Why are the daylily leaves bleaching out at their midpoints? Is this sunburn or something else? This is So Lovely from Oakes Daylilies. In mid March it was infested with aphids and had spring blight. It recovered nicely but didn't bloom. Now it looks the way I would expect it to look in Dec(it is semi-evergreen). But I've never seen this bleaching effect before. All my daylilies ( 20 different cultivars) get overhead watering from my irrigation and are in full Florida sun after 10AM. Everything did great this summer except for So Lovely which is planted in 3 different spots. It did fine in 2011 &2012 which were abnormally dry. This summer has had average moisture. Its my favorite one, so I am very sad that it seems so unhappy.

It looks like they are getting heat scorched - not unusual with high temps. It could be worse - rust or leaf streak!

Thanks for the answer. Heat scorching is what I figured. The overhead irrigation may worsen the problem since the water droplets left on the leaves might magnify the sun's rays. These probably would be happier with midday shade. Unfortunately, I've run out of places to move them, so hopefully they will do better next season. Its just odd how this cultivar was the only one of mine that had so many problems this year.

I have 2 or 3 cultivars that go completely dormant every summer (I'm in zone 10). Some seem to laugh at the heat and others really struggle. Fortunately, most do fine.

I will probably go ahead and move the ones that collapse in the heat into more shade this fall (eastern exposure or dappled shading). If they still look punky come next summer, then they'll have to be culled.

I don't know if I would say that's scorching. I have that on a couple of cultivars and it was happening early in the spring when the sun and temps were far from intense. There was an article on leaf problems in one of the recent issues of the Daylily Journal that had a picture like that. I will see if I can dig it up when I get home.

I'd appreciate any help that you can give me on the bleaching issue. I was unable to access the back issues of the Daylily Journal to look up the article on leaf problems that you mentioned.

Barbara, for what it's worth: Grace-Smith's "Linda's Magic" to-date for two years (growing seasons 2012-2013) has had the same problem in my garden. Otherwise, it's healthy & extremely vigorous, and proved to be also rust-resistant when I unfortunately inadvertently introduced the rust scourge from a newly-bought US SE cultivar into my garden in 2009. This year I made sure that "Linda's Magic" was shaded from the worst of the afternoon sun, and I did get a few pods. But, the seemingly 'sun-burnt/-bleached' foliage continues, despite protection.

Last year, others on ATP also reported precisely the same problem, but ascribed it to unusual 'solar activity.'

Good luck! : ) For my part, I'm just happy that "Linda's Magic" is pod-fertile.

All the best - Elizabete

Well that's discouraging. Perhaps So Lovely is more sensitive to the Florida sun, heat and humidity than some of my others. Just as a backup, I will pot up a clump of it, to grow in my lanai when is shaded after 2PM. I don't want to give up on it, since it has such a showy near- white bloom. This must be a crazy summer. I have several winter dormant varieties that I brought with me, ten years ago, from Pennsylvania. They sort of putter along, since they don't get a good winter dormancy,but I've kept them going for purely sentimental reasons. After a dry winter and spring, we have been getting nearly daily rain since the beginning of June. Two of those dormant ones are actually re-blooming, which they have never before done. They look better than my semi-evergreen and evergreen ones. Go figure!

I was a little off - it's the summer 2013 issue that has it. It looks like you could have a mineral deficiency. They list white streaking or bleaching as a sign of magnesium, zinc, copper or manganese deficiency.

The white is not starting at the base but at the midpoint of the leaf. I have a "Chelated Citrus Nutritional Spray" from Southern Ag that has Magnesium, Iron, Manganese, Zinc and Sulfur in it. It is used as a foliage and soil drench. It states that it can be used on anything with a nutritional deficiency. I am going to try a very dilute drench on these daylilies. I don't think that it will make the situation any worse than it is, and it might help any new growth. Thanks

Barbara & JWWC, should this be of help....

Here is an image from today of „Linda’s Magic.” In early May (when it was quite cool!) its foliage had the ‘bleaching’ effect, similar to Barbara’s pic that began this thread. Initially, I guessed that it might be the result of chlorosis (even though I was not seeing any yellow streaking in its leaves), so I added Epsom salts (1 tablespoon/gallon) to a liquid fertilizer mix. (See http://www.daylilies.org/ahs_d... for an image of true chlorosis.) However, the leaves were then, and continue to be a solid green, with no signs of chlorosis. Barbara, as you mentioned, the ‘bleaching effect’ seems to start at the midpoint, precisely where the leaf attempts to gracefully bend down.

What seems odd to me is that other daylilies are not showing anything similar this year. Last year (which overall in terms of the temperature was relatively cool) at least another 25+ daylilies were similarly afflicted. This year it’s just „Linda’s Magic.”

But, the good news is that I’m happy about „Linda’s Magic” being pod fertile! : )

Well Epson salts are magnesium sulfate so I hope the broad spectrum drench that I just used will have the same effect. Of course the other problem could be pH. I know that the soil in our area is basically just sand and is alkaline. I have to add more organic matter each year. I'll post again later in the season.

I put Epsom salts and iron on a couple plants with chlorosis and streaky yellow leaves and it worked fine. I have one plant left (Abilene Lillian) that has leaves like this. Doesn't seem to be harming it at all in terms of growth but I think the flower color is a little off. I've just been too busy to find a better option for it.

Hi All

bSharf- Last summer when we had the 100- 112 degree heat and drought, for weeks at a time in these parts....I had plants that looked like yours with dried ends on the foliage.

Also the plants that were too close to my burn pit looked like that. Till I moved them.

Now we here are the other extreme, it is very wet... nothing looks like that now. Thank GOD

What I am seeing now, are few streaked and yellow leaves every other day and I will pull and keep them clear of the plants.
Is this something going on I should be treating ? Maybe your Epson Salts idea will work for me? I thought it was just a normal.

bSharf good luck ... I hope you figure it out !








Thanks everyone for you input ... I am here to learn!

Wondering if this is a mineral deficiency. Just had soil tests done and all in normal range.