Gleni said:Michelle, copper oxychloride. Any advice for me is most welcome.
I have never heard of that and I don't think any of the copper fungicides have ever been proven to help with rust. I would assume that the copper fungicides are a contact fungicide so it would only kill the visible spores. You really need a systemic fungicide to get inside the plant as that is where it begins; what you see is in less scientific terms the end result of the infection.
I'm not sure what would be available where you live but what has proven effective for me is Headline, Banner Maxx (I use the generic-can't remember the name as there are a few), and Daconil liquid (I buy the professional size generic named Docket). If you Google these and get the active ingredient name it is easier to find generic brands that are usually less expensive than name brands. I tell everyone that you can get the granular form of Headline, it's called Cabrio, for a lot less than the liquid Headline and it will last awhile for someone who doesn't have lots and lots of daylilies (I can't remember if you ever said how many you have).
I rotate the Headline and Banner Maxx (they are the systemic fungicide) and add the Daconil (contact fungicide) every time; I do use Nickel plus as well. Some people spray weekly and others spray every 2 weeks; it's usually NOT a one time spray and you are done if you live in warmer, moist, humid climates. I start spraying before the rust ever shows it's face and have not seen rust here at all this year except on seedlings that are not sprayed. I make sure I saturate the plants and let it run onto the ground to get any hiding spores. These sprays may or may not cure rust but it has been said that Headline may have curative effects. The problem with rust is the spores can blow in from 60 miles away (I'm sure a lot further) so if you did get rid of it then it blew in from down the way it could possibly re-infect the plants.
Some people don't want to spray or can't and they just get rid of the "rust buckets" and tolerate the others as it is usually just certain times that rust appears. For someone who doesn't want to spray then they can cut the plants all the way down to where the green of the fan turns white (rust lives in the green) and dispose of the foliage and any dead debris in the garden and then hope there aren't any spores to re-infect the plants. From what I understand is rust spores need an opening in the foliage to get in so I would suggest actually spraying with some type of contact fungicide even if the person doesn't want to use any other chemicals so the spores that hide in the mulch or anywhere for that matter will be killed. Especially since you just given rust the biggest opening to get in when you cut the foliage. I have heard that Dawn soap acts as a contact fungicide (I think from Mark Carpenter) but I can't vouch for that; I use Dawn anyway as a spreader/sticker when I spray. It needs to be the regular or I guess they still call it Original Dawn, not the kind that is anti-bacterial or has bleach or other stuff.
Do you get any freezes at all in your area. If so then maybe just keeping the debris cleaned up and maybe cutting back the plants once right before you go into winter may help without spraying. We don't get cold enough here for that to happen even though we can get occasional freezes.
I hope some of this helps.
