Here in NE Texas we've been enjoying very nice weather until recently. I have iris in bud and even a daylily seedling throwing up a bloom stalk. Well, that's all over. It's 19 degrees right now, (Wednesday morning) don't think it's been above freezing for any significant length of time since Sunday night. Everything is frozen stiff. I'm worried that I will lose some daylilies, especially ones that I have in pots. Tomorrow's weather is supposed to get up to 43, so I will be taking a look at everything. Hopefully will not find piles of mush. I will try to look at the bright side- maybe those darn stink bugs won't be so bad this year.

Thanks for letting me vent.

Hi Nancy,

I am in a similar zone in the UK and all my daylilies are kept in pots and all are outside all year round. I haven't lost a daylily so far in a pot in ten years despite having two winters in -20°C. I am not saying it can't happen but just wanted to reassure you that daylilies are very resilient here. We often have winters that veer from very cold to very mild, in the last few days alone we have gone from 8°C to -15°C and back again so I have spring bulbs in full leaf now! The daylilies all look fine, even the young seedlings.

Hope that helps.

Nancy you might loose a few buds but overall the plants should be fine.

On the bright side, the further south daylily foliage is killed, the further daylily rust may be pushed back (as long as the crown of a daylily survives the plant will be fine). For a while anyway, because I'm pretty sure it will get shipped out again from places that don't get this deep freeze.

Also don't be concerned about "windchill" values. Windchill is what the temperature feels like to us warm-blooded creatures. A plant is already at the ambient temperature and the wind won't lower the plant's temperature below that. In other words if the air temperature is 34F but the windchill value is 25F, the plant will still only experience the 34F. Just thought I'd toss that in there because concern was expressed about it on another site.

Just came in from checking for signs of life or death. Undefinable from Nicole which didn't even bloom this year even tho it was supposed to be bloom size, has turned to mush. Looks like it started growing, then rotted.

I have learned to live with rust, but rot is hard to accept.

Hopefully it will make a comeback!

Nancy. I can sympathize with you. Yesterday (Friday) it was the mid 60's. Today it's the mid 20's. I grow mostly in pots and so this bounce in temperatures is especially critical. Also this winter we've had more then the usual night temperatures in the single digits (teens are one thing but 4 degrees is another altogether). From years of experience I know that in pots especially good drainage is essential. Cold wet dormant roots can easily result in rot. This sudden up and down of the temperatures looks like it's freeze dried some of the hard to go dormant foliage on a few of my daylilies, and I won't know until later if they are goners. It's a waiting game at this stage............Maryl

Maxmom98 said:Undefinable from Nicole which didn't even bloom this year even tho it was supposed to be bloom size, has turned to mush. Looks like it started growing, then rotted.

Ouch!!

Blooming size doesn't guarantee that the plant will bloom that year. I had multiple fans that took three years to bloom. Hope your plant bounce back this spring and bloom.

Well, up here in Zone 2-3, southern Manitoba, Canada, we've been having steady minus 30 to minus 40 degrees (C and F), for 2 months so far. I'm more afraid of sudden warm spells, that set things in growing mode, then a plunge back into deep cold. It sure "separates the men from the boys". Up here, it's not winter that kills things, it's the springs.

I agree, a bad spring can cause a lot of damage. The year my DD was married in our garden, we had a very early warm spell followed by a deep freeze, and I lost 1/3 of my perennial garden. I had to work furiously to get the garden in shape for the wedding.

Must be nice to have steady (even bitter cold) instead of wild and wacky. We do get steady in July, August and sometimes well into September. Still have some ice from the freezing sleet and snow yesterday. Two days ago we got into the 60's, Thursday is forecasted to be in the 70's, then cold again Friday. Thanks for the support and good wishes. Should know more in a couple of weeks.

@Frostycan, based on your temps "Frozencan" seem more appropriate
That is some brutal temps lasting that long. I guess our minus 5 and 8's are nothing compare to yours.
All my plants are currently covered in at least ten inches of snow. Our nine day snow total was almost as much as we had gotten up until now.