Susan - That is horrible that you discarded so many of your daylilies hoping to prevent rust in your garden, only to have the rust eventually infect all your remaining plants. I would be sick about it. I think you may have the right attitude about the whole rust issue, " just buy what you like and cross these bridges when you get to them because you will not be able to enjoy them otherwise." So true!

I do have a bottle of Bayer Roses & Flowers 3 in 1 systemic mix for pests, bacteria, and fungus treatment. That stuff is VERY strong and I shutter to have to use it. It would probably kill earthworms and anything else in the ground as well. Not good.

Thanks for those links. Very interesting about the use of aspirin! Apparently it acts as a preventative, not so much a treatment. I wished I grew willow here. That would be a great idea to try also!

On the yahoo group, the use of Dawn dish soap was mentioned. That one I might try if I can get the recipe. I'd rather try something like that vs. Bayer chemical treatment. Using the Bayer would be the last resort. Not one I even want to use at all.

I really do have several daylily plants that are not showing any rust or if there is some spores, it is so minor that I can't detect it with my eyes. I have rust infected daylilies all around them, too. But they seem to be unaffected by rust and remain damage-free. I don't even remember what the flowers look like from those plants. But I plan to take a real close look and photograph and mark them from here on out. I want to track their resistance in the future. I will try using them in my breeding program to see if I can breed more resistance into crosses with other daylilies I really like. I do like the pretty faces of blooms!

Fred - You said, "I do believe the rust problem is not near the problem as it was when it first broke out in 2001." Is that because of the successful treatment for rust now? Are there any organic treatments that you are aware of that hobbiest could try in their garden? I understand that for a large scale daylily operation like you have, you have to do what you can to control rust. Luckily, a successful treatment regime was developed. That must have been a nightmare for you in 2001! I know the citrus industry here in Florida is dealing with a horrible disease called Citrus greening:

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plan...

It could really destroy the commercial citrus industry here in the USA. It is believed to have originated in China. I remember years ago when citrus canker was the big scare. I've heard this greening is far worse. Geez!

Susan - My dormants always look like yours in the photo you posted above. My ev and sev seem to stay green for the most part here during the Winter. We do get a hard freeze in odd years and it does burn the blades/leaves, but they typically don't die back completely to ground level. I also am constantly cleaning up dead foliage around my daylilies. It just looks neater and I suspect the pathogens reside in some of that dead material. So I try to keep it clean so there is more air flow to prevent dampness from settling in around the daylily clumps. But I still get rust no matter what! I am very surprised though that some of my plants aren't showing rust. Not sure if they really are resistant or what. Something I shall be watching closely!

Vickie - What zone are you in?

spunky1 said:I guess it doesn't make any difference where you live rust can show up and usually does in the late summer or early fall. Here we have no winter to help control it so spraying all year is our only recourse. I do believe the rust problem is not near the problem as it was when it first broke out in 2001. At that time we grew over 1200 registered daylilies and several thousand seedling and the worse thing before 2001 was something called "leaf streak", I still do not know to this day if I have ever had or seen "leaf streak". When rust was discovered in the southeast there were many commercial daylily gardens shut down by state inspectors including ours. There recommendations were, cut the foliage to the ground, put it in garbage bags to be picked up with the garbage, and spray with several different things that were being used for rust on farm crops, such as peanuts, soy beans, corn, and other crops. These inspectors really had no idea because this was something brand new to daylilies, but over the years with daylily people and the AHS using different products through trial and error we now have 3-4 chemicals that work really well(Michele has already listed them). We would like for everything to be organic also but doing what we do on the scale we do it is not possible.

@spunky1, What did you do when they shut you down? Did you really whack 1200 daylilies? What a job that must have been. I am thankful for the chemicals! Organic only means I use them as a last resort if things get out of hand and to bring it under control so I can manage it. I understand you could never deal with this without them because of your huge numbers.

beckygardener said:

I do have a bottle of Bayer Roses & Flowers 3 in 1 systemic mix for pests, bacteria, and fungus treatment. That stuff is VERY strong and I shutter to have to use it. It would probably kill earthworms and anything else in the ground as well. Not good.

I use the Bayer products; Bayer tree and shrub feed and protect, Bayer complete soil and Turf, and 3-In-1 Insect, Disease & Mite Control on various occassuons. It has not hurt the earthworms.

beckygardener said:Susan - That is horrible that you discarded so many of your daylilies hoping to prevent rust in your garden, only to have the rust eventually infect all your remaining plants. I would be sick about it. I think you may have the right attitude about the whole rust issue, " just buy what you like and cross these bridges when you get to them because you will not be able to enjoy them otherwise." So true!

