Having lived in MD and presently in NY, whenever I had a daylily that did not show-up in the early spring, I would never poke around and look for it. I would give it a 10% bleach bath (9 to 1 water ratio). I would pour it on the plant and wait. They have all come back with the exception for one. The one that did not come back was bred in Florida.
Sometimes the meristem gets damaged by the winter and then shoots come out of the bottom or side of the of the crown. When this happens, I usually have to move the sign to where the plant is now coming up. Sometimes it has been several inches away from where the original plant was.
Don't give up, these are tough plants.
David
