First off let me state that I do not use chemicals on my daylilies or in my garden beds. I garden organically because of butterflies, ladybugs, bees, and hummingbirds. So please excuse the less that pristine foliage in my photos. Yes! I do have rust fungus and probably leaf streak. (I rarely see crown rot.) Ignoring those issues .... I have some questions about daylily foliage:
Is it typical for the new leaves to form on top of old growth, yet the oldest foliage does not always die back at the same time? See my photo showing how the foliage stacks up on top of each previous leaf. (This looks really odd to me and most of my plants don't stack up that high.) If this is not typical, why does this happen?:
What causes a new fan to be floppy? See how the newest fan has formed and the leaves seem to flop over instead of standing upright. Will the new fan correct this problem as it grows bigger?:
I have fans that form very close to the original fan and some that seem to send out a runner because the new fan is a few inches (or more) away from the original fan. In this photo, you can see one new fan developing at the base of the original fan and another fan popping up a few inches away. Is this typical?
This photo shows a variety of foliage on different seedlings in my front garden bed. Both of my full sun daylily beds seem to have the worst issues with rust, pests, and leaf streak. The partial shade beds have much healthier looking foliage. I am assuming the sun is drying out the soil and stressing the plants and making them more susceptible and weak. Could that be the cause here in the heat and hot sun of Florida. Or because we don't have cold winters?
What are some of the different types of foliage depending on cultivar? Some of my foliage is very thick and sturdy. While other daylilies have skinny foliage that just seems to flop all around. What is the difference in dip vs. tet foliage?
Does anyone have a photo of what would be considered AHS "desirable" foliage and fan growth as well as double, triple, and a clump that would be considered quality foliage ? I'd sure love to see some photos! Thank you!