I do have a bottle of Bayer Roses & Flowers 3 in 1 systemic mix for pests, bacteria, and fungus treatment. That stuff is VERY strong and I shutter to have to use it. It would probably kill earthworms and anything else in the ground as well. Not good.

Thanks for those links. Very interesting about the use of aspirin! Apparently it acts as a preventative, not so much a treatment. I wished I grew willow here. That would be a great idea to try also!

On the yahoo group, the use of Dawn dish soap was mentioned. That one I might try if I can get the recipe. I'd rather try something like that vs. Bayer chemical treatment. Using the Bayer would be the last resort. Not one I even want to use at all.

I really do have several daylily plants that are not showing any rust or if there is some spores, it is so minor that I can't detect it with my eyes. I have rust infected daylilies all around them, too. But they seem to be unaffected by rust and remain damage-free. I don't even remember what the flowers look like from those plants. But I plan to take a real close look and photograph and mark them from here on out. I want to track their resistance in the future. I will try using them in my breeding program to see if I can breed more resistance into crosses with other daylilies I really like. I do like the pretty faces of blooms!

Fred - You said, "I do believe the rust problem is not near the problem as it was when it first broke out in 2001." Is that because of the successful treatment for rust now? Are there any organic treatments that you are aware of that hobbiest could try in their garden? I understand that for a large scale daylily operation like you have, you have to do what you can to control rust. Luckily, a successful treatment regime was developed. That must have been a nightmare for you in 2001! I know the citrus industry here in Florida is dealing with a horrible disease called Citrus greening:

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plan...

It could really destroy the commercial citrus industry here in the USA. It is believed to have originated in China. I remember years ago when citrus canker was the big scare. I've heard this greening is far worse. Geez!

Susan - My dormants always look like yours in the photo you posted above. My ev and sev seem to stay green for the most part here during the Winter. We do get a hard freeze in odd years and it does burn the blades/leaves, but they typically don't die back completely to ground level. I also am constantly cleaning up dead foliage around my daylilies. It just looks neater and I suspect the pathogens reside in some of that dead material. So I try to keep it clean so there is more air flow to prevent dampness from settling in around the daylily clumps. But I still get rust no matter what! I am very surprised though that some of my plants aren't showing rust. Not sure if they really are resistant or what. Something I shall be watching closely!

Vickie - What zone are you in?

Thank you Becky! You will be happy to know that the Bayer 3n1 does not kill earth worms or make pollen toxic. Here is link from Rose Forum I did a search for you.

The thread "Tried Bayer 3 in 1 Systematic Rose & Flower Care?" in Roses forum

Yes, I think the aspirin spray is preventative and I was hoping to get rid of rust after whacking everything down and dipping others in bleach solution when I re-pot them. Then pots and all will get the Bayer 3n1 in early spring. I only have the one jug so might need two or three more.

I think the Dawn dish soap is to make insecticidal soap to keep aphids off your daylilies. I read that the aphids can provide a point of entry for rust to get into the daylily. So I think any insects that chew on foliage is bad because of that. The insecticidal soap will kill aphids by washing the wax off their bodies and then they dehydrate.

I will also be watching closely and I hope as the clumps get bigger the resistance will be higher.

Susan - Thanks for that link! You said, "I hope as the clumps get bigger the resistance will be higher." I am wondering that myself. The plants that are the largest clumps are the very ones in my yard that don't seem to have a rust issue. So I am wondering what that is all about.... I, too, will be watching closely this Spring/Summer.

I found this article which mentions the Dawn Dish Soap and other ideas:
http://www.lilyfarm.com/rust.h...

I found the article full of informative ideas!

I found the rust resistance thread here on ATP :

The thread "Rust Resistance" in Daylilies forum

I am getting quite an education about rust and different daylily cultivars!

Becky, I am in zone 6b. We had such a drought in 2012 that my husband watered everything to keep them alive. I believe (maybe wrongly) that by watering from the top, that the rust that was already there was allowed to spread through all the daylilies even faster. It may be that it was going to do that anyway since I did have some evidence of rust before. I just didn't have it bad enough to worry about spraying.

blue23rose said:Becky, I am in zone 6b. We had such a drought in 2012 that my husband watered everything to keep them alive. I believe (maybe wrongly) that by watering from the top, that the rust that was already there was allowed to spread through all the daylilies even faster. It may be that it was going to do that anyway since I did have some evidence of rust before. I just didn't have it bad enough to worry about spraying.

from http://www.lilyfarm.com/rust.h...

"Overhead watering allows the foliage to stay damp, forming a perfect vehicle for the rust to appear"

At my old place I had some beds that got overhead watering and some that had the drip hoses (hate those things-don't last a whole season here). In the beds with the drip hoses I had less rust outbreak but the downside was I had more spider mites since they like it dry. Overhead watering help some in keeping the spider mite population down.

Michele - You do overhead watering?

