I know this may be more obvious to southern gardeners, but I would love to hear from all on this forum. In my search for rust resistant cultivars, I obtained many that were listed as rust resistant. Unfortunately, the ratings were not true for some of them in my garden. So I would really like to know which ones you have that do indeed exhibit good rust resistance.

My registered tets that show good rust resistance are:

Springfield Clan - I'd give it a 1.5 rust resistance rating. A small amount of rust.

Webster's pink Wonder - Some rust, so probably a 1.5 - 2.0.

Spanish Sketch - A small amount of rust. 1.5 rating (not the 1.0 rating listed in the database).

Zoe Allegra - Some rust. Possibly a 1.5 - 2.0 rating.

Gram's Dream - 1.5 - 2.0 rust resistance rating.

Red Volunteer - Very small amount of rust. I think the 1.1 rating is accurate.

Bandit Man - Some rust, but appears to show resistance. 1.5 - 2.0 rust resistance rating.

Emperor Butterfly - Happy to see this one exhibit some rust resistance. I'd say a 1.5 - 2.0 rating which is consistent to the rating given in the database.

Best Kept Secret - Small amount of rust. 1.5 rating. Probably close to the database rating.

Dynasty Pink - Some rust, so probably about a 2.0 rust resistance rating.

Mister Lucky - A small amount of rust. Accurate 1.3 rust resistance rating in the database.

Paper Butterfly - Some rust. I'd estimate a 1.5 - 2.0 rating.

Betty Warren Woods - Some rust. I'd say a 1.5 rating, not the 1.0 rating in the database.

Whooperee - No rust whatsoever! NICE!!!

Calgary Stampede - Had some rust. Probably a 1.5 rust resistance rating, not a 1.0 as listed in the database.

Chinese Scholar - No rust at all. Great looking foliage!


Registered dips that show good rust resistance are:

Lady Neva - No rust at all. Yay!

Galaxy Explosion - No rust! Wonderful!

Judge Roy Bean - No rust! Another winner in the rust resistance department!

Gadsden Goliath - No rust. Skinny leaves!

Wild One - A very small amount of rust. Very happy to see the rust resistance on this cultivar!

Pink Super Spider - Some rust. I'd say a 2.0 rating or less.

Purple Rain Dance - No rust! Saw an increase in fans from 4 to 5 as well.

Moonlight Orchid - No rust! Yay! Another one I am thrilled about.

Duchess of D'Orleans - Some rust, but would rate this as a 1.7 - 2.0.

Sings the Blues - No rust! Another good cultivar!

Paige's Pinata - Small amount of rust. I'd say a 1.5 rating.

Lavender Stardust - No rust. A great cultivar in my opinion.

Royal Occasion - Small amount of rust. 1.5 - 1.8 rating.

Jedi Brenda Spann - Not only did this cultivar show NO rust at all, but the foliage looked the best of any of those in the raised bed. Can't wait to see the blooms on this one!

Lovely Pink Lady - No rust at all. Very, very happy about this!

Laura Harwood - No rust! A beautiful cultivar!

Apple Swirl - Small amount of rust that was dying. This is the one cultivar that made me think that it is truly a foliage that fights the rust it does get. The rust was small areas that had turned dark ... so the rust wasn't able to survive for long on this foliage.

Gleber's Top Cream - No rust at all and great looking foliage!

Siloam's Double Classic - No rust. A favorite cultivar of mine, so was happy to see how well it holds it's own against rust! Yay!

I hope others here on the forum will post their list of cultivars that seem to show good resistance to rust. I am always looking at cultivars that do in fact have actual rust resistance. Thank you in advance!

This is the other thread I started about rusty cultivars: The thread "Which cultivars show rust in your garden?" in Daylilies forum

Thanks for the research and posting, Becky.

Pat - I had been going by the rating system for rust resistance in the Plant database. But now I see that those rust ratings may or may not be absolutely true. Although there is the possibility that my rust strain is different than what the hybridizer or university study was observing.

I will say that I am VERY impressed with the cultivars that are showing NO rust at all. Some of them have a rusty plant right next to them (even touching them!). My daylilies are planted very close to each other (18 inches or less), so the rust IS there to infect any and all plants! I will continue to take notes as time goes on. Some of my rust buckets may eventually be culled or sent elsewhere. But for now, it is most enlightening to see what looks great (foliage wise) and what looks pretty bad.

I hope others here will also post cultivars that seem to show strong rust resistance. I need a list of good to try cultivars and I know others on this forum may have the same idea in mind.

Boy I wish I could help you Becky, but here in the north I rarely get rust.

Becky I will do up the ratings for all mine for both your threads. I have noticed the difference in some of the ratings too: between what is published and what I see. I think it might have something to do with health of the plant for one. Many also do better against rust in the cooler months even though we have mild winters. I also notice some cultivars fight back producing variable results even in summer. But others, like Bat Masterson, just will lose nearly all its chlorophyll if not sprayed.

Cynthia - Thank you. I know you would if you had the rust problem in the north.

Glen - I would genuinely appreciate any information you could add to both threads. I know your climate is somewhat similar to mine, so any cultivar information would be very useful! Thank you for considering to help me.

