weeded and loosened.

Top dressing

If young daylilies are planted in fertile soil, then they do not require additional feeding in the first year. Due to excess nitrogen fertilizers, the plant will grow green leaves at the expense of flowering.

Fertilizers are applied in phases: at the beginning of spring growth, in the summer before flowering and in early autumn. In summer and autumn, fertilizing should contain potassium and phosphorus, important nutrients necessary for the formation of future flowers in all peduncles.

Daylilies are very fond of liquid fertilizing with organomineral fertilizers. Dry mineral fertilizers are scattered around the bushes, then incorporated into the soil and watered. The dosage depends on the age of the daylily and the type of soil.

Particular attention should be paid to old overgrown bushes, the soil around which is depleted by flowering.

In old, overgrown bushes, the root collar becomes exposed over time, so every year a 2-3 cm layer of humus is added around the base.

Mulching around bushes is beneficial for plants. This improves the composition of the soil, protects against overheating, and protects from frost and weeds. Dry peat, compost, and crushed pine bark are used as mulch. Do not use fresh sawdust. To prevent wood mulch from becoming a haven for slugs, pest control granules or superphosphate are scattered around the plantings.

Transfer

In one place, daylilies can grow for a long time, up to 15–20 years. During this time, the bush grows, ages, and the flowers become smaller. This is noticeable after 7–8 years. Therefore, plants need to be rejuvenated every 5–6 years. Daylilies can be replanted throughout the season, but it is preferable to do this at the beginning of spring leaf growth - in April-May or in August-September with the onset of the dormant period. When transplanting in spring, rooting will be faster and more successful.

How to cover flowers for the winter?

Daylilies tolerate wintering well in central Russia. For most, natural snow cover is sufficient. But to ensure planting reliability, heat-loving daylilies are mulched in the fall with a layer of 2–3 cm or covered with spruce branches. Also, bushes can be covered with earth up to 15–20 cm in height. First, the entire dry above-ground part is cut off. Shelter is especially important in the first year for young autumn plantings.

With the arrival of spring, the shelter is removed and the mulch is raked away from the base of the bushes so that it does not interfere with the growth of new shoots.

Reproduction

Daylilies are propagated by dividing the bush, seeds, and stem cuttings.

Dividing the bush

This is the most common method in which the plant retains all its parental characteristics. Several methods of dividing daylilies are used: with digging up the bushes or without removing it from the ground.

The bush is dug up completely along with the roots. The rhizome is washed with water. It’s so easy to get rid of pests, all parts are clearly visible and it’s convenient to divide the plant. Then the peduncle and leaves are removed, leaving shoots 10–15 cm high. The old bushes are dried, then the plant is cut into pieces so that each has a part of the root collar with a bud. In order for the divisions to produce more decorative greenery, 3–5 shoots are left on them.

It is problematic to divide heavily overgrown bushes. In such plants, young roots grow along the edges of the bushes, and these parts will quickly take root after division. Divisions from the middle of the bush without young roots need time to grow, because these parts are more susceptible to injury. There are more dead and long roots that need to be trimmed. Delenki from the middle of the bush are planted in a temporary bed, and after 1-2 years - in a permanent place.

At the end of summer, young rosettes can be separated from loose daylily bushes without resorting to digging up the mother bush. To do this, choose two or three year old bushes with their own roots.

Without digging in the spring, you can divide not very growing varieties of daylilies. Using a sharp shovel, cut the bush from a vertical position along the marked lines, then trim it from below and remove the sections from the ground. This method requires experience and skill. The cut areas on the roots are sprinkled with wood ash.

Propagation by seeds

This method of propagation is more often used by breeders to obtain new varieties and hybrids. Daylily seeds do not last long. Planting is carried out before winter with freshly collected seeds or in the spring of the next year. Daylily seeds need cold stratification. During winter sowing, this procedure will take place naturally in the soil. In spring, the seeds are preliminarily kept at low temperatures of 2–3°C for a month. They are planted to a depth of 2–3 cm. Flowering of daylilies grown from seeds begins at 2–3 years.

Propagation by stem cuttings

In some varieties that bloom in August, 1–3 new bushes are formed in the axils of the peduncles. When they grow, they will have several pairs of leaves and root tubercles. After the peduncle has dried, the rosettes are carefully separated from the mother bush. You can cut the cuttings with a piece of stem 3–5 cm long. The leaves on the rosettes are shortened by a third, then the cuttings are planted in a nutrient substrate for rooting. At first, make sure that the soil does not dry out, periodically spray it, and shade the plants.

Diseases and pests

Daylilies are lucky, they are in good health, resistant to disease and are rarely affected by pests.

