Help! Did I just Massacre my daylilies?

14 years ago

Okay, so I had too much time on my itchy fingers, and I was reading about rust, and since I had had it fairly badly in my little garden, I read info suggesting that after a first cold spell, to cut down the leaves fairly low and clean up the beds.. which I did..

Later, I read not to cut into the "white part" I think i did this.. does this mean that I have just completely killed them, or am I okay as long as i didn't slice into the underground piece holding the tubers/rhizomes together (I'm so sorry I know there is a word for it and it's just not coming to me)

Thanks.

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Comments (7)

dreamingdaylilies
14 years ago
You might be okay, wait till spring and check for new growth. I am not to concerned about rust as it does not winter over here. Cold temps kill it. Do you have rust every year?
Kathy
crackingtheconcrete
Original Author
14 years ago
Hi, Kathy!! I heard that cold temps kill it, but I wasn't sure how consistently cold it needed to be.. b/c we're close to Long Island, our winters can be pretty warm with only a week or two of freezing cold weather (like we're having now)

My obsession with daylilies just started last year, so was the first year I ordered a lot, and the first I saw rust.. I wasn't really "Panicked" about it because it didn't seem to affect the bloom, but I didn't know how to take care of the one plant I saw it on and it did spread to every one of about 40 daylilies (I have a tiny "yard") and it was massively ugly by fall.. .. but thought that if i could make sure it didnt' come back, I'd do that.. but was afraid I chopped the poor things to death.
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Ed
14 years ago
ctc, the crown of the daylily has a texture like a radish or turnip and is not easily cut. Leaves growing up out of the crown are white for an inch or so. So if the tops of the cuts look like separated leaves, even if they're white, don't worry, new leaves will grow out of them. If you see a solid white mass with no separation, then you might have damaged the crown. Even so, there is still a good chance for off-shoots from the remaining crown. Don't worry.
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crackingtheconcrete
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks, Ed for the encouragement.. that was definitely not my most brilliant gardening moment..

I dont' know if it' just b/c it's below freezing, but basically, if you're looking at it, the part of the daylily you can see looks like the white part of a scallion/green onion (you can see a hole and then the circular layers) and they're kind of frostbitten/squishy..

Sounds like i might be okay, so I'm going to just hold out hope that they'll recover.
Ed
14 years ago
It sounds like you did fine. If you can see the semi-circular rings, then thats the leaves, so the crown is still intact. It's usually below ground level anyway, so you would have had to dig down to cut into it. I think you're fine. Ed
dreamingdaylilies
14 years ago
I think you should be okay, I am Z6 and it does not winter over here. I believe zones 8,9 and 10 it may be more of a problem .
crackingtheconcrete
Original Author
14 years ago
Awesome!! Thanks guys, that was the therapy I needed. I am now confident that I will be rust free AND that my chopped daylilies will resprout:)

*Skips off cheerfully*