Rust us relatively new to the world of daylilies .I have had rust appear in my garden
the past few summers .Each year less than 5% of my plants showed symptoms.NO
PLANTS WHICH HAD RUST IN A GIVEN SUMMER SHOWED SYMPTOMS
THE FOLLOWING YEAR.This seems to confirm what is being reported around
the country--that rust does NOT overwinter in colder climates.
I do not plan on altering my buying habits due to the threat of rust.I admire Matthew
Kaskel's efforts to produce rust resistant daylilies.Matthew is a major Florida
hybridizer.I just don't see it as a major problem in the North and there are too many
beautiful Southern grown plants to forego.One of my hybridizing goals is to cross
some Southern beauties with some Northern hardy plants (particularly those with
good plant habits--bud count,branching,etc)
I will treat all incoming and outgoing plants with a fungicide or bleach
solution.Headline is a newer fungicide showing much promise in rust treatment.
Here is a quote from a gardener who found rust in her garden in Sept.2003 from a
forum I belong to:
" I had noticed a little leaf streak in my
daylilies, but got the courage to check for rust. Immediately, I found a
good suspect. Wiped it with a tissue and yes, it came off! It doesn't look
the way I thought it would. The spots are much smaller than I expected.
But the under side of the leaf was covered with these tiny, yellowish-orange
spots. So I guess it is rust?! I strongly suspect I had it last fall also.
So with that in mind, I have come to the conclusion the daylily world as I
know has not come to an end. If indeed I did have it last fall, it didn't
devestate me as I had feared it might. So with that in mind, at this point
and time I don't think I will do anything "
The link below has more info on rust:
Daylily Rust Information Page