Of the diseases, the main danger for daylilies is. Its causative agents can be bacteria or fungi, and the cause is waterlogging of the soil.

Signs of the disease are slow growth and yellowing of leaves. They become flaccid, sticky, and easily come off the base. Urgent measures are taken immediately at the first symptoms of the disease. The plant is completely dug up. The roots are washed in a solution of potassium permanganate, all affected parts are cut out with a sharp knife, and then the sections are sprinkled with fungicide.

Pests before flowering cause problems daylily mosquito. It reproduces by laying eggs in flower buds. Damaged buds do not grow and become deformed. They are cut off and destroyed.

Overwintering in the soil cutworm caterpillars in early spring they can damage and destroy young shoots and buds of the plant. Pests are destroyed by weeding the rows and treating daylilies with insecticides. The use of poisoned baits is also effective.

In any garden you can find a small corner for daylilies. This is a grateful plant. With minimal care, it will delight its owners with beautiful flowering. Daylilies are good not only in flower beds, in borders or on, in bouquets they look no less festive and luxurious!

You can learn the advice of experienced gardeners on growing daylilies by watching the video.

There is probably not a single gardener who does not know about daylilies. They can be seen both in grandmother’s front gardens and in modern gardens. They say about it: “the flower of an intelligent lazy person,” “planted and forgotten.” Flower growers tell each other myths that if daylilies are fed, they will not bloom. This is all wrong!

The original appearance of the daylily has changed beyond recognition. Modern hybrids require more careful attention, but they will not cause great difficulties. In a short growing season, they should grow green mass, form flower stalks, bloom with gorgeous flowers and set seeds (if pollination has taken place). And our winters! This is a huge stress for hybrid varieties.

The fact is that most modern hybrids come from the southern states of America. In a word, these overseas sissies simply need our help so that they can fully reveal all their gardening qualities in the difficult conditions of Central Russia. With just six right steps, you can grow this beautiful perennial in your gardens without much effort.

Step 1 - choosing a landing site

Some gardeners claim that daylilies will grow well in partial shade and even shade. Of course, such a place is suitable for species of daylilies, which naturally grow on forest edges and among shrubs. But if we are talking about modern hybrids, then in our climate only in the sun will they be able to fully demonstrate all their garden qualities. Hybrid daylilies should receive sunbathing for at least 6 hours a day. However, it should be remembered that when planted in the sun, dark-colored varieties and varieties with dark, almost black eyes burn and acquire a characteristic shine of the petals. Almost white varieties are best planted in full sun. In this case, the barely noticeable shades of pink, yellow, and melon color present in the color of such varieties fade in the sun, and the daylily becomes almost white.

Step 2 - landing

Daylilies prefer neutral or slightly acidic soil with a pH of 5-7. On strongly acidic and alkaline soils they will be suppressed.

The best time for planting new daylilies and dividing old bushes is spring, as well as the end of August - beginning of September. At later dates, there is a possibility of the plant dying in winter, because It takes about a month for daylilies to take root. When planting in autumn, you can play it safe and make a hillock with earth or leaf humus, pouring a mound 10-15 cm high on the base of the plant. In the spring, remove the hillock. It is better not to use peat and sand.

If the need arises, daylilies, even flowering bushes, can be replanted throughout the summer season. After transplanting, it is better to shade the plant.

If you have nutritious garden soil on your site, then to plant a daylily it is enough to dig a hole large enough for the roots of the plant to fit freely in it. On heavy soils, make a planting hole twice as large as the root system and fill it with pre-prepared soil. To improve the mechanical composition of heavy loams, they need to be mixed with high-moor neutral peat and sand in a ratio of 3:2:1. Add leaf humus and compost.

At the bottom of the planting hole we form a mound and place the daylily on it, carefully straightening the roots in different directions. We begin to fill the soil with soil, squeezing the roots on all sides with our hands, but do not fill the entire hole at once. We spill water, add soil, and compact the soil again. When planting on heavy soils, we deepen the root collar by about 2-3 cm. On sandy soils, the planting depth can be 4-5 cm. You need to add a couple of handfuls of ash to the planting hole. As you know, ash contains important macroelements such as phosphorus and potassium, which are necessary for plants to grow their root systems.

The distance between plants when planting is 60-70 cm. For low-growing border varieties, this distance can be reduced to 30-40 cm. While the clumps of daylilies grow, the free spaces between them can be occupied by annuals or perennials, which can then be easily removed.

In the first year, it is recommended to remove flower stalks from daylilies so that the plants take root faster. However, removing a peduncle completely can provoke the appearance of a new one. On my daylilies I leave a peduncle with 2-3 buds and pluck out the rest. The plant fulfills the “flowering-reproduction” program inherent in it and does not lose much strength.

