We are having a dry year this year and many of my daylily scapes are drying up and buds aborting. Now I found a Robina with completely browned and dried up buds. The lower leaves look purple. The other Robina bulbs behind it look healthy. Should I get rid of the bad looking one or just watch and see what happens?

Dried Buds

Purple lower leaves

Other Robinas that look OK

I've had some over the years that look like that. The next year they return just fine. I never know if it is bug damage or weather damage or soil conditions. All that seems to be true is that the next year they come up fine without problems.

I have a few that look far worse than that but they're hanging on to their leaves so I'll let them be. I've wondered if it isn't just cold damage. Maybe something just short of frost...?

OK that makes me feel better. This one is in front of the others and could have been hit harder by the cold. Moby are you having a lot of daylily scapes dryin up too?

Haven't noticed those as much. Thanks for reminding me, I'll go water now.

Moby, I have an After Eight that looks exactly like the one you show with the dark--almost purple leaves. It did the same thing last year; the leaves started out like yours but in a short time turned yellow and dropped off yellow and it went into premature dormancy. So, I moved it into an isolation bed as a clump last Fall. This year--the same thing--nice green then here come the dark purple leaves. So now, since I have lots of After Eights and can afford to experiment: I'm going to dig it up, save the dirt for analysis, wash and inspect for 'whatever' I can find, and then either replant or discard. I don't think its frost damage because that usually results in those unsightly brown leaf tips only. I'll 'edit in' a picture later today of my plant.

EDIT: Pictures added: 1. Example. 2. typical early frost damage.

I have this too. I think the purple leaves are from when it got frost damage, and the green new growth is since.

Come to think of it I asked this question (why purple leaves) at symposium back in 2003. According to my notes from the meeting the answer was too much water.

Seems like I read somewhere that it could be nutrient related also (maybe potassium?). I'm not so sure on that one; I would need to find it in some authoritative reference.

I had thought that too, Connie, but it was dry as a bone when it happened to me. Its dry as a bone again this year. Even so, It could very well be that the bulb is loaded up with too much water because of excess potassium or calcium within the bulb itself. Both are hygroscopic as the dickins. My thinking is that as the weather gets hotter--just when the stem and leaves need more water--the bulb is not releasing it as it should. But that is ONLY MY THOUGHT, not proven fact. I only have one such example plant like that to dig up see what else I can determine. I can test the soil but not the bulb.

Ok, guys, I'm thinking this lily is virused and needs to go. What do you all think? Thanks!

Yeah, that one should probably go.

Yes, go. Don't compost. Stuff happens .

Yeah, It will get dug and trashed today. Thanks guys...

Hi Susan-stilldew: Just curious--what does your Rabina look like now--did all the leaves eventially turn purple?

I have had quite a few lilies--mainly L. lankongense hybrid Asiatics, L. pumilum and L. regale--that produced stems in which all of the buds aborted early on. I thought it was because the bulbs were too small to support blooms or because they were still settling in, but now I wonder if it was not heat/drought stress instead. I was not able to see a single flower on 'Ariadne', 'Eurydice' or 'Peach Lace' because of this.

In my case, I have had quite a few aborted buds, attributing it to heat and/or water stress(way too much rain). But where all the buds on a stem did not abort, the ones that continued had always been the oldest.

Not so this year. On two lilies, the older buds aborted with the newest still intact and still 5-7 days from blooming and growing fast. Considering that it is warmer now, and with little rain for 6 days, I'd say it was the continual torrential downpours that that aborted my lily buds, with heat being only a minor component.

Obviously, for all of you lacking rain, this could not be true...

Rick, I think either condition will cause bud abortion; too much water or too little water. Excessive heat and scorching sun is an added component. Just my observations

I have observed somewhat the same here. In my case it has been lack of water, as i can picture, where each is... also, as Lorn has stated,.,.they copped a severe scorching in and throughout summer,.,.,.to unearth these bulbs after summer, seriously, the soil needs binning,.,.

Indeed, too little or too much water. I venture that just about any stress, when it is large enough, will abort flowers.

All the leaves did turn purple and the stem dried up so much that it broke off at the ground. Will be interesting to see what it does next year. Since it never bloomed at all maybe it will have enough energy stored in the bulb to bloom?