This is a question that I have been wondering about for some time now. Maybe there is another thread somewhere that addresses my question. (If so, could someone be so kind as to share the link?)

I grow a lot of daylilies ... some are registered but most are seedlings. I see all kinds of foliage on my different plants. What is the preferred foliage for a noteworthy daylily plant? What would be considered registration or a "winning" foliage look? Or is there no preference? For me, my first priority is rust resistance, but after that, I am now looking at how the foliage grows and displays on each plant.

Here are just a few of the different foliage clumps in my garden. I am sure there are more that others here have photos of.

A:



B: (Another one similar to A):



C:



D:



E:



F: (Similar to E, but longer leaves):



G: (Not a clump, but the leaves seem to stack high):



Which is preferred and which is not a good foliage growth/look?

Great question, I'm curios too!

It seems that hybridizers find dark green foliage to be noteworthy, if that helps. For me, I like bushy but short, with flowers just above the foliage. Dark green is pretty, but so is the bright green, so I'm not sure I have a preference. I like thicker leaves, but it's only a slight preference.

A very good question. Inquiring minds want to know. Early on I took a liking to the wider leaves. Val my Daylily buddy likes narrow leaves. We both have a good mix of the various leaves. I took a look at the Stout Medal winners and they mixed as well.

B is my favorite. Most of my daylilies have that type of foliage.

Thanks for doing this poll, Becky!

G looks very pretty !!!

I like G, I do not like foliage so high that it can't support itself.

I'm partial to G also. I tend to like wider leaves that fan out nicely and support themselves. With blooms well above the foliage.

spunky1 said:I like G, I do not like foliage so high that it can't support itself.

I would agree with this. (It isn't a deal-breaker on a plant for me, though.)

I will say that just recently I started noticing "G"type foliage and it does have a lot of appeal to me. No saying I have yet decided on a favorite, but maybe I could rate it as a current favorite.

Wonder what kind of Daylily have that G foliage ? I think I also going to check mine (had mine awhile back and don't have no idea what they are)...

There are shorter daylilies, like Stella d' Oro and Happy Returns, that do look good in the front of the border. These have the more narrow, grasslike leaves. But I still like the wider leaves and fans.

I like all except E & F. That foliage looks too unruly to me. Personally I like a mix of foliage types. It helps me tell different cultivars apart when I plant them too close together!

bxncbx said:I like all except E & F. That foliage looks too unruly to me. Personally I like a mix of foliage types. It helps me tell different cultivars apart when I plant them too close together!

I'm trying to get better with my spacing, we'll see how that goes next month.

This thread is great, it's interesting how different we view the foliage.
I have always wondered about blue-green foliage. I see this in descriptions but, never see blue-green foliage in my garden on any that have this description. Does anybody have blue-green foliage on any of their cultivars?

I haven't paid much attention to the foliage as my focus has been on the flowers. I have to pay more attention to the foliage this year. At this point, I don't have a preference. As long as it is green, clean, and look nice, I am happy. I often get leaf streaks after blooming is over. I think I would be partial to one that is resistant to leaf streaks,

Different cultivars produce different foliage types, correct?

So to get a specific type of foliage, you would have to try breeding it into your hybridizing program?

What I have discovered.... and maybe this is not accurate, is that thin foliage is less prone to rust than wide foliage. I assume because rust needs an area in which to spread. Skinny leaves don't provide much area. But is that assumption wrong?

And I have also read that the dark blue-green foliage seems to be the most resistant to pests and possibly rust. Is this true?

I have not seen any sign of those things in my garden. I can't say I have observed one type of foliage being more rust resistant than another, or one color more resistant than another, just that I do prefer dark green foliage over the lighter colors.

beckygardener said:

And I have also read that the dark blue-green foliage seems to be the most resistant to pests and possibly rust. Is this true?

I've heard that too but there doesn't seem to be any evidence to support it. If the "blue-green" is from extra wax on the outside of the leaf then it's possible it might be more resistant to some problems but not very likely to apply to all pests, and no reason I can think of why it should apply to rust which enters the leaf through the stomata anyway.

I also like "G"

I like foliage that looks the same in August as it does in April.
(Maybe I should get silk plants?)

I like foliage that can double as border grass.

I have trouble getting the G fans to increase sometimes. I like C and G. G fans also make fertilizing easier.
Altho I do have likes and dislikes, the foliage would never sway me on the flower. Well that is, unless that foliage was a rust magnet.