Thank you both so much for replying. I've just added another photo of the whole tree and surrounding area to a separate post (see "loropetalum very sick:another picture"). I also added there that it is situated in a low area of the yard. Plus when the sod went in late last year it formed a 'depression' around the tree base and rainwater runoff certainly collected in it, to the depth of 2-3 inches. (Soil drains pretty slow here.) We've added more dirt around the base to mound it up so water no longer collects there...this was about 3 weeks ago. I will check with TruGreen on the herbicide issue, but would not be surprised if it is due to excess water. So IF it is water related what can we do??? thank you once again. Casey

Hello everyone - I did a mix of both. I trimmed most off with scissors - but ones that were not so close - ones that didn't look like their roots would intertwine others - I pulled out and put into Styrofoam cups. See pics on the link. We'll see how well they survive. Thanks all for suggestions. I'm going to wait a bit to pot up - these cells are pretty big and designed for long root growth - so I think I'll be good. Unless others disagree? Again - my first year doing this! Here is a link that might be useful: my seedlings.

Thank you all so much,and Yes,I am feeling much better now.Could h ave been the heat I suppose It is so hot out even at daylight.A friend of my daughter had a heat stroke a few days ago, but is getting better now. MANTIS;Had to laugh when you said Other then wonder of it all.Every one knows by now, its my very favorite daylily. My second favorite ones are Marietta Surprise,Wild One, and Asthetic Ballet.Wish Wild One ould rebloom.

There's a good chance the plant will break back (back-bud) low on the stem or right at the soil line, but no guarantee. Odds are high the top is a goner, but it depends on whether or not it suffered serious chill injury, which can occur at temps well above freezing if the temperature drop is sudden enough. All you can do is wait. The leaves will all drop off, for sure. If you don't see new growth emerging from the stem within 2 months, scrap away some of the periderm (bark). If there is a green layer just below, wait awhile longer. It's critical that you do not over-water. The plant will be using almost NO water, so use a "tell" to "tell" you if the grow medium is moist deep in the pot - water only when the tell comes out nearly dry. Keep it warm and in good light. Withhold fertilizer until the plant is pushing new growth. Using a 'tell' Over-watering saps vitality and is one of the most common plant assassins, so learning to avoid it is worth the small effort. Plants make and store their own energy source – photosynthate - (sugar/glucose). Functioning roots need energy to drive their metabolic processes, and in order to get it, they use oxygen to burn (oxidize) their food. From this, we can see that terrestrial plants need plenty of air (oxygen) in the soil to drive root function. Many off-the-shelf soils hold too much water and not enough air to support the kind of root health most growers would like to see; and, a healthy root system is a prerequisite to a healthy plant. Watering in small sips leads to avoid over-watering leads to a residual build-up of dissolved solids (salts) in the soil from tapwater and fertilizer solutions, which limits a plant's ability to absorb water – so watering in sips simply moves us to the other horn of a dilemma. It creates another problem that requires resolution. Better, would be to simply adopt a soil that drains well enough to allow watering to beyond the saturation point, so we're flushing the soil of accumulating dissolved solids whenever we water; this, w/o the plant being forced to pay a tax in the form of reduced vitality, due to prolong periods of soil saturation. Sometimes, though, that's not a course we can immediately steer, which makes controlling how often we water a very important factor. In many cases, we can judge whether or not a planting needs watering by hefting the pot. This is especially true if the pot is made from light material, like plastic, but doesn't work (as) well when the pot is made from heavier material, like clay, or when the size/weight of the pot precludes grabbing it with one hand to judge its weight and gauge the need for water. Fingers stuck an inch or two into the soil work ok for shallow pots, but not for deep pots. Deep pots might have 3 or more inches of soil that feels totally dry, while the lower several inches of the soil is 100% saturated. Obviously, the lack of oxygen in the root zone situation can wreak havoc with root health and cause the loss of a very notable measure of your plant's potential. Inexpensive watering meters don't even measure moisture levels, they measure electrical conductivity. Clean the tip and insert it into a cup of distilled water and witness the fact it reads 'DRY'. One of the most reliable methods of checking a planting's need for water is using a 'tell'. You can use a bamboo skewer in a pinch, but a wooden dowel rod of about 5/16” (75-85mm) would work better. They usually come 48” (120cm) long and can usually be cut in half and serve as a pair. Sharpen all 4 ends in a pencil sharpener and slightly blunt the tip so it's about the diameter of the head on a straight pin. Push the wooden tell deep into the soil. Don't worry, it won't harm the root system. If the plant is quite root-bound, you might need to try several places until you find one where you can push it all the way to the pot's bottom. Leave it a few seconds, then withdraw it and inspect the tip for moisture. For most plantings, withhold water until the tell comes out dry or nearly so. If you see signs of wilting, adjust the interval between waterings so drought stress isn't a recurring issue. Al