Thanks for the topic! I've read many hours online and talked to my mom. I have bareroot plants coming from everywhere this fall including Fall 07 intros from Florida. My quandry is to a) keep them alive, and b)avoid rust.

My reading and talking and emailing also leads me to beleive rust is endemic in the south, mostly well controlled but not eradicated even in the best run major gardens. Plants grown in a spray program with contact and systemic fungicides seem to me still at risk for a low level case of rust that could become evident in a few months without spray.

I'm running a small experiment at my house, as these things are fasinating to me. It's pretty brutal compared to some of the stuff I've read here.

"Rust is immediately distinquishable from leaf streak.", not true Jakejones! It really does start out looking like leaf streak, the pustules come later, and then its too late. I have noticed that leaf streak is far more common here in the spring, so if it starts to show now its probably rust.

Plants can be infected by spores that are inside the plant, and no amount of dipping in a funguscide will cure it unless it is dipped in a systemic and the roots are allowed to absorb some and kill the rust internally. Stripping off leaves and cutting down a plant that is infected internally will do nothing. I don't believe the folks in Florida knowingly ship infected plants and try to avoid it at all costs.

I have found it takes both spraying with a foliar fungicide to kill the spores so it doesn't continue to spread only part of the solution, a systemic drench must be used to kill the rust internally or it will just continue to produce new spores.

They have my symapthies, but it is not the end of the world. They can just let it go and it will no longer be a problem in the future.

Again I will not be buying from the south for spring arrival after receiving a plant that showed signs of having had rust.

I worry about my plants getting rust,but trad how it is winter killed and doesn't harm the plant.To me,anything that harms the leaves harms the plant's ability to thrive. I don't have rust,but if I do get it from a new plant that has an infected crown,is it really going to be winter killed?The crown does not die through the winter,so why would the rust infection?Is a systemic the answer?

Betsy

Only the leaves and scapes get infected with daylily rust, not the crown. That's why daylily rust doesn't survive where the foliage is completely killed in winter, assuming no patrinia plants close by.

Here is a link that might be useful: How to treat new plants to reduce rust risk

What is the crown if it is not part of the leaves? I can't figgure this out.

The crown is the fleshy part where the leaves join the roots.

I know there are those who say its no big deal but it would be a very big deal to me. Now, while we don't grow daylilies for their leaves but for their flowers, I still want my daylily plants to look reasonably attractive in the garden while not in bloom. That means nice healthy looking green leaves.

I've had my new daylilies for a couple of months, now, and one fan of Queen's Circle I won from Ebay. It looked okay, and I'd given up on the complete nipping of foliage--it was just too psychologically exhausting. I was wary, however, and for some reason left this pot on my shaded front porch for isolation (probably just because I got it off ebay.)

It looks like it has some rust now. It has the little pale spots that look rust like, but they aren't orange yet and have never rubbed off any orange powder to a white tissue. I brought it inside and put it in the guest room sunny window for observation--cuz I like danger, and I just want to *see*. Now, with a magnifiying glass I can see a center dot, a small clear space, and a yellow halo. Still no orange powder on a white tissue.

Am I looking at early rust? I did set it on the back deck for some sun before, close to some other plants still in isolation from my main garden but they are still clear. One leaf of Meet Joe Black looks like it was attacked my a mini bull-dozer, with vertical stripes of top green scooped away in caterpillar mouth sized stripes. But this stuff on QC is different.

I have my trusty whack to a nubbin, bleach thing to do and I picked up a bottle of Physan 20 a while back. My systemic is Bayer Advanced Garden Disease Control with terbuconazole--it's all I could find locally and was noted somewhere to be 'moderately effective against rust.' It is supposed to 'work 3 ways: kills existing fungi. forms a protective barrier on the outside of the plant, and is absorbed into the plant to keep on protecting regardless of weather conditions.

--I will disinfect the deck and front porch and apparently my guest room nightstand with Physan 20

--cut back diseased plant to 1/2 inch or so and spray diseased plant with P 20 as contact killer

--spray diseased plant and deck plants with the BayerAG terbuconazole

(I've thought about taking the diseased plant to a lonely stretch of 840 rock cliffs, clearly labeled "I HAVE RUST. KEEP BACK THIRTY FEET," wishing it luck and checking on it next spring. LOL!)

