Daylilies are among the most popular perennials for a reason. These lovely plants produce very colorful flowers that will look great in any garden area.
You can find many different types of daylilies, and this makes it easy to find some that will be perfect for your garden. If you’ve recently started caring for daylilies, then you might be scratching your head if they suddenly turned yellow.
Why would your daylilies turn yellow all of a sudden like that? Is there something that you’re doing wrong or failing to recognize?
Keep reading to learn about several reasons why daylilies might turn yellow. Once you know more about the subject, it should be easier to determine what is really going on.
1 – Sometimes This Is Natural
There are times when daylilies turning yellow will be completely natural. When daylilies reach the end of the growing season, they will start yellowing to mark the end of that year’s cycle.
This is something that you can’t avoid, and it’s perfectly normal for the daylilies to do this. The growing season for daylilies occurs during the spring and summer months.
Daylilies will bloom during the spring and then thrive throughout the summer. When the cooler fall temperatures arrive, the leaves are going to start to turn yellow.
This actually happens because the daylilies have stopped the photosynthesis process. Sometime during the late fall, you’ll notice that the yellow leaves will turn brown and then collapse.
There are some exceptions to this information due to the weather in some areas. If you’re growing daylilies in a part of the world that stays warmer for longer periods of time, then you might have the yellowing occur a bit later in the year.
2 – Not Watering the Daylilies Enough
Not watering the daylilies enough can lead to the plants becoming yellow, too. Daylilies are pretty easy to take care of, but they will need a good bit of water when they’re young and trying to establish themselves.
If you fail to give them the water that they need during this period of time, then you might notice some yellowing issues. When newly planted daylilies show signs of yellowing, then the problem is almost always that they aren’t getting enough water.
You need to give them a lot of water during the growing season to enjoy good results. Try to avoid letting the soil dry out completely so that you can ensure that the plants are getting enough moisture.
It’s said that the plants need about one inch of water on a weekly basis. This will include rainwater, and this means that you should keep an eye on precipitation levels in your area.
3 – Watering Too Much
Yellowing can also occur from watering daylilies too much. When you make the soil soggy and keep watering the daylilies when they don’t need more water, it’ll lead to root rot.
Root rot can potentially kill plants, and it’s something that you certainly want to avoid if at all possible. When root rot occurs, the roots will start to become slimy, mushy, and brown over time.
You’ll also notice that the leaves of the daylilies will turn yellow and start wilting. This is a very bad thing, and the daylilies likely won’t survive root rot.
To avoid letting this happen, ensure that you’re only watering the daylilies when the top inch of the soil starts to feel dry. You also might need to plant them in a spot that doesn’t stay wet all the time.
4 – Disease
Disease could be the cause of the yellowing. There are two diseases that are known to cause daylilies to turn yellow.
Leaf streak is a disease that can cause long yellow streaks to appear on the leaves. This will start at the tips of the leaves, but it’ll eventually lead to the leaves turning brown and dying.
Daylily rust is the other type of disease to look out for, but it can cause orange spots. People sometimes mistake the orange spots for yellow spots since they can look similar depending on how things go.
Diseases such as this can be prevented by buying daylilies that are resistant to the diseases. It’s recommended to do this so that you don’t encounter problems.
5 – Pests
Pests can also cause problems for your daylilies, and they might cause the leaves to turn yellow. Pests such as aphids or mites can infest plants and make the leaves turn yellow over time.
To protect the plants from this, it’s a good idea to spray them with an insecticide or to use an insecticidal soap. Some gardeners apply this type of soap regularly to control insect issues.
It’s a good idea to be proactive about taking care of insect problems. If you aren’t careful, then this can turn into a big issue that will kill your daylilies or cause them to appear very unhealthy.
You should look out for signs that insects might be bothering your plants. For example, aphids sometimes leave behind things that sort of resemble webs on the leaves.
Keep Caring for Your Daylilies
If you’re able to keep caring for your daylilies to the best of your ability, then you should be able to turn things around. The only problem that might be hard to come back from is root rot.
You definitely don’t want to water your daylilies way more than you’re supposed to. Sometimes too much rain can be to blame, and you might need to take steps to protect your plants if this is the case.
Disease can be a big problem as well, but you can purchase disease-resistant variants of daylilies that you won’t need to worry about. Otherwise, you just need to do the normal things right, such as watering the plants properly and keeping an eye out for pests such as aphids or thrips.
It should be possible to get your daylilies to look healthy again if you have encountered issues. Now that you know more about caring for daylilies and what things you need to avoid, it’s not going to be nearly as problematic.
Growing up with a mom who filled her home (inside and out) with all sorts of plants, Lisa got her start in gardening at a young age. Living now on her own with a home and yard full of plants (including an indoor greenhouse), she shares all the gardening tips she’s gained over the years.