If the planting material has been stored for a long time, and the roots have dried out and shriveled, then soak them in water for several hours before planting. As soon as the roots swell and are saturated with life-giving moisture, you can begin planting.

Step 3 - watering

Mature daylily bushes have a high degree of drought resistance due to their powerful, deep and branched root system. Its fleshy, thickened roots are able to accumulate a sufficient supply of water. Daylilies need to be watered as needed, depending on weather conditions and the composition of the soil in your garden. Mulching the plantings will retain moisture and reduce the frequency of watering.

During the period of budding and flowering, the need of daylilies for water increases greatly. Do not allow the soil to dry out completely. Sharp fluctuations in soil moisture can often lead to drying out of some of the buds on the peduncle. That is why, during the period of budding and flowering, uniform watering for daylilies is more important than ever.

Daylilies, like other perennials, do not like shallow watering. It is better to water less often, but correctly, saturating the soil with moisture to a depth of 20-30 cm. It is best to water daylilies early in the morning or in the evening. Do not water during the midday heat. The optimal temperature for watering is +20+25 o C. When watering with cold water, the roots of plants experience shock.

Each gardener decides for himself which way to water daylilies - “at the root” or using the “sprinkling” method. There is an opinion that drops of water falling on a daylily flower during rain or watering cause damage and the formation of discolored spots on the petals. In my garden, I sprinkle water my daylilies throughout the night, finishing early in the morning. The soil is evenly wetted, and by the time the flower opens, all the petals have time to dry. There are no spots or damage on high-quality varieties, and if a variety is prone to stains, then this is a drawback of the specific variety, and not the method of watering.

Step 4 - feeding

There are no uniform recommendations regarding feeding daylilies. Mature bushes and freshly planted cuttings need different amounts of nutrients. The mechanical composition of the soil should also be taken into account. Improved loam holds nutrients better, and on sandy soils they are quickly washed out, especially in rainy summers.

For normal growth and development, daylilies need balanced nutrition, which is provided by macro- and microelements. To fertilize daylilies, you can use both organic (mullein, horse manure, herbal infusions) and mineral fertilizers. Each gardener decides for himself what suits him best. You can use long-acting complex mineral fertilizers, which will provide the plant with nutrition throughout the entire growing season, as well as water-soluble complex fertilizers with microelements in chelated form. The latter are quickly absorbed by plants during root feeding, and leaf spraying (foliar feeding) gives results within 3 hours. But, unfortunately, the effect of water-soluble fertilizers does not last long, up to two weeks. Root feeding can be alternated with leaf feeding.

To use fertilizers correctly, it is necessary to understand the effect macro- and microelements have on plants. The three main nutrients are nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. The plant needs them in the first place, since they are consumed in large quantities for growth and life.

An important rule: before feeding plants with liquid and granular fertilizers, they must be watered well. In dry form, the fertilizer should be scattered between the bushes, then embedded in the soil and again shed generously. You need to sprinkle the fertilizer very carefully so that the granules do not fall into the center of the leaf rosette.

To feed daylilies, you can use the standard scheme:

1st feeding - spring, active growth.
This is done when the soil warms up to +6+8 degrees Celsius, at the end of April - beginning of May. Everything depends on weather conditions. Usually, the leaves of daylilies at this time have already grown to a height of 10-15 cm. We use a complex fertilizer containing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, as well as microelements. Nitrogen will give a good start to growth, and phosphorus and potassium will promote the development of the root system.

2nd feeding - budding period.
To obtain better flowers during this period, you can use fertilizers with less nitrogen, with a shift towards potassium. Also during this period, daylilies need trace elements such as calcium (CaO) and magnesium (MgO).

3 feeding - end of August - beginning of September.
At this time, daylilies enter a short period of rest. It is necessary to fertilize with phosphorus-potassium fertilizers, which stimulate the formation of flower buds for flowering next year, and also increase the resistance of plants to unfavorable winter conditions. You can use an autumn complex fertilizer with a low nitrogen content and a high percentage of phosphorus and potassium. Ash is perfect for autumn feeding. It does not contain nitrogen, but contains about 30 macro- and microelements. Now phosphorus is needed more than ever by those daylilies that were divided. It promotes the formation of the root system and accelerates the survival of plants.

