Autumn Wood has browned out leaves and I am wondering if it could be because of this small tree we pulled out of the middle of the clump. It has never done this before and this little tree is all we can think of that might be causing the problem. None of the other daylily plants in the whole garden has done this and I've never seen it before.

Anyone have any other thoughts on why it would do this?

Do know know what tree this might be? I am sorry for the bad picture of the tree. It isn't a walnut, but I have heard where walnut trees can be bad for some plants.

Not sure from the picture but the tree could be an ash (opposite compound leaves). The daylily problem could be leaf scorch, it doesn't look quite right for leaf streak - if the roots were damaged when you pulled the tree seedling out perhaps it is not able to take up enough water to support that amount of foliage. Have you checked to see if the soil is dry there? I assume no herbicides have been used on the lawn?

Sue, thanks for the input. The tree was just pulled out right before I posted this, so the daylily was like this before we pulled the tree. And we have had almost two inches of rain in the last week, with the last two days being cloudy and drizzly. No herbicides used on the lawn. I think it is just very odd that whatever it is has only affected this one daylily.

Any grubs in the lawn?

Did you have the freeze like we did a couple of weeks ago? I did not think at the time that my daylilies were affected, no wilted, slushy looking foliage. About a week later though I started noticing some browning leaves on foliage of some plants. Not all of them, but that is all I can think of. Plenty of rain so that was not the problem.

I want to take a guess and that is the best this will be. I think it is either freeze damage, or a sign of root rot developing. If you tug on the foliage and it does not turn loose easily then I would say freeze damage, if you tug on some of the brown foliage and it does turn lose easily I would check closer for rot.

I think the temps did get close to freezing a few weeks ago, but that is the only daylily out of 300 that looks like this.
What Larry says has me concerned. I may dig this clump up and try to salvage a few fans if it really is root rot. I hadn't even thought of that.

Thanks for your help all!

It is possible that it caused an air pocket under the roots and is starving it.Packing the soil around the plant with your feet might bring it out of it.

Thanks Boyd, but the daylily has looked like this for days before the tree was pulled out. My husband pulled the tree out yesterday with his hands and the tree root came out with it at that time. The ground must be pretty wet because he was able to pull it out pretty easily. I am suspecting crown/root rot, so I am going to dig up the daylily today ando will know more later about the root condition.

I think the question would be how wet was the ground when the plant first started showing symptoms, because once damage like that has occurred it won't be reversed. Is it possible the tree was competing for moisture before the rain (although it doesn't look very big). Rather than dig it up I would try pulling on some leaves. If it was crown rot I would expect the newer central leaves to be floppy. I do think it could be a problem below ground though, which is why I asked about lawn grubs (process of elimination).

Thanks, Sue. I have not pulled on the leaves yet, but will try that today. I just remember that last week my husband treated all of our lawn (and garden areas) with granular grub control. When you first mentioned grubs, it didn't sink in that he did this. I wonder if he could have accidentally dumped extra in that area and caused an issue.

It does kind of look like it could be a chemical issue , and it's the closest clump to the lawn which is why I initially wondered about lawn herbicides. Do you know what product he used?

Sue, he used Sevin Insect Killer Lawn Granules. He has used some sort of grub control for probably 15 years and I believe he does it in spring and then again in August-September for the Japanese beetles.

I just came in from outside and tugged on the leaves like you said. None of the leaves I tugged on (green or brown) pulled out. I may just wait a bit longer on digging that clump up. Leaning more toward chemical damage like you said. Of course, dh wouldn't admit that he did anything bad or at least wouldn't remember if he did, lol.

If it's the new formula, it contains zeta-cypermethrin and bifenthrin. Originally Sevin products contained carbaryl (different Sevin products have changed active ingredients but I'm not sure which and when). The label on the new formula says "Certain plants such as annuals may be sensitive to the watered-in granules. A limited area should be treated and observed for one week prior to application to the entire planting." It also says don't apply at a rate more than 4lbs per 1,000 sq ft.