I have heard that watering during the late morning or early afternoon is best because it allows the surface of the plants to dry out faster therefore not being exposed to moisture all night. But .... I come out into my yard many morning and the dew is all over my daylilies anyway. And of course, we have the rainy season too! So in the long run ... it probably doesn't make a whole lot of difference here!

Vickie - Did the rust go away the following season from all the foliage being killed off by winter freeze?

Thanks for the links Becky and Michele!

I get a lot of rain so the overhead watering is nothing I can do about. I usually water my Hostas in the morning because of the slugs, it reduces my numbers by 80% and I do not have to use chemicals for that problem but occasionally use an ammonia spray which dissolves the slugs and their eggs.

Hopefully I will find a happy medium with the daylily rust, but the good thing about watering in the morning is that the ground surface and foliage will be dry by night time. That would probably be the worst time for fungus to develope. I might try the milk spray also because it is a cheap anti-fungal. I need it for the Asters and Monarda which get the White Power Fungus. Also I recommended it to a friend at work for her Hibiscus and she was ecstatic.

I was reading the digest this morning about 'Daylily Rust' and they mention different chemicals and updated their knowledge of these chemicals. I noticed one product, ' azoxystrobin (Heritage)' has promising results as a drench not a spray and only for 4 months and this stuff is expensive!

If I was in the Daylily Business I would do and purchase what ever was necessary to protect my investment but as a Back Yard gardner, I have to draw the line some where. I have to stick with the more organic stuff and home remedies because they are cheaper not because I am a organic person. I like to be! LOL.

Also in the Daylily Digest they mentioned the Dawn Dish Soap and I was thinking if the Dawn is more effective as a insecticidal soap then I will just use that and forget the Naptha. I will be watching for the exact dilution rate.

Becky, yes we overhead water everyday and then in the winter cut back. We don't water in the morning because we hybridize but usually by noon we start watering

Susan, here is a good suggestion for you on all the plants that you are discarding. SEND THEM NORTH!
We could pot them up and isolate them till spring and then plant them in the garden. In return you could be bless with some trades so that it wouldn't be a total loss for you.
Glen, thanks for that link. When I grow up , I want a beard like this guy. http://www.abc.net.au/gardenin...

Mike, you silly! I will certainly keep you in mind when I am throwing daylilies at the trash can. LOL. Please...no more scary videos, I spilled my coffee.

"Come on man"! Or should I say Come on woman ! It's all about the lesson. Blame Glen. I got that from his link. Lots of info there if you are bored.
Dragon Knife
Hopefully, this bloom should cheer you up.

He is quite famous here. The presenter of Gardening Australia: Costa Georgiadis. He actually is very interesting.

Glen, I think so too. Susan is the one that has a scary problem.

beckygardener said:Michele - You do overhead watering?

I have heard that watering during the late morning or early afternoon is best because it allows the surface of the plants to dry out faster therefore not being exposed to moisture all night. But .... I come out into my yard many morning and the dew is all over my daylilies anyway. And of course, we have the rainy season too! So in the long run ... it probably doesn't make a whole lot of difference here!

Vickie - Did the rust go away the following season from all the foliage being killed off by winter freeze?

Becky, I won't know until next year.

Susan does not have a scary problem. I am sure the man is very nice and knowledgeable I was just startled when he suddenly jumped up, it was also windy and I think his beard blew up over his face for a minute or so. LOL. Maybe he could help us with our rust problem, or is that another video?

Susan Ask
Fred - You said, "I do believe the rust problem is not near the problem as it was when it first broke out in 2001." Is that because of the successful treatment for rust now? Are there any organic treatments that you are aware of that hobbiest could try in their garden? I understand that for a large scale daylily operation like you have, you have to do what you can to control rust. Luckily, a successful treatment regime was developed. That must have been a nightmare for you in 2001! I know the citrus industry here in Florida is dealing with a horrible disease called Citrus greening:

I really do not know the answer, I just know I seem to have less and less rust in the fall each year, It could very well be what we are spraying with, but I also think the daylily, after 12 years has a little more resistance than before. Plants seem to have that survival gene to overcome things.
I know of no organic treatment. Years ago we tried several things because of the cost of chemicals but none worked.
Susan Ask
What did you do when they shut you down? Did you really whack 1200 daylilies? What a job that must have been.
We had no choice but to cut everything because of our sales operation. They gave us thirty days to clear up the rust and then inspected again before we could ship. Things have really changed since then because rusted is now classified as a nuisance, they still inspect for rust but do not close you down if you have a small amount and know you have a spray program. They are more concerned about shipping fire ants than rust, we also have the property sprayed for those every eighteen months. Nothing worse than picking up a pot of daylilies full of fire ants.

Oh no. You have fire ants too??