In rainy summers, when nutrients are washed out of the soil especially quickly, you can do foliar feeding - spraying on the leaf. After all, as you know, liquid foliar feeding is several times more effective than root feeding. Foliar feeding can be done only in the morning or evening. For these purposes, you can use a concentrated liquid humatized fertilizer with macro- and microelements, as well as a complex water-soluble fertilizer. You can use infusions of chicken manure, mullein, nettle, horsetail or any fermented herb. It is necessary to spray from the reverse side of the leaf, where the largest number of stomata are located on the leaves, with the help of which plants absorb nutrients.

When caring for daylilies, you can use standard feeding schemes or observe the daylilies, and at the first sign of a lack of any nutrients, provide them with first aid.

How can you tell which nutrients your daylilies are lacking?

If the leaves become smaller, lose their intense green color, growth slows down and the bush blooms poorly - this indicates a lack of nitrogen. If there is a lack of potassium in the soil, the edges of the leaves turn brown. Old leaves turn yellow and die.

Freshly planted daylilies can be fertilized only 7-10 days after planting. If you have fresh, nutritious soil, you don’t need to feed daylilies in the first year.

Whatever methods of feeding daylilies you prefer, always remember that you need to use fertilizers wisely. The most correct decision is to conduct a soil analysis on the site, but usually few people do this. It is better to underfeed daylilies than to overfeed them. Increasing green mass can be detrimental to flowering.

Step 5 - mulching

The use of mulch in flower beds has recently become increasingly popular. It suppresses the growth of weeds, prevents overheating of the soil and plant roots, and reduces the evaporation of moisture from the soil surface. Typically, mulch from pine and larch bark of the middle fraction is used. The latter is more durable. A 60 liter bag is enough to fill 1 square meter. m of flower bed in a layer 5-6 cm thick. If you use mulch in your flower beds, then when feeding daylilies with granular fertilizers, you need to move it away from the bush and make sure that the granules get deep into the soil and not onto the mulch. It is also necessary to remember that as mulch decomposes, it absorbs nutrients from the soil, especially nitrogen. Therefore, when feeding mulched plantings, the amount of nitrogen must be increased. During the season, grass clippings can be used as mulch. It quickly overheats and saturates the soil with nutrients. There is one drawback - the process of overheating the grass occurs quite quickly and it is necessary to frequently renew the mulching layer. There is also a possibility of introducing a large number of weed seeds into the flower garden if flowering plants have been mowed down.

Step 6 - pruning, preparing for winter

Beginner daylily growers are very concerned about the question: when is it better to prune daylilies so that they overwinter well? In autumn or spring? Based on my personal experience, I can say that the timing of pruning in no way affects the quality of wintering daylilies. You can do this at any time. If you decide to prune daylilies in the fall, the most important thing is not to prune too short and too early, otherwise the daylilies will begin to grow again, which is undesirable due to the approaching winter. Usually in October, when the first frosts arrive, daylily leaves are cut to a height of 10-15 cm from ground level. If pruning has been postponed until spring, then as soon as all the snow has melted, you need to quickly remove the soggy and dried leaves. The process of rotting on the leaves can spread to the root collar of the daylily.

Another question that haunts daylily lovers: what types of daylilies overwinter best? Daylilies of all types winter well in our climate if there is sufficient snow cover. There is no need to carry out any special measures to prepare for winter (protection and shelter) of adult bushes, except for the hilling of new autumn plantings in the first winter. The most important thing is that there are no prolonged thaws in the middle of winter, and that there is enough snow during severe frosts. Dormant varieties sleep during the winter, and evergreen varieties wake up during the thaw period and can begin to grow. In the absence of snow, subsequent frosts can destroy the awakened buds. But it's not all that scary. Usually in the spring, new, replacement buds appear on the root collar, and the daylily successfully grows and even blooms. True, there are also unpleasant situations when the root collar completely rots. Fortunately, this happens quite rarely. Despite all the vicissitudes of our climate, you should not give up growing evergreen daylilies, because among them there are real masterpieces.

In conclusion, I want to say that daylilies will not die without your care. They will grow and even bloom. But if you want modern hybrids to look healthy, well-groomed and delight with abundant flowering, give them a little of your precious time. Believe me, they are worth it.

In this article on daylily diseases, I will share my experience and information collected on this topic from various sources.

In my passion for daylilies, it all started like in a fairy tale: they lived happily ever after, until... This “until” happened about seven years ago, and the reason for this was several prevailing factors: the number of varieties exceeded a certain permissible weight, improper composting of foliage cut for the winter daylilies with the subsequent use of compost on plantings of the same plants, as well as optimal weather conditions for the development of diseases. That summer it rained all spring and early summer, and in July it became hot. The air was saturated with moisture, the ground was overflowing with water, the temperature was above 25°C, and the sun was blazing mercilessly. As a result, within a few days, almost all the daylily bushes were affected by a disease unknown to me: the ends of the leaves dried out, dark and yellow spots, stripes, specks appeared, and yellow dusty formations appeared on the underside of the leaves. The disease developed rapidly, and while I was thinking, only the young inner leaves remained intact. I had to urgently tear off the foliage, leaving 2 - 3 young leaves per fan. Then the spraying began. This ended my quiet life, and the study of daylily diseases and methods of treating them began.

