ShakespearesGarden said: Larry, just out of curiousity... Is it possible that because the bog daylilies have so much moisture available near the surface that the roots do not grow downwards as much as daylilies elsewhere? If it's been pretty dry, is there a chance that the bog is drier at the surface than "normal"?
I've never grown in a bog- no clue how the plants might respond at the rootzone. What's your experience with root growth? Is there a noticeable difference?
There's that word "normal" again, I just find it hard to say what is normal in relation to weather. The bog goes though wetter and dryer periods, I think due to how much organic matter I continue to add the build up does cause the level of the soil to rise and become somewhat dryer. I think one of the main causes of the bog being wetter or dryer in different years depends upon how much hurricane rain we get. There has not been much hurricane rain here the past few years, so now the bog is at a "dryer" stage in my opinion.
Does this make a difference in the roots, the plants in the bog and the plants in the dryer higher beds are different. I don't find that daylily roots in general go very deep. The depth does not seem to very that much but the type of roots that grow in the bog are different, mostly the bog plants grow much more of the very fine roots and that makes them very difficult to wash and clean when digging clumps because they cling to so much more soil. Normally the depth of a shovel or a pitchfork will be enough to lift even a large clump out of the ground. But, sometimes a few plants end up being too deep due to sinking and to too much mulch being placed around them and those are extra hard to dig out. It seems the daylilies have a self regulating way of adding and discarding the crowns and making depth adjustments with the roots. I have had plants with three levels of crowns as the plant got deeper and deeper into the soil.
