I once read on the forum that daylilies are soaked in a solution of water and insecticide before planting.
Can anyone tell more about this?

Ronny07 said:I once read on the forum that daylilies are soaked in a solution of water and insecticide before planting.
Can anyone tell more about this?

Are you sure it wasn't fungicide, which some people do to reduce the chance of rust?

Hi Sue,
No, it was an insecticide to eliminate thrips eggs and larvae.

Thrips are quite ubiquitous, can fly in, and killing eggs is generally a lot harder than killing the adults and nymphs. Do you not already have thrips in your garden?

Unfortunately I also have thrips in the garden, more than I like
It was actually the idea to start with clean plants without bugs.
I have not yet seen any symptoms of rust here in Belgium, I think our climate is (for the time being) still a bit too cold for this.

I'd have been surprised if you didn't already have thrips The thing is to choose an insecticide you have to know what you are trying to control so as to select the best product. It just seemed to me that it would not be practical to treat new plants for something you already have.

Rust should be able to overwinter in Zone 8 equivalent because presumably not all your daylily foliage is killed and some stays green during winter. I'd guess it's more likely because you just haven't brought it in yet. I don't know how prevalent it is in Europe but it is there in some places.

That is indeed annoying with thrips, you can regularly spray for a whole period so that they are under control, but if you do not think about it for a few weeks, they are back again ....
Maybe you are right when you say that it does not help to treat new plants, there are too many host plants in the garden and beyond from which the infestation keeps returning.

I know some daylily collectors here in Belgium who have already determined rust on certain cultivars but for the time being it remains under control, we live here in a zone 8 but the winters can lead to severe frost periods some years, min 10 ° to min 15 ° C occurs regularly here.