Spring sickness.

The first disease I would like to talk about is spring disease. It appears shortly after the beginning of the growing season. Just yesterday, beautifully growing fans begin to bend, grow in different directions, and lag behind in growth. Brown, torn edges and holes appear on the leaves. The central leaves begin to wither and rot at the base. In the process of development, fans can straighten out and reach a normal size or remain underdeveloped and die. Since not all fans in a bush are affected, but one or two or three, the plant itself survives.

The reason for this phenomenon is still unknown. The previously held belief that this is a result of temperature fluctuations after sprouting has not been confirmed, but that the onset of the disease occurs before leaves appear above ground. Presumably, this may be the fungus Aureobasidium microstictum, which causes streaking, although this too has no evidence yet.

From my observations, I am inclined to this last assumption, because... Before the disease described at the very beginning appeared in my garden, I was not familiar with the spring disease of daylilies for 20 years, although temperature changes at the beginning of the growing season near St. Petersburg are quite significant.

But the next year, after extensive damage to the bushes by a disease called streak rust, many fans demonstrated the spring disease in all its glory. As my knowledge about streaking and how to combat it increased and, accordingly, the disease subsided, the number of plants affected in the spring also decreased significantly.

There are no instructions on what to do with such fans. I remove any misshapen leaves and pluck the affected fan center down to healthy tissue. In 50% of cases, plants quickly recover without signs of disease. In other cases, I repeat the procedure one or two more times. I did not observe any death of fans; flower stalks were soon released, strong and ready to bloom. I draw your attention to the fact that this is only my personal experience, not confirmed by other flower growers. You can try this method or wait for the plant to recover naturally.

Chlorosis.
Chlorosis is a plant disease that results in a pale yellow color.
foliage due to lack of chlorophyll. With chlorosis, the assimilation process is very weak and the plant often dies. The yellow color may cover entire leaves or undefined areas on still green leaves. When only the space between the veins becomes pale, but the veins themselves remain green, this phenomenon is called interveinal chlorosis. Chlorosis indicates that something is going wrong with the daylily's development, although a few old, yellowed leaves are the result of normal aging. To correctly determine the diagnosis, it is necessary to consider not only the distribution of affected leaves on the plant: young leaves, old leaves, all leaves, but also the nature of the yellow pattern on specific leaves.

In nature, chlorosis is more often observed on soils rich in lime, poor in iron and having an alkaline reaction (at pH = 8 or more, iron passes into a form inaccessible to the roots). Less commonly, it is caused by other reasons that interfere with the normal intake and movement of mineral salts.
Possible causes of non-infectious chlorosis are an increase in lime content in the soil, imbalance of nutrition in the root-forming layer, excess moisture in the soil or vice versa, severe drought, low soil temperature, problems with roots, overfertility, insects, toxic effects of harmful substances (herbicides). If there is an excess of moisture in the area where the roots are located, soil aeration is disrupted, oxygen starvation occurs, and substances harmful to the roots accumulate in the soil. It is not recommended to add unrotted manure and fertilizers that give an alkaline reaction, as well as superphosphate in high doses, into soils that provoke chlorosis.

Chlorosis also occurs with some infectious diseases, when colorless areas appear on the leaves on a green background.

Treatment of chlorosis requires understanding the causes that caused it. Sometimes a slight acidification of the soil or the addition of iron preparations, removal of excess moisture from the roots, destruction of sap-sucking or root-gnawing pests is sufficient; in other cases, treatment of infectious diseases is necessary.

In my practice, I have encountered manifestations of chlorosis several times. Early spring digging of bushes with injury to the roots, transplantation into heavy, water-saturated soil, especially if manure was added to it the previous year, led to chlorosis of individual fans.

This spring (2013) the amount of precipitation in our areas significantly exceeded the norm. As a result, there were two more floods besides the main one, caused by melting snow, and as a result, light foliage on most daylily bushes, plus interveinal chlorosis on young plantings. When the soil dried out, the color of the plants' foliage was restored, and interveinal chlorosis disappeared after watering the plants with sorrel infusion. However, a couple of bushes still had to be transplanted to a drier place after the disease progressed from interveinal chlorosis to severe chlorosis with complete yellowing of the leaves, loss of buds and almost death of individual leaves. In the new location, the plants recovered by autumn, and around the problematic flower bed the main soil level was raised in order to prevent the accumulation of water after heavy rains and melting snow.