------If this plan is good, should I also spray my whole garden with BayerAG?
------Should I do whatever it takes to find the Banner stuff?

Also, I'm an anesthesiologist by trade. I'm used to ICU isolation procedures, AIDS patients, and the sterile technique and procedures in the OR. I think disease is fun, I loooove to beat it.

It occurs to me, in the OR we autoclave packs. Now I have a deep freeze at home that would hold all my food. My fridge freezer can be set to 25-30 degrees. BRIGHT IDEA??? Could I try placing the plant in my fridge a few days to begin it's winter, then in my freezer for a couple of months?

Remember as you advise me, that no trouble is too much. Most of the fun of this hobby for me is the soil management, culture, propagation, genetics, hybridizing, and disease. I didn't even get interested in my parents daylily farm until I found out about rust. :) I'm a scientist to the bone I suppose, and I confess here and now--I don't even really look forward to the blooms. I like the process more than the result--- born to be an anesthesiologist ;) and a daylily perfectionist. Oh, I'm also a perfumista.

I'M A FREAK!!!!! But I'm on your side. :)

You don't have rust on your plant if it doesn't wipe off. You won't see early rust, just the end result of the rust in the plant which are the spores.

Since you are a scientist at heart, save the slightly effective and go for the ones that will get you results. No reason to waste money, energy for something that can help eliminate it. But first, chill or request someone with rust send you some so you can play mad scientist. You really won't want it when you get it.

Brooke

Thanks, Brooke! So my mother just said-- she said the first time she saw rust she knew it was rust without a doubt, and I'm sure she was rolling her eyes when she said she didn't need a magnifying glass, either! "If it's not dusty, it's not rust." she said.

Brooke, you meant "for something that can't help eliminate it." didn't you?

I'm not so mad to request rust--really, I'm not. I'm just all pumped up to trounce on it the moment if does show up, and in the process showing exactly how neurotic/OCD I can be. :( It makes me feel safer to have Plan A and Plan B for the worst case scenario--hypervigilence. I suspect this is why I'm divorced now! Too hard to live with! :D

While I agree you probably won't want it if you get rust, I'm not sure you couldn't see the internal lesions before they start producing the rust colored spores. Especially with a magnifying glass! That's why rust is so hard to detect, it lies dormant within the foliage until conditions are favorable to reproducing by spreading spores. Then it suddenly erupts with spores all over the foliage. Then the wipe test is effective.
It sounds like you know how to prevent infection of your other plants. If you do eventually confirm rust and want to tie up your fridge for awhile, come back and chat.
Ed

Eds right, you DO NOT get spores right away, you can see the lesions well before the spores are visable. I thought I was going to have a good outbreak here but it has cooled off. I have noticed that it is 7 to 10 days from the time I notice rust on a plant before the pustules open.

Well, then. I'm back to betting that's what I have. It does look like a bit like a pimple forming. Or thirty of them.

Can we say, for the sake of my education, that it is rust coming on, and likely to open these pustules in the next day or two? Is my plan good then?

I'll look for a better systemic anyway. You know, Plan B for a type A.

If it is rust, you may be delaying development of the spores by placing it inside of an air-conditioned house. Rust develops best in cool, moist conditions. Mist the foliage good and put the whole plant in a bag and you should have rust spores very quickly, if it is present. I looked at QC parents and it is most likely a rusty plant.

Since you're in zone 7a, it is likely that the winter will kill the rust for you, especially if you keep the plant in a pot exposed to the elements. At some point after a good freeze, clean up the dead foliage, spray everything good with the Physan 20 and then start applying the systemic fungicide. My guess would be the rust won't come back next year.

If you want to try the freezer routine, make sure and let the plant acclimate to cold temps slowly, maybe over 3 weeks before actually placing it in a freezer. Record how long you have the plant at temps below freezing. The big question is; how many hours of freezing temp is required to kill the spores?

Let us know how you do.
Ed