Before the daylilies get so high that I can't work around them, I clean up the beds and then put alfalfa meal around the daylilies. I work the alfalfa into the soil a little and then cover the beds with a fresh mulch of pine bark so that the alfalfa doesn't attract "critters".
Then in early April, I spray the garden with a systemic insecticide, which will take care of aphids, which always make an appearance around then. Hopefully the timing will be right to take care of the leaf miners that are making the rounds in the Carolinas as well. They are responsible for those "trails" that you see between the leaves. Larvae have hatched and are tunneling their way out. I also keep an eye out for signs of leaf streak if the weather is particularly wet and cold. If leaf streak is starting, I will spray with a fungicide like Daconil. I have a state inspected and licensed nursery, even though I don't run a commercial business, so I am obligated to keep my garden healthy in order to ship plants across state lines. I find that if you take care of your insect and disease problems first thing in the spring, you probably won't have to do much else for the rest of the summer.
Judy