Quite recently, I encountered the manifestation of chlorosis on individual daylily leaves after preventative spraying with a copper-containing preparation against various spots. Chlorosis appeared gradually, first, individual leaves turned yellow, then the tissues of some leaves turned white, and they died. Spraying was carried out throughout the garden, but only those plants that were exposed to the sun's rays early in the morning before the dew dried were affected. As the disease progressed, it was necessary to wash the foliage from the barely noticeable bluish film on daylilies that were exposed to the sun's rays in the early morning.

In early spring, chlorosis on evergreen daylilies (DOR daylilies usually do not suffer from this) can be easily cured by spraying the foliage with Ferovit, which contains an iron and nitrogen chelate.

Crown and root rots.
The next serious disease of daylilies is root collar and root rot. The disease appears in early spring and during the rainy season. The main causes of the disease are: waterlogging of the soil, deep planting, overfeeding, stressful situations (transplantation, low temperatures, freezing and thawing...).

Root and root collar rot is caused by fungal microorganisms such as Fusarium, Phytophtora, Sclerotium, Rhizochonia, Rythium, as well as soft rot caused by the bacterium Erwinia. When the disease occurs, young foliage lags behind in growth, becomes yellow in color, is easily removed from the center of the fan, and the root collar and other tissues soften. The plant often dies. Bacterial soft rot is accompanied by an unpleasant putrid odor.

Fungal pathogens invade intact plant tissue; bacteria can only infect plants through wounds from gardening tools, pests, frostbite and other diseases.

Recently, another root rot was discovered, caused by agaric fungi from the genus Almillaria, known to us as various honey mushrooms. Fungal mycelia were found in the roots, and the root collar showed necrotic areas with a fan-shaped white fungal growth growing inside. Disease symptoms were similar to drought stress and included low growth and yellowing of leaves.

No means have been found to combat Armillaria root rot (honeycomb rot). For other types of rot, it is recommended to dig up the diseased daylily bush, cut out the damaged parts to healthy tissue, rinse with a solution of potassium permanganate, dry well and replant in a new place. Disinfect the old planting site. The cut areas should be treated with fungicides, for example, Fundazol, Maxim, HOM (copper oxychloride), dry Fitosporin powder... or crushed coal; for bacterial infection - Gamair.

In my practice, I do not always dig up bushes with damaged root collars, especially if this is a consequence of freezing. I simply free the problem area from the soil, clean it and sprinkle it thickly with crushed coal. But when planting newly acquired fans or when replanting with injury to the root collar, I made it a rule, if possible, to keep the roots in a solution of Fitosporin paste and sprinkle the wounded parts with charcoal when planting.

Streak, striped leaves (Leaf streak).
My favorite disease at the moment is streak. As I already described at the beginning, in suitable conditions the disease develops very quickly, and daylily bushes turn from handsome ones into sloppy, dirty ones.

Streak on daylily is a fungal
a disease affecting foliage. Its causative agent, Aureobasidium microstictum, infects the plant when foliage tissue is damaged, for example, by pests. Affected leaves first develop dark green, watery spots that subsequently turn brown, forming stripes along the midline and scattered red-brown spots. The stripes are usually located at the end of the sheet. Severely affected leaves turn yellow and eventually die. On old dying leaves, structures (sclerotia) appear that survive the winter, and in the spring, during wet periods, with drops of water, the infection from them spreads to healthy leaves. Infection may continue throughout the summer in warm, humid weather. Spores are transferred from affected leaves to healthy ones with splashes of water or mechanical friction of leaves, as well as from tools and clothing of people walking between bushes in wet weather. At temperatures above 33°C, the streak does not develop. Daylily varieties vary in their susceptibility to this disease.

To slow down the spread of the disease, it is necessary to minimize the ingress of moisture onto the leaves and eliminate thickening, because Poorly drying plantings suffer more from streaking. Diseased leaves are removed, and at the end of the growing season, all foliage must be removed and destroyed. Foliage is also sprayed with various fungicides to reduce the spread of the disease. From my experience, I know that composting leaves and then spreading this compost under daylilies leads to an outbreak of disease. Of the fungicides for spraying, I used Alirin followed by treatment with Topaz, because Some external manifestations of the disease are similar to rust.

To distinguish the streak of daylilies from the true one
rust (Rust), you need to run your finger along the underside of the affected sheet. Rust spores leave an orange powdery residue on the skin.

