javaMom said:
The daylilies .. in the raised bed...... I don't know how deep I have to plant those...
Hi. I agree with the comment that rot is the worst, in that once it starts the plant is history. I must have repotted ARABIAN MAGIC a bit too deep as it rotted not long after flowering. We had had a lot of rain. But others were fine. I once lost 2 separate DOUGLAS LYCETT plants to rot, probably from accidental overfeeding. My soil is very heavy, but generally on a slope so there is good drainage. I try not to plant things deep but have a lot of 'pine straw' as mulch. However, I have a few growing very well where it can have an inch of water standing for a few days. I think some are more susceptible to rot than others.
It might be a while before your plants need thinning out. The light clay soil would hold moisture which can be a great thing unless it rains in buckets for a few days at a time. Gypsum or claybreaker works well on my clay-shale subsoil. Magic. It actually turns it into nice crumbly loam.
I hate rusts and recently had it on a gladioli. So I will try detergent spray to see if it works on gladioli rust. Some right next to it don't have it. I too find it helpful to remove rusty leaves. I recently ripped off all the rusty leaves of my frangipani (plumaria). They are deciduous here anyway.
So far I have not discarded daylilies. My rejection criterion may be "the scape developing pustules". The plants manage without a few leaves but I see no point growing them if you have to ditch the flower stalk. I ripped heaps of leaves of this HURRICANE SKY after I took the pic.
Luckily we are having a dry cool spell so the plants can muster some strength after so many blow torch days.