In 2012 I made the mistake of ordering from growers who had rust. I learned the hard way what my original daylily mentor had told me at the get go. If they don't have really cold winters they probably have rust. Anyway, I wouldn't put up with the big time rusters and pitched them immediately. The list below are of those daylilies that showed nary a spot of rust even when ones around them had it. Since most of my daylilies are in pots I removed the rusters from amongst them later on of course, but they'd still had time to become infected yet managed to remain clean:

Bahama Butterscotch
Citrix
Cluster Muster
Coral Corduroy
Dutch Yellow Truffle
Linda Beck
Sour Puss
Witches Wink
Yesterday Memories

As a variety previously mentioned, Mr. Lucky had one of the lighter cases of rust which spared it from immediate disposal. However it died over winter, so whether it would have been clean the next year after our cold winter is unknowable. Since that one year I've not had rust again and am careful about who I order from and their weather conditions over winter.

Maryl

Maryl, I looked up your list in the ATP database. Interestingly enough, 'Linda Beck', 'Cluster Muster', and 'Dutch Yellow Truffle' are all listed as showing susceptibility.

I briefly had 'Bahama Butterscotch' at one time, but that was before I had my first rust incursion, so I have no knowledge of it in that regard. I got rid of it because I really am not all that into short scapes, but the flowers had a very unusual color, and now I am somewhat regretting punting the plant.

I remember right where Dutch Yellow Truffle was in particular and it was smack dab in the middle of heavy rusters, yet not a spot on it. They may have done more research since I read about it 3 years ago, and instead of one rust variety that they acknowledged back then, perhaps they have clinically isolated more kinds. Could be the difference. With all the different types of environmental/cultural factors involved mileage may vary as to a person's experience. For instance, I had/have the ability to move plants around. Dutch Yellow Truffle may have been successfully fighting rust off when I removed the rusting plants away from it thus saving it from infection had their presence continued. If plants are in the ground no such remedy is possible......... And of course there's always Luck to contend with. Dutch Yellow Truffle was close to Mr. Lucky. - lol..............Maryl

hi @Beckygardener,

I just read a post on Facebook that made me think of this thread

It is from someone in St. Peters, MO... I don't know which zone that is..?
The post says:

"There was a mix-up in my order from David K. one year and I got Mort's HAZEL TINSLEY in place of the double I had ordered. The double arrived when I saw the error and HAZEL TINSLEY turned out to be a major blessing in my garden. In my rust audit last September, this one had a CLEAN PLANT!"

Perhaps interesting for your garden?

Thanks Mayo! I will check into that cultivar..

So, two years later, what are the cultivars that have consistently been rust resistant? It's true that there may be more than one strain of the fungus, which would cause different levels of susceptibility in the literature. I think another possibility is the misnaming of cultivars that appear to be the same. One source says there are 10,000 named cultivars; surely some look identical but are not genetically identical with respect to pathogen susceptibility. How can one really know if a cultivar is from the original named source? And over time sports can develop from the original with new traits, which get passed along as the original named cultivar. Not to mention differing environments that may or may not promote susceptibility. 90% of the plants I buy, which are labeled somewhere as being resistant become infected here in Miami. Buttered Popcorn and Chinese Scholar are two new purchases this year that have become infected this early in our season.

This is an old thread, but I am actively looking for rust-resistant cultivars, so I thought I'd revive it.
So far, in my hot and humid southern garden, the daylily cultivars that haven't shown any rust at all are

South Seas
Siloam Double Classic
Cosmopolitan
Swedish Girl
Bitsy
Victorian Princess
Something
May May
Laura Harwood
Whatchamacallit
Bahama Butterscotch
Country Fair Winds
Lemonn Vista (unregistered)

Most of my daylilies have had some rust. Some got it right away. Others got a little but after being cut back seemed to recover. I've made a list of some I'm going to get rid of and others that are on probation.

I have several new ones that have so far not gotten any rust, but it's too early to tell.

I went to the database and did a search by Rust Resistance Decimal Score: 1.0, the best rating for rust resistance.
https://garden.org/plants/grou...

Oh, wow, thank you, Larry. I narrowed your search to evergreens because they're more likely to do well here. Thanks again.

I would not rule out any plant just because it is registered as a dormant. I know they have a reputation for not doing well in 8b, but I grow over 80 of them, and right now I could not walk down in the garden and tell you which is dormant and which is evergreen. Also I could not tell you by performance which is which anymore. Some of my best performers are dormants. I use the term dormant even though it has been replaced by deciduous because that is how my plant step program still lists them and how my list here on Garden.org has them listed. Look at my plant list here on this site, you will see a lot of dormants listed. I do lose a dormant occasionally, but I also lose an evergreen occasionally. When I first got into daylilies and lost a plant and it was registered as a dormant I assumed that was the reason it died, I no longer feel that way. Grow a few dormants, see how they perform for you.

Thanks. How do I access our plant list? Sorry, I m still figuring out how things work here.

I am very interested in seeing what does well for you since you are in my zone.

I grow some dormants, too, and most do fine; others, however, just don't thrive, and I assumed that was the reason.

Just click on Seedfork in the above post, then scroll down to Seedfork's plant list then click on "Registered Daylilies: 417 plants". That will show the Registered Daylilies I grow.
Edited to add:
If you do a control+F search for dormant it will find all the dormant ones.

Thanks again, Larry.