A very good preventive effect is achieved by watering from a watering can in the spring and a couple more times during the summer, as well as spraying the foliage with a solution of Fitosporin paste. I water the foliage and the ground around the bushes generously. As a result, during this fairly wet summer, there was no spraying with fungicides, but only a slight removal of the affected foliage and, as I mentioned earlier, the manifestation of the spring disease was significantly reduced. I would like to draw your attention to the fact that sometimes with such watering, perhaps due to the excess concentration of the solution, young leaves rotted and were easily removed from the center of the fan, but this phenomenon never had any unpleasant consequences. The fan recovered very quickly, the new leaves were healthy.

Rust (Rust, Daylily Rust).
Recently, increasing attention has been
There is a relatively new disease - daylily rust. Daylily rust is caused by the fungus Puccinia hemerocallidis (the natural habitat of this fungus is South Asia, the Russian Far East). It affects foliage and flower stalks. Under natural conditions, the main method of infection is the transfer of spores by wind. For us, rust - Rust - is still a rather exotic disease, but due to the expanding supply of new varieties from America, isolated cases of infection are already known. Externally, rust on daylily leaves is similar to many rust-like diseases. It may not appear for a long time. Researchers from Ontario, Canada, conducted experiments to determine how long spores can survive and what conditions are most favorable for them. From their experiments it followed that at a temperature of 20°C, more than half of the spores studied could infect new leaves even after 34 days. At temperatures below 4°C, no new rust infections occurred, but the same segments of infected tissue, when moved to conditions with a temperature of 20°C, again infected healthy leaves. Pustules appeared on them within 7 days. High and low temperatures inhibit the spores, but they remain alive. The optimal conditions for the development of rust are considered to be temperatures of 22°C - 24°C, high humidity (at least 5-6 hours of continuous leaf wetness is required for spore germination) and cloudy weather. High light intensity inhibits spore germination; at temperatures below 4°C and above 36°C, summer spores do not germinate. However, Japanese researchers consider the optimal temperature to be 24°C - 28°C with a humidity of 85%.

Experiments were conducted in Japan to determine the winter survival of rust. Severely infested deciduous (Dormant) plants were used. Two groups of daylilies were planted in containers with vermiculite. One group had naturally dead, infected foliage removed, the other did not. The first group overwintered in laboratory conditions, the second - in a natural environment. In both groups, the new plants in the spring were healthy. This suggests that summer spores located on dead foliage after wintering do not infect root collars and growth buds. For re-infection of deciduous daylilies, an intermediate host, Patrinia, is required. Evergreen daylilies keep their foliage tissue alive, and they can retain rust.

In climates with mild winters, the yellow-orange powder of summer spores from pustules on leaves can cause repeated cycles of infection year-round. Spores are similar to plant seeds and require moisture and appropriate temperatures to germinate. Rust spores can be carried many kilometers through the air. Rust can also overwinter as mycelium in living leaf tissue in mild climates, in greenhouses, under deep snow cover, under the protection of winter mulch, or against the warm walls of a house.

Another form of overwintering is winter spores (teliospores).
These dark-colored spores appear late in the season as temperatures drop and daylight hours shorten. The spots and stripes with teliospores on daylily leaves are dark, in contrast to the orange summer spores. Winter spores are persistent and overwinter in a dormant state on dead daylily leaves. They germinate in the spring, but cannot infect daylilies. These new spores must migrate to an intermediate host - Patrinia from the Valerian family. Patrinia is a perennial plant of Asian origin. After completing its life cycle on the intermediate host, the rust returns to daylilies.

The infection can be introduced into the garden when purchasing new daylilies, since external signs may appear only after several weeks or even months. To prevent the spread of the disease in the garden, it is better to plant newly acquired plants in isolation for one season. If there are doubts about the purity of the purchased material, it is recommended to remove the outer layer of leaves up to the root collar and cut off the remaining ones at a height of 2.5 -5 cm above the root collar, and also treat the daylilies with a fungicide. The presence of rust should be checked from the underside of the sheet. An early sign of the disease, before pustules develop, are yellow spots. Rust pustules protrude from the leaf tissue. A yellow-orange powder of spores appears on the leaf as it begins to break down.

Rust is controlled with fungicides. It is necessary to alternate systemic fungicides with contact or protective ones, but one application of fungicides without removing infected foliage will be ineffective. It is recommended to cut off all leaves from infected plants just above the soil level, as well as any apparently healthy leaves nearby. If the disease recurs, it is not worth removing all the foliage; it is better to limit yourself to the continued removal of infected leaves as they appear. Humidity promotes the development of rust, so overhead watering should be avoided or timed to coincide with a time when the foliage dries out quickly.

