I am new to daylilies, and I have a bed with one area of daylilies that are growing well though I had few blooms this first year. Now, it is quite crowded. I started weeding it, but I'm afraid I may be weeding baby increases! I'm attaching two pictures: one is of the crowded area; the other is of some "weeds" I've pulled. Other areas of the bed aren't so crowded with thinner foilage than the daylilies. Could I be "weeding" baby daylilies??

The bottom picture doesn't look at all like daylily roots to me. Now big are these? Maybe they don't look like daylilies because they are super tiny? The foliage looks right, but the rest doesn't. That's just my opinion though. Hopefully someone else will be more helpful!

If you could post a picture of the "weeds" on the bottom with a ruler, or a quarter, or something else to show the size, I think that would be helpful.

It looks very similar to Johnson grass, now that I've thought about it for a minute or two!

I'm going to go shoot some with a ruler. While I don't want Johnson grass, I sure hope I'm not killing baby increases of my very young daylilies!

Here are the "weeds" with a ruler.



Johnson grass or daylies???

Barbalee--the there are two or three weeds that when the weeds are small look like daylilies . Nutsedge, the Chinese day flower, and a spiderwort weed. Nutsedge is thinner and has a sharp middle crease. Not getting it all or pulling results in more. The plant you pull leaves little "nuts" behind which gives you more than you originally had. They can be attached to each other. The other two if a piece remains in the ground they come back, too. Their roots really look like baby daylilies. After they are a few inches tall you can tell by the foliage. It is segmented and gets flowers. Your pictures look like nutsedge. The easiest way is to go a nursery and get nutsedge killer and you paint it on with a paint brush, more like an artist brush. Do not get on surrounding plants. Nutsedge is a big problem. If there are no other plants around you could pour boiling water on them. It looks like your daylilies are too close to use boiling water. I wish I had better news. May you have a safe and healthy month!

Thanks for the great photos! My opinion is that it isn't daylily babies. At that size, I'd expect to see some of the thick roots like what are on adult plants. Even my tiniest of seedlings grown from seed have those roots. They are usually kind of flesh colored and bulbish looking. Know what I'm talking about? I'm sure that there is a technical term for them, but I don't know what that is. They are kind of like a finger, with little roots coming off of them. I don't see anything like that in your pictures.

I'm really not positive that it is Johnson grass, but that is all I could think of. I'm sure that someone else with more knowledge will help though. I could be totally wrong about all of this.

Natalie-- cross posted. You are right about not looking like daylily roots!
Many blessings to you for a safe and healthy month, too!

Thanks, Natalie and Sharon! I'm sure glad I haven't been pulling baby daylilies! And yup, I know what you mean about the way daylily roots look, Natalie. I just didn't know how well grown a baby would need to be to look like that. It worries me if it is nutsedge as it is in some cases very close to the daylilies. For now, I guess I'll keep weeding as best I can and see if the same weeds reappear quickly.

It's weeds. I pull them all the time in my garden beds. Most of the time those thin leaves are much thinner than daylily leaves which may make you think they are baby daylilies/new fans, but they are not. Also, you can tell by the roots. If you should happen to pull a daylily, they can be replanted. Daylily roots are not that thin. At least mine aren't. Mine are also more tan to tannish-orange color, too. I typically see new fans sprouting right next to the plant though some cultivars can produce a fan away from the mother plant.

Pull up some of that weed growing in an area away from your daylilies for comparison. And if you have to, dig up a small daylily plant to look at the roots and then replant.

Becky! Yeah, the leaves are thinner, and that's why I originally presumed they were weeds, but then I got nervous. Thank heaven for all of you on the forum for reassuring a newbie!

You're very welcome! Even us "oldies" need help with stuff too, so don't feel bad!

I was really surprised about how soon a seedling will grow those fatter roots. I had one that was about two inches tall, and it had those roots. They were small, but there was no doubt about what they were. That made me feel a lot more confident about weeding grass near the daylilies! But, I still question things like this, because even though I've grown daylilies for a long time, I'm never surprised at how much I still learn from others.

I thought the plants in the picture looked like nutsedge. It does look similar to daylily foliage, but I think it is a little bit lighter shade of green when young.

Bless you, Natalie, Sharon, and Vickie!

Hi guys.
This is a type of grass, and it sends those underground roots to form a new plant a few inches away. It will quickly form a clump if you don't get it out of there. This grass will die down when
it frosts, but can come back the following year like gangbusters. It will also break off underground very easily and keep coming back if you aren't careful to get it all. This grass also has a
small nutlike kernel that grows on its roots, as well as a prickly seed pod on the top like other grasses. This one doesn't get very tall, but it can completely cover your garden very quickly.

Did y'all know that yellow nutgrass (Cyperus esculentus) has edible tubers often called earth almonds because of their almond like flavor. They can be eaten either raw or cooked. Their sweet, nutty flavor makes them ideal for a bunch of different recipes, from soups to sweets. I didn't know if anyone knew or was interested in knowing but I figured I share that with everyone. Next time you pull some nutgrass out of your garden try some of the tubers and get some use out of those pesky weeds.
Purple nutgrass (Cyperus rotundus) can also be eaten but smells and taste like vics vapor rub smells.

Interesting, Daniel. It is amazing how many plants have edible parts

It is weeds so don't worry. I have been pulling my share yesterday

Baby daylilies will be attached to the mama plant. Unless by chance you have a dropped seed that has sprouted. I can say I don't think I have found any in my beds. It can sometimes be a problem getting them to germinate when you are trying!!

They soon get the little bump in the root even when quite small too.

not daylilies but some sort of grass. I have pulled many myself that look like yours.

I well remember when I planted some of my first daylilies. Soon I thought I had a magic daylily that was multiplying like crazy! In just no time it had many new "fans" growing next to it. Turns out I had purchased the plant at Lowe's and now I had a good group of nutsedge growing.