Rust usually does not kill the plant, although it can destroy all the foliage. Infected leaves should not be composted; it is better to burn them or bury them in the ground. There is also no need to leave foliage on daylily bushes during the winter.

I have not yet had to deal with rust and I hope that in our cold climate this disease will not last more than one season. As a preventative measure, I always “sand”, as described above, all fans received from abroad, soak them for a while in Fundazol, and then before planting in a solution of Fitosporin. If any suspicious yellow spots appear, I remove the suspicious leaves and spray with Topaz. For the winter, I cut off all the foliage and, if possible, immediately burn it. I assume that these measures will not be enough if the disease appears, and there is also no certainty that our anti-rust drug Topaz will be effective against daylily rust.

Viral diseases.
Viral plant diseases can manifest themselves in various symptoms: visible and invisible. Possible plant growth retardation, curvature, spots, mosaics, streaks and stripes, specks on foliage, various yellowing. Many of these symptoms are similar to other diseases, and an accurate diagnosis can only be made after laboratory tests.

Currently, two viruses have been identified that infect daylilies. In the USA, Michigan, the tobacco ringspot virus - Tobacco Ringspot Virus (TRSV), and in Brazil - the tomato daylily mosaic virus Tomato Mosaic (ToMV).

In studies of infected and apparently healthy plants from the same batch for the presence of tobacco ringspot virus, carried out in the Netherlands by the Plant Protection Service, it was concluded that the presence of this virus is always accompanied by visual symptoms (photos of daylilies affected by the TRSV virus - http://www. daylilies.org/ahs_dictionary/virus.html)

Viruses can be transmitted mechanically when dividing a bush, through tools and people's hands. It is not recommended to touch wet, infected leaves; it is advised to wash your hands with soap and water more often after contact. Sucking insects: aphids, thrips, mites - are also carriers of infection. Mosaic viruses are transmitted through pollen and infected seeds (this has not yet been precisely established for daylilies).

A diseased plant cannot be cured and always remains a virus carrier, so it is recommended to destroy it. When buying plants with foliage, you should not buy daylilies that have an abnormal appearance.

In conclusion, I would like to add that very often on the foliage of daylilies there is a mixed picture of the above listed signs, caused by several diseases, including those not described in this article, and also veiled by the effects of sucking insects, burns from pesticides or the sun, etc., which makes diagnosis difficult.

Like any other diseases, daylily diseases are easier to prevent than to cure. To do this, you need to follow the simplest rules of agricultural technology: destruction of weeds, old and diseased foliage, free planting of bushes, pest control, periodic disinfection of equipment, destruction of bushes with suspected viral diseases, pre-planting treatment of purchased material. You should also not overfeed the plants with nitrogen fertilizers or water them on the foliage. If you choose the right place and follow these simple rules, the daylily will delight you with beautiful flowering and a healthy appearance.

The article uses photographs of daylilies suffering from rust taken by O. Vasiliev in the Moscow region as illustrations, the rest of the photographs were taken by the author in the Leningrad region.

Usedliterature.
1 Daylilies. The AHS Daylily Dictionary. http://www.daylilies.org/ahs_dictionary/dictionary.html

2 Decadent Daylilies. Daylily Spring Sickness. http://www.decadentdaylilies.com/daylily-spring-sickness/

3NCF.ca. About Daylily Spring Sickness. http://web.ncf.ca/ah748/sstf.html

4 All Things Plants. Daylilies forum: Spring Sickness. http://allthingsplants.com/thread/view/9565/Spring-Sickness/

5 9917.ru.Diseases associated with malnutrition. Chlorosis. http://9917.ru/zabolevaniya_svyazannye_s_narusheniem_pitaniya/hloroz

6 Encyclopedia&Dictionaries. Chlorosis. http://enc-dic.com/selhoz/Hloroz-2653.html

7 UMass. Amherst Greenhouse Crops and Floriculture Program. Daylilu Rust and Daylily Streak. http://extension.umass.edu/floriculture/fact-sheets/daylily-rust-and-daylily-streak

8 Daylily Rust Information Page. http://web.ncf.ca/ah748/rust.html

9 TRSV pest report 2006. Netherlands Plant Protection Service. Pest report. http://www.vwa.nl/txmpub/files/?p_file_id=2000761

10 Phylogenetic analysis of Tomato mosaic virus from Hemerocallis sp. And Impatiens hawkeri. http://www.scielo.br/pdf/sp/v33n4/a16v33n4.pdf

11 Ontario. Ministry of AGRICULTURE and FOOD. Factsheet.
http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/facts